Join speakers including Darren Almond, Simon Lee, Lynda Nead, Christopher Riopelle and  the OU’s Emma Barker and Gill Perry at this study day.

“Romanticism and modern art are one and the same thing” wrote the French poet Charles Baudelaire in 1846.

This study day, held in collaboration with the Open University, explores the diverse subjects and varied styles of Romantic painting with its ‘intimacy, spirituality, colour’ and ‘yearning for the infinite.’ Curators, art historians and artists discuss Delacroix, Romanticism, and the rise of modern art.

Houses, homes, huts and domestic themes have become ubiquitous in installation art over the last few decades. Gill Perry explores some of the mythical, metaphorical, aesthetic and social concerns that have inspired artists to engage with these everyday themes. She focuses on the work of three contemporary artists (Agnès Varda, Tracey Emin and Michael Landy) for whom (as she argues) ‘home’ is rich in contradictory, playful and nomadic meanings, evoking both local and transnational associations.

The National Gallery exhibition ‘Making Colour‘ takes visitors on a journey through colour from the ancient world to the Impressionists. On this study day, the journey continues up to the present day. You will hear from art historians and artists who will explore different aspects of the exhibition and discuss the symbolism of colour in different contexts. The cultural fear of corruption from colour will also be examined – along with the work of artists and writers who have challenged that fear (taken from the National Gallery website)

Final discussion with Gill Perry, Colin Wiggins, Michael Landy This study day discussed the work of Michael Landy and his exhibition Michael Landy: Saints Alive, which ran between 23 May and 24 November 2013.

Professor Gill Perry of the Open University talk 'on Playing - with Michael Landy' This study day discussed the work of Michael Landy and his exhibition Michael Landy: Saints Alive, which ran between 23 May and 24 November 2013.

England:  Caroline Devine –  ‘On Air’  In September 1963, Harold Wilson launched the idea of the 'University of the Air' which became The Open University (OU), receiving its Royal Charter in 1969. To celebrate the role of research at the OU, an innovative arts commission was launched for artists and curators of all media to deliver one of four art projects around the themes of design and technology, arts and humanities, science and social science. Each project is based in one of the four UK nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Roundtable discussion