Sin has permeated life since the earliest days, but the story of its relation to art has not been told before.

York Art Gallery, 7 October 2022 – 22 January 2023
Tickets: £8, concessions

York Art Gallery’s forthcoming ground-breaking exhibition, Sin, organised by the National Gallery with York Museums Trust, explores the concept of sin through art. Sin has permeated life since the earliest days, but the story of its relation to art has not been told before. Defined universally as a regrettable fault, offence or omission, sin is something that everyone can relate to. Bringing together works of art that span centuries, the
exhibition explores changing ideas about sin and morality. Sin invites visitors to reflect on their own ideas about sin and society today, including attitudes to crime, alcohol, the body, the environment and more.

The exhibition includes eight exceptional paintings from the National Gallery’s collection, including ‘Venus and Cupid’ by Lucas Cranach the Elder and ‘The Woman Taken in Adultery’ by Rembrandt, as well as works on loan by Tracey Emin (‘It was just a kiss’) and Ron Mueck (‘Youth’). Alongside them, a selection of works from York Museums Trust will enable visitors to discover connections to York Art Gallery’s own collections. These works range from a medieval stone-carving of demons devouring the soul of a sinner to Sarah Lucas’s sculpture ‘NUD 4′. A new work specially created for the exhibition by Yorkshire-born artist Zara Worth (‘Think of a door (temptation/redemption)’) will also be on display.

Inspired by the theme of sin, the work of York Art Gallery’s annual Teenage Art School, which was produced in partnership with Mediale, has been captured in a multi-channel film installation for the exhibition. Sitting alongside the loans in the exhibition, this work captures the teenagers’ commitment to the concepts explored and shows how art can help us make sense of the world.

Dr Joost Joustra, the National Gallery’s Ahmanson Research Associate Curator in Art and Religion, says: ”Sin invites visitors to reflect on a fundamental concept that pervades our lives and history, but also to marvel at the ingenious ways artists have addressed the subject across
time.’

Morgan Feely, York Art Gallery’s senior curator, says, “We are delighted to have worked in partnership with the National Gallery on this exhibition. With several masterworks on display alongside contemporary art as well as the work of our Teenage Art School this exhibition offers lots of different perspectives on the theme. Sin is a universal concept, but at the same time highly personal and the pieces on display invite us to consider not only
centuries-old concepts of sin, but also how we think about the morality of our actions today.”

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery, London with York Museums Trust

Sin opens at York Art Gallery on Friday 7 October and continues until Sunday 22 January. Tickets can be booked now for £8 per adult, concessions available.