Céline Condorelli is the National Gallery’s 2023 Artist in Residence

Issued July 2022

Céline Condorelli, a French-Italian artist who lives and works in London, is the National Gallery’s new Artist in Residence for 2023, it was announced today.

Condorelli is the third Artist in Residence to be chosen since the launch of the Gallery’s new Modern and Contemporary Programme, following the first appointment of Rosalind Nashashibi in 2019 and Ali Cherri in 2021.

The award is a collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society, generously supported by Anna Yang and Joseph Schull, while the UK Partner Museum for this residency is the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter (RAMM).

Céline Condorelli’s work addresses the boundaries between public and private, art and function, work and leisure, in order to reimagine what culture and society can be, and the role of artists within them. Often using forms of architecture, design, or sculptural objects, Condorelli’s installations make interventions to the way that people navigate or use a space, whether that is in the context of a museum or gallery, or a children’s playground, a public garden or an artist’s studio.

Condorelli has been invited to respond to works in the collections of the National Gallery and RAMM. She will begin her residency in September 2022, and will work over the course of a year in the National Gallery’s on-site artist’s studio, benefiting from the close proximity to the collection and archives. This will culminate in a publication and a display featuring Condorelli’s work at the National Gallery (13 September 2023 – 7 January 2024.) With the support of the Contemporary Art Society, one of the works relating to the residency will enter RAMM’s collection.
The jury was impressed by Condorelli’s ability to engage a range of audiences through her imaginative architectural interventions in gallery spaces, while drawing focus to materials, and the notions of leisure and labour in society. The panel consisted of Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society, Lara Goodband, Contemporary Art Curator & Programmer, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter, Hugh Mulholland, Senior Curator, The MAC, Belfast, Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey, CEO, Cove Park, Peaton Hill, Argyll and& Bute, Sunil Gupta, Artist, and Daniel F. Herrmann, Curator Modern and Contemporary Projects, the National Gallery, London.

The Artist in Residence position is designed for an artist in the middle of their career who will benefit from unparalleled access to the Gallery’s collection. The partnership between the National Gallery and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery allows the artist to respond to one of the greatest collections of paintings in the Western European tradition, as well as an outstanding collection of visual arts with an engaging contemporary art programme. In a move to enrich regional collections, the Residency enables a work by Condorelli’s to travel to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, where it will be acquired by the Contemporary Art Society for the Royal Albert Memorial Museum’s permanent collection.

Céline Condorelli says: ‘I feel hugely honoured to have been invited to be artist in residence at the National Gallery. Being given the opportunity to spend time in the company of such a rich collection is incredible, and I look forward to getting to know the museum inside and out. This feels like an important moment to address cultural institutions and their social responsibilities with fresh eyes, as well as the role of artists within them.’

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, London, says: ‘I am looking forward to Céline Condorelli’s residency at the National Gallery and the work that this will inspire for us and for our partner museum in Exeter (RAMM). Her thoughtful and striking objects and installations will provide new insights into our museums and our collections.’

Caroline Douglas, Director of the Contemporary Art Society, says: ‘We are delighted to be working with the National Gallery and RAMM on the third iteration of the residency programme. It will be exciting to see how Céline Condorelli engages with both institutions, she will undoubtedly bring entirely new insights to much-loved collections.’

Camilla Hampshire, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Museums Manager, says: ‘Working with the National Gallery on the artist-in-residence programme this year is a fantastic opportunity for cross-collaboration and sharing our collections and teams. Céline Condorelli’s artistic practice is sure to create exemplary new work that engages in thoughtful and unexpected ways with RAMM’s world-class collections. This is an extraordinary opportunity for our visitors to experience contemporary art by this internationally -acclaimed artist. We look forward to seeing the work develop and hosting a permanent legacy of the residency through acquiring the work for RAMM.’

The National Gallery Artist in Residence is a collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society.

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Notes to editors

Image credit: Céline Condorelli at the National Gallery (Photo: National Gallery, London)

About Céline Condorelli

Céline Condorelli’s work addresses the boundaries between public and private, art and function, work and leisure, in order to reimagine what culture and society can be, and the role of artists within them. Often using forms of architecture, design, or sculptural objects, Condorelli’s installations make interventions to the way that people navigate or use a space, whether that is in the context of a museum or gallery, or a children’s playground, a public garden or an artist’s studio. Condorelli is interested in how materials translate from their raw states, to be cultivated and extracted through labour and industry to be received and used by society. Referencing the work of 20th century modernist architects across the globe, her work collapses and reinterprets the boundaries between work and leisure, inside and outside, political imaginary and societal realities, in order to create sites and structures for supporting the work of others and to foster enquiry and discussion. As well as her work as an artist Condorelli is one of the founding directors of Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK and regularly teaches. She is the author and editor of Support Structures published by Sternberg Press (2009) and she was shortlisted for the Max Mara Art Prize for Women in 2017. www.celinecondorelli.eu

About the Contemporary Art Society

The Contemporary Art Society champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft in the UK. Since 1910 the charity has donated thousands of works by living artists to museums, from Picasso, Bacon, Hepworth and Moore in their day, through to the influential artists of our times. Sitting at the heart of cultural life in the UK, the Contemporary Art Society brokers philanthropic support for the benefit of museums and their audiences across the entire country. Their work ensures that the story of art continues to be told now and for future generations. www.contemporaryartsociety.org

About the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

RAMM is Exeter’s world-class museum, with stunning displays that reveal Devon and Exeter’s rich history and global connections. These displays of extraordinary objects inspire artists to create new work and provide a rich context for an engaging contemporary art programme that includes temporary collection interventions and exhibitions. Featuring new and commissioned work by internationally-renowned artists ranging from Joy Gregory and Bedwyr Williams to Susan Derges and Lucy Skaer, as well as existing works by artists such as Mikhail Karikis and Dorothy Cross in RAMM-curated shows, contemporary art at RAMM reflects the varied and fascinating subjects explored in the museum. RAMM also supports and shows artists living and working in Exeter and the wider region, most recently Léonie Hampton, Amy Shelton and Michelle Sank. The contemporary art programme of commissions and exhibitions is funded by Arts Council England. For more information about the contemporary art programme see: www.rammuseum.org.uk/visiting-us/contemporary-art

RAMM has a track record of making its collections accessible to a wide audience. In 2012 RAMM won the much coveted Art Fund ‘Museum of the Year’ award in recognition of the innovative and thoughtful way the collection was redisplayed. When presenting the award Lord Chris Smith described the galleries as, ‘some of the most intelligently considered displays on view in any museum in the UK’ demonstrating RAMM’s extensive interpretative skill that engages audiences of about 250,000 each year. A flagship Exeter City Council service, RAMM attracts funding from other sources and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. www.rammuseum.org.uk

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