2024–2025 Highlights: Art

Art Encounters Beyond the Classroom

This year, our Sixth Form Art students have enjoyed the opportunity to step beyond the studio and immerse themselves in two major exhibitions. From the raw emotional force of Francis Bacon’s portraits to the imaginative, multisensory world of Haegue Yang, each visit provided a unique window into the creative possibilities of contemporary and modern art.

Francis Bacon – National Portrait Gallery

In November 2024, Year 12 and 13 Art students visited the National Portrait Gallery to see the Francis Bacon exhibition. The show explored the theme of human presence in Bacon’s work, drawing on artistic influences from his life, including Rembrandt, Picasso, Freud and Velázquez.

Bacon is one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. His style was figurative but dark and distorted, veering towards abstraction. Among the people he liked to paint were the Sainsburys, his friend and contemporary Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and his long-term partner and companion George Dyer. Bacon also painted historical figures who had been immortalised in other works of art, including a range of portraits of Pope Innocent X based on the original works of 17th-century Spanish painter Velázquez.

Bacon’s work is both profound and disturbing — and unlike anything else. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why his work is brilliant. Though often dark and unsettling, his vision and execution are masterful and unique. He is unlike anyone else, and his work is unforgettable.

Haegue Yang – Hayward Gallery

Students also visited Haegue Yang’s Leap Year exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. This immersive display featured multisensory installations and sculptures that wove connections between diverse histories, cultures and traditions.

Originally from South Korea, Yang has experienced many different cultures throughout her life — especially after moving to Germany in her twenties during the 1990s. This multicultural background has influenced her wide-ranging sources of inspiration, which draw on East Asian customs, contemporary art history and nature.

Yang uses everyday domestic objects such as window shutters, blinds, chairs and drying racks to create uncanny explorations of her interests. These visually intriguing installations reflect her multicultural influences. Her surreal sculptures evoke feelings of introspection and wonder, offering a thought-provoking and imaginative experience.