TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading art and antiques fair, has announced that Penelope Curtis the former Director of Tate Britain will be curating the third edition of TEFAF Curated. The director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon will host a selected group of galleries each exhibiting works by contemporary artists on the theme of the reclining or recumbent figure. TEFAF Curated aims to show works by artists that have previously not shown at the Fair and is designed to complement the Fair’s modern and contemporary section.
The theme will focus on ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ and the recumbent figure as a motif which has been in continuous use since ancient times. One of the unique characteristics of this form is the way in which it can simultaneously represent life and death, with images of fertility and fecundity as common as those of grief and commemoration. The motif also makes connections with nature and is often a feature of decorative schemes connected with parks, gardens, as well as the urban landscape.
TEFAF Maastricht is known for providing an unrivalled forum where historical connections are made and discovered. Under the unifying theme of the recumbent figure, Curtis aims to reflect on periods from the Antique to the present, enabling links to be made with works of different eras thus underlining the unparalleled depth and range of TEFAF Maastricht.
The participating galleries and details on the works on display will be announced at a later date.
Penelope Curtis is best known as a curator and historian of sculpture, having created the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, where she launched many innovative thematic exhibitions looking at the materials and forms of sculpture. As Director of Tate Britain between 2010 and 2015 Curtis was responsible for overseeing the Millbank Project (Caruso St John, 2013) in tandem with the complete rehang of the collection. At the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Penelope Curtis has the task of combining the two collections, the Founders and the Modern collections, within one programme.
Penelope Curtis studied Modern History at Oxford University and Courtauld Institute of Art, holds an M.A. in History of European Art 1900-1950 and a Ph.D. on E.A. Bourdelle and monumental sculpture in France.
Photo: P C Robinson © artlyst 2016