Previous exhibitions

at The Arts Institute
Previous exhibitions

'Narrenschiff', 2017, Kehinde Wiley Three-channel digital film Duration:16.40 minutes. 'Kehinde Wiley: Ship of Fools', The Levinsky Gallery, University of Plymouth | 29 September - 20 December 2020

Explore a selection of The Arts Institute's previous exhibitions shown at the University of Plymouth's contemporary arts space The Levinsky Gallery, and online.

Plymouth Contemporary 2021 | 7 July – 5 September 2021

An open submission exhibition showcasing the work of contemporary artists. Shown at The Levinsky Gallery and KARST.

This, the third Plymouth Contemporary exhibition since its launch in 2015, continued to support new ideas and a risk-taking approach across all art forms. Themed 'Making it' the chosen artists were invited to open up, interrogate, unpick and shake out what does it might mean to ‘make it’ as an artist in 2021. 

Delivered in partnership with The Box, Plymouth. Find out more about the exhibition.

Photography by Helge Mruck.

Everywhere: Life in a littered world | 22 November 2020 – 31 January 2021

An online exhibition featuring eight international artists whose work explores everyday practices of littering

What might the future look like in our littered world? Are there ways that humans, animals and plants can co-exist with or even prosper amongst the rubbish? And what will it take to clean up our act? Everywhere was launched alongside the international conference MICRO2020 which explored the fate and impacts of microplastics in the environment.

Curated by Joanne Lee and Rosemary Shirley for The Arts Institute. Find out more about the exhibition.

Kehinde Wiley: Ship of Fools | 29 September – 20 December 2020

Wiley’s gaze into the world functions as a filter for narrating an alternative history about the representation of power, race and class.

Kehinde Wiley is a world renowned Nigerian-American artist whose naturalistic portraits challenge the conventional view of power, taste and privilege by portraying black people of disparate origins and social status as celebrated figures.

Curated by The Box, Plymouth in partnership with The Arts Institute and Royal Museums Greenwich. Find out more about the exhibition.

Slow Painting | 24 January – 28 March 2020

A counterbalance to an accelerating world, works which illustrate the role of painting as a rewarding repository of time.

Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition curated by writer and critic, Martin Herbert, featuring the work of 19 talented artists. An exhibition of paintings that take their time, and invite us to do the same. Find out more about the exhibition.

Mariner: a painted ship upon a painted ocean | 23 September-16 November 2019

A fascinating exhibition exploring the contemporary relevance of Coleridge's 18th-century poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

This exhibition featured new commissions and artworks that considered the contemporary resonance of the poem, including Zubenelgenubi, a new film by Serena Korda; a bespoke installation by Mary Evans, which draws on historical artefacts held at The Box, Plymouth; new sculptural works by Grace Schwindt; a new multi-sensory installation of the Raft of Medusa by Lucy and Jorge Orta and special contributions from Ellen Gallagher and Edgar Cleijne and Linder Sterling. Find out more.

Jem Southam: Birds, Rocks, Rivers, Islands | 18 January-16 March 2019

Leading UK photographer and Professor Emeritus of Photography at the University, renowned for his series of colour landscape photographs.

Great Artists | Great Teachers | 17 September-17 November 2018

Bringing together the works of some of the most influential artists/teachers, in celebration of the Royal Academy of Arts' 250th Anniversary.

Trevor Bell: Trans-Form | 16 April-26 May 2018

A prestigious exhibition celebrating the monumental works of award-winning artist, Trevor Bell, before he sadly passed away in November 2017.

Plymouth Contemporary 2017 | 15 July-2 September 2017

Douglas Gordon: Searching for Genius | 24 September-19 November 2016

  • Douglas Gordon: Searching for Genius Exhibition

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon: Searching for Genius Exhibition
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon
  • Douglas Gordon

    The Arts Institute

    Douglas Gordon

Sea Swim: Head Above Water | 23 July to 3 September 2016

  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Sea Swim: Head Above Water

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery

Plymouth Young Contemporary Open l 2-9 July 2016

  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Plymouth Young Contemporary Open

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery

Conversations Across Art and Mathematics | 9 April to 28 May 2016

  • 3D-Printed Nylon 20x20x50cm. Courtesy of IJP

    George L. Legendre, Oxford Maths Sculpture (2013)

    3D-Printed Nylon 20x20x50cm. Courtesy of IJP
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Mark Francis, Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Mark Francis, Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery
  • The Roland Levinsky Gallery

    Conversations Across Art and Mathematics

    The Roland Levinsky Gallery

Works featured in the Plymouth Contemporary 2015

  • 'Crouching Billionaire Ghost'

    Paul Vivian

    'Crouching Billionaire Ghost'
  • 'Gleaming Portico'

    Chloe Brooks

    'Gleaming Portico'
  • 'Portrait of Jean-Claude Duvalier' and '25 May 1980'

    Dan Beard

    'Portrait of Jean-Claude Duvalier' and '25 May 1980'
  • 'For the Roses' and 'For Freedom'

    Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski

    'For the Roses' and 'For Freedom'
  • 'Brick to Bone on a Luke Warm Plane'

    Harriet Bowman

    'Brick to Bone on a Luke Warm Plane'
  • 'A Shipment for a Massive Baby'

    Tim Foxon

    'A Shipment for a Massive Baby'
  • 'Life Before Colour #1 and #2'

    David Morgan-Davies

    'Life Before Colour #1 and #2'
  • 'Departure'

    Ailbhe Ni Bhriain

    'Departure'
  • 'A Brutal Story'

    Jessie Brennan

    'A Brutal Story'
  • 'The Visitor' and 'Invisible Ceiling'

    Naomi Frears

    'The Visitor' and 'Invisible Ceiling'
  • 'How to Walk'

    Bram Thomas Arnold

    'How to Walk'
  • 'Antinous/Acrobats' and 'VINVS FOGGINI / SCVPSIT FLO / RENTIAE / 1749'

    Steven Paige

    'Antinous/Acrobats' and 'VINVS FOGGINI / SCVPSIT FLO / RENTIAE / 1749'