Capturing the Moment

A journey through painting and photography

The arrival of photography changed the course of painting forever. In this unique exhibition, we explore the dynamic relationship between the two mediums through some of the most iconic artworks of recent times.

From the expressive paintings of Pablo Picasso and Paula Rego, to striking photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto and Jeff Wall, you will see how these two distinct mediums have shaped each other over time.

You will also discover how artists have blurred the boundaries between painting and photography, creating new and exciting forms of art, such as Pauline Boty's pop paintings, Andy Warhol's silkscreen prints, the photorealist works of Gerhard Richter, or Andreas Gursky's large-scale panoramic photographs. In an open-ended conversation between some of the greatest painters and photographers of the modern era, we explore how the brush and the lens have been used to capture moments in time.

From the expressive paintings of Pablo Picasso and Paula Rego to striking photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto and Jeff Wall, we see how these art forms have responded to and shaped each other in ways both small and large. We also discover how the boundaries between painting and photography have been blurred to create new and exciting modes of expression, such as Pauline Boty's pop paintings, Andy Warhol's silkscreen prints, the photorealist works of Gerhard Richter, or Andreas Gursky's large-scale panoramic photographs.

Featuring contributions from the artists themselves - from new responses to reactions and insights recorded over a 100-year time-span - and a series of spotlight essays on individual works, the Capturing the Moment exhibition catalogue provides an accessible and engaging overview of the relationship between the brush and the lens, and the way in which artists have turned to painting and photography to capture moments in time.



'Only photography has been able to divide human life into a series of moments, each of them has the value of a complete existence.' Eadweard Muybridge
'I think that painting is a kind of alchemy… I want to catch something in the act of becoming something else.' Cecily Brown