From a rare first-century bronze head of Apollo, to Marc Quinn’s marble bust of Bill Waltier (Blind from Birth), and a gawdy, golden faux-classical Damien Hirst Medusa from his Venice show, The Classical Now (until 28 April) delivers an impressive and provocative contrast, exhibiting 20th- and 21st-century responses to the classical era alongside ancient sculpture and mosaic.
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What is it about Greek and Roman art that still captivates the modern imagination? How can contemporary art help us to see the classical legacy with new eyes? And what can such modern-day responses – set against the backdrop of others over the last two millennia – tell us about our own cultural preoccupations in the twenty-first century?
Presented in partnership with Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), The Classical Now is a major new exhibition at King’s College London. Staged across two spaces, the newly renovated Arcade of Bush House, and the Inigo Rooms in Somerset House East Wing, the exhibition features classical, modern and contemporary works. Through the pairing of modern and contemporary art with classical Greek and Roman antiquities The Classical Now explores the ways in which Graeco-Roman art has captured and permeated the modern imagination.