Land, Sea, Sky: Ingrid Pollard, JMW Turner & Vija Celmins; Plymouth

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Explore works by three artists connected through their timeless fascination with the natural world.

Watercolours, paintings, and prints by the much-loved JMW Turner (1775-1851) depict waves, wind, clouds, and skies, showing how he captured the essence of both land and sea before the invention of photography.

Vija Celmins (b.1938) is best known for her mesmerizing, exquisitely detailed photo-realistic paintings and drawings of natural environments. Her prints and drawings bring a careful focus to seemingly limitless aspects of nature, from star-filled night skies to the surface of the ocean and the desert floor.

Three Drops of Blood by multi-media artist and photographer Ingrid Pollard (b. 1953) draws on her two years of research on the folk histories of Devon’s botanical gardens and ferns. This body of work, which was recently acquired by The Box in 2023, includes framed images, prints and a group of six unique bark boxes.

Several of the Turner works on loan from Tate in this exhibition were selected by Celmins for display at Tate Britain in 2012, coinciding with a presentation of her own work in the next room, while Ingrid Pollard has been involved in the selection of the Turner prints from The Box’s collection.

This exhibition is presented in partnership with ARTIST ROOMS, Tate and National Galleries of Scotland.

Installation view, The Box, Plymouth Land Sea and Sky: Ingrid Pollard, JMW Turner & Vija Celmins.
In partnership with ARTIST ROOMS, Tate and National Galleries of Scotland.
© Vija Celmins, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery