Running from the 28th January until the 23rd April 2017, this new exhibition at Two Temple Place looks at why artists and writers were drawn to the rolling hills, seaside resorts, and quaint villages of Sussex in the first half of the 20th century. 

This is the sixth exhibition to run at Two Temple Place and will feature over 120 works exploring the connections between the enclaves of artists and the modernisms they represented.

It will feature the work of Eric Gill, David Jones, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Edward James and Salvador Dalí among others, showcasing paintings, sculpture, photography and films.

While Sussex provided the artists with the inspiration but the artists and writers were outsiders in their new surroundings. Ultimately,  they all challenged the idea of Sussex as an idyllic escape.

Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion is curated by Dr Hope Wolf, Lecturer in British Modernist Literature and co-Director of the Centre for Modernist Studies at the University of Sussex.

Talking about the exhibition, the curator said: “Comparing the lives and works of makers associated with different modernist movements, the exhibition illustrates how the regional setting both amplified their contrary energies and facilitated their attempts to live and represent the world differently.”

Located on the Victoria Embankment, Two Temple Place is a neo-Gothic mansion and is owned and run by the charity the Bulldog Trust.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a varied programme of cultural events for both children and adults.

Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion will run at two Temple Place from the 28th January until the 23rd April 2017. For more information visit: http://www.twotempleplace.org/exhibitions/2017-2/