Skip to main content

05 February 2018

Modern Classicisms & The Classical Now at King's

What is it about ancient Graeco-Roman art that still captivates and provokes the modern imagination? How can contemporary art help us to see the classical tradition with new eyes? And what can modern-day responses – set against the backdrop of others over the last two millennia – tell us about our own cultural preoccupations?

What is it about ancient Graeco-Roman art that still captivates and provokes the modern imagination? How can contemporary art help us to see the classical tradition with new eyes? And what can modern-day responses – set against the backdrop of others over the last two millennia – tell us about our own cultural preoccupations?

Our Classics Departmental project on ‘Modern Classicisms’ explores these and other questions by bringing together classicists, art historians, critics and artists. ‘Modern classicisms' was launched at a major workshop at King’s on 10 November: the day involved some 35 speakers, among them some of the biggest names in the contemporary art world (including Marc Quinn, Sir Michael Craig-Martin and Mary Reid Kelley); around 250 people participated in the event. The following video below gives a short overview of the project and the opening workshop, while also heralding our forthcoming exhibition at King’s – The Classical Now, which opens in Bush House and Somerset House on 2 March.

'Modern Classicisms’ is led by Michael Squire in the Department of Classics, and is run in partnership with MACM (Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins)