New work by Artist in Residence and Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner Ali Cherri acquired by Contemporary Art Society for Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

Issued May 2022

A work in the National Gallery’s current exhibition If you prick us, do we not bleed? by the Gallery’s 2021 Artist in Residence Ali Cherri, has been acquired by the Contemporary Art Society for the programme’s partner venue the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.

The announcement follows the Lebanese‐born artist’s recent award of the Silver Lion for Promising Young Participant at the 2022 Venice Biennale. As part of the National Gallery’s Artist in Residence programme, the Contemporary Art Society acquires a work from the resulting exhibition for the permanent collection of a partner museum.

'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022 is from a group of works created by Ali Cherri for his residency and exhibition at the National Gallery which responds to paintings in the Gallery’s collection that were vandalised (in this case Barocci’s Madonna of the Cat of about 1575.)

The bird in this cabinet references the goldfinch clutched by the baby Jesus in the painting by Barocci that was attacked in 1990. According to legend, the goldfinch received the bright red markings around its beak from a drop of blood that fell from Jesus Christ as he carried the cross to his crucifixion. Here, the bird lays beneath a porcelain cast of a sculpted hand.

This work was chosen by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry for the connections that can be made with it to sculpture and other objects in their collection including their extensive natural sciences collections. The religious iconography of the goldfinch was considered particularly fitting with nearby Coventry Cathedral.

'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022 is part of an exhibition of new work by Cherri that considers how histories of trauma can be explored through a response to museum and gallery collections. Following their showing at the National Gallery (until 12 June) the works will be displayed at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum later this year.

The exhibition 'If you prick us, do we not bleed?' started with research in the Gallery’s archive, from which Cherri uncovered accounts of five National Gallery paintings* that were vandalised while on display. He was struck by the public’s highly emotional response to these attacks, finding that newspaper articles would describe the damages as if they were wounds inflicted on a living being – even referring to the Gallery’s conservators as surgeons.

He also noticed an overwhelming urge to ‘heal’, make good and hide the damage. This personification of artworks, and the suggestion that they can experience distress, is reflected in the exhibition’s title, taken from Shakespeare’s play 'The Merchant of Venice'.

In response, Cherri presents a series of mixed media, sculptural installations that recall aspects of each painting and that imagine its life following the vandalism. They bring into question what Cherri calls the ‘politics of visibility’; the decisions we make about how, and to what extent, we accept trauma within museums. By translating each damaged work into a series of objects, Cherri reminds us that we are never truly the same after experiencing violence.

The 2021 National Gallery Artist in Residence is a collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society, generously supported by Anna Yang and Joseph Schull.

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, London, says: ‘One of the most pleasing outcomes of the collaboration between the National Gallery and the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, is the purchase of Ali Cherri’s 'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022, for the Herbert’s permanent collection. Made during his residency in Trafalgar Square, this is a touching, melancholic work that speaks of the of the fragility of human beings while alluding to a beautiful Gallery painting that was itself once the object of a physical attack.’

Caroline Douglas, Director of the Contemporary Art Society, says: ’We are delighted to see this eloquent and conceptually rich work by Ali Cherri enter the permanent collection at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. The legacy of the residency at the National Gallery lies also in the powerful new connections for Coventry, across history and geographies. It has been a great pleasure to work with Ali Cherri at this pivotal moment in his career.’

Martin Roberts, Collections Manager of the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, says: ‘We have enjoyed working with Ali Cherri throughout the National Gallery’s Artist in Residence programme and are very thankful to the Contemporary Art Society for their kind support in acquiring 'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022 for our permanent collection. The work will add a new and contemporary perspective into our visual arts collection centred on Peace and Reconciliation, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to enjoy the work.’

Ali Cherri, a Beirut‐born artist (b. 1976) whose work is inspired by artefacts and the natural world, is the National Gallery’s second Artist in Residence to be chosen since the launch of the Gallery’s Modern and Contemporary Programme, following the first appointment of Rosalind Nashashibi in 2019.

Born in Lebanon and based in Beirut and Paris, Cherri uses sculpture, film and installation to pursue the meaning of the built environment and its histories. Often using archaeological relics and sites as a starting point, Cherri’s varied practice explores the processes of excavation, relocation and the museum classification of objects, animal artefacts, images, and their narratives.

