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Bedlam dreamscapes, digital-age aliens and a summer pastoral – the week in art
The article previews a varied week of UK art exhibitions, led by the Royal Academy’s Richard Dadd retrospective, which examines the Victorian painter’s increasingly unsettling fantasy works before and during his confinement in Bedlam. It also highlights shows exploring digital-era uncertainty, personal illness, textiles and pastoral painting, alongside a newly revealed collection of sculptures by the late Cornish artist Ray Exworth.
Key exhibitions include Dadd at the Royal Academy from 25 July to 25 October; Paul McCarthy, Chino Moya and others’ UFO-themed Autopsy at Seventeen Gallery until 15 August; and Clare Woods’ nature-focused paintings at Pitzhanger Manor from 29 July. The featured masterpiece is Van Gogh’s c.1884 Head of a Peasant Woman, painted during his study of rural poverty in Nuenen and now held by the National Gallery in London.
In short
- Richard Dadd’s unsettling visions lead this week’s exhibition picks.
- London and Edinburgh shows span aliens, illness, textiles and landscapes.
- Van Gogh’s peasant portrait reflects his early social concerns.
Explained simply
Richard Dadd was a 19th-century painter known for intricately detailed fantasy works that became increasingly dark and disturbing over his lifetime. He remains significant in art history largely because he was confined to Bedlam, a London mental asylum, where he continued painting for decades.
This week presents a diverse range of exhibitions across British galleries spanning different periods and artistic approaches. Featured shows include a Dadd retrospective at the Royal Academy, a UFO-themed exhibition, and works exploring personal illness, textile art, pastoral painting and newly discovered sculptures by Ray Exworth, a Cornish artist.
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