William Morris was a poet of the natural world. Its beauty shaped both his writing and his design work, two expressions of the same conviction.
He first found fame with The Earthly Paradise (1868 to 70), an epic poem drawing on Classical and Norse mythology. But his interest in beauty went further than storytelling. It shaped his politics, his writing, and his belief in the handmade, a philosophy that would define his celebrated fabrics and wallpapers. For Morris, beauty was never a luxury. It was essential to life itself.
A century and a half later, his ideas feel newly relevant. As mass production and disposability face growing scrutiny, and as we rediscover the beauty and fragility of the natural world, Morris's vision speaks directly to the present moment.
A New Paradise brings together new work by five contemporary artists who share that vision, each reinterpreting Morris's Paradise for the 21st century.
Exhibiting artists: Elizabeth Bessant, Claire Worthington, Julia Timmins, Celia Lewis, Louise Atkinson.
Beauty, which is what is meant by art (using the word in its widest sense) is, I contend, no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave as they choose, but a positive necessity of life. - William Morris, The Beauty of Life, 1880
Beauty, which is what is meant by art (using the word in its widest sense) is, I contend, no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave as they choose, but a positive necessity of life.
- William Morris, The Beauty of Life, 1880
Elizabeth Bessant, Parakeet and Hibiscus
Claire Worthington, Indian Love Birds
Julia Timmins, Wagtails and Wisteria
Celia Lewis, Montbretia Anemones
Louise Atkinson, Heterotopia