The exhibition will go on display from the 23rd September until the 25th April.
17 x 17 in. (67 x 43 x 43 cm). © Rachel Kneebone.
Photo © White Cube (Theo Christelis)
The Wallace Collection is set to present a display of Rachel Kneebone’s sculptural interventions among the artworks of the Wallace Collection this autumn, including created two new pieces, Bower and Temple, which can be seen for the first
time as part of the display.
Known for its collection of Old Master paintings and decorative
arts, epitomised by the creations of Rococo painters such as François Boucher (1703-1770) and Jean- Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), and its beautiful Sèvres porcelain, The Wallace Collection will display place nine white porcelain sculptures by the artists, two of which have been specially made for the display. In displaying these works at the museum, Kneebone follows in the footsteps of artists such as Grayson Perry (2025), Flora Yukhnovich (2024), Damien Hirst (2009) and Lucian Freud (2004).
White porcelain is a material traditionally associated with stillness and perfection. By contrast, Kneebone’s white sculptures, finished with a clear gloss glaze, move light across the surface, breaking and connecting form, inviting the viewer to look closely and delve for meaning. Surreal and profuse, her works also suggest narrative and movement, resonating with the Roman poet Ovid’s stories of metamorphoses and transformation.
Rachel Kneebone says: “The Wallace Collection has long been a rich resource for me; a place of pleasure, delight and instruction, like discovering a new world with each visit. I would take away so much, and now it is such an honour to be invited to this time leave something behind, to add to the Collection.”
Dr Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection, says: “Our permanent collection was gifted to the nation in 1897, and yet we continually find new ways to respond to and contemplate the finite works within it. New and returning visitors alike can engage with Rachel Kneebone’s intricate sculptures and come to appreciate anew the enduring works of the Wallace Collection that surround them.”
To find out more visit: https://www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/metamorphoses-porcelain-sculpture-by-rachel-kneebone/