Interested in the aesthetics, practices and politics that are associated with classifications and collecting, Cherri was invited to respond to the National Gallery and the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum to display new work in their spaces.

Cherri, who began his residency in April 2021, has worked in the National Gallery’s on‐site artist’s studio, benefiting from the close proximity to its collection, research and archives.

Ali Cherri was selected as the National Gallery’s Artist in Residence for 2021, in partnership with the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.

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

Programme sponsored by Hiscox

Notes to editors

Image credit

Ali Cherri (b.1976), 'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022 in the exhibition '2021 National Gallery Artist in Residence Ali Cherri: If you prick us, do we not bleed?' in the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing, 2022

Photo: © The National Gallery, London

2021 National Gallery Artist in Residence Ali Cherri: If you prick us, do we not bleed?
Until 12 June 2022
The National Gallery, London Sainsbury Wing, Rooms 57, 58 and 59
Admission free

2021 National Gallery Artist in Residence Ali Cherri: If you prick us, do we not bleed?
Later in 2022
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
Admission free

The new works on display (Mixed media):

Ali Cherri (b.1976)
'The Madonna of the Cat, after Barocci', 2022

Ali Cherri (b.1976)
'The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’), after Velázquez', 2022

Ali Cherri (b.1976)
'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist (‘The Burlington House Cartoon’), after Leonardo', 2022

Ali Cherri (b.1976)
'The Adoration of the Golden Calf, after Poussin', 2022

Ali Cherri (b.1976)
'Self Portrait at the Age of 63, after Rembrandt', 2022

*The damaged National Gallery paintings:

Federico Barocci (about 1533–1612), 'The Madonna of the Cat (‘La Madonna del Gatto’)', probably about 1575 NG29. The National Gallery, London.
Bequeathed by Revd Holwell Carr, 1831
Slashed by a knife in 1990

Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)
'The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’)', 1647–51 NG2057. The National Gallery, London.
Presented by the Art Fund, 1906
Cut multiple times by a suffragette in 1914

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist (‘The Burlington House Cartoon’), about 1499–1500
NG6337.

The National Gallery, London.

Purchased with a special grant and contributions from the Art Fund, The Pilgrim Trust, and through a public appeal organised by the Art Fund, 1962

Hit by a single gunshot in 1987

Rembrandt (1606–1669)
'Self Portrait at the Age of 63', 1669 NG221.

The National Gallery, London. Bought, 1851
Vandalised with paint in 1998

Nicholas Poussin (1594–1665)
'The Adoration of the Golden Calf', 1633–4 NG5597.

The National Gallery, London.
Bought with a contribution from the Art Fund, 1945
Vandalised with spraypaint in 2011

About Ali Cherri

Ali Cherri (b.1976) is a visual artist based in Beirut and Paris. His recent exhibitions include Phantom Limb at Jameel Arts Center Dubai, An Opera For Animals at Parasite, Hong Kong, But a Storm is Blowing from Paradise at Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Milan and Guggenheim New York, Somniculus at Jeu de Paume, Paris and CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, and Statues Also Die at Museo Egizio, Milan.

His work has been exhibited in several international exhibitions, among them the Venice Biennale The Milk of Dreams, Venice (2022), Manifesta 13, Marseille (2020); Jameel Arts Center, Dubai (2019); Parasite, Hong Kong (2019); Centre Pompidou – Paris (2017); Lyon Biennial (Sept. 2017); MAXXI, Rome (Nov. 2017); Aichi Triennial, Japan (2016); Guggenheim New York (2016); Sharjah Art Space (2016); MACBA, Spain (2015); Warsaw Museum of Modern Art, Poland (2015); and Gwangju Museum of Art, South Korea (2014).

Cherri is a recipient of the Harvard University’s Robert E. Fulton Fellowship (2016) and the Rockefeller Foundation Award (2017) and was shortlisted for the The Abraaj Group Art Prize (2018.) His films have been shown in International Film Festivals including New Directors/New Films MoMA NY; Cinéma du Réel, Centre Pompidou, Paris; CPH:DOX (winner of NewVision Award 2015), Copenhagen; Dubai International Film Festival, Dubai (winner Best Director, 2013); VideoBrasil, São Paulo (Southern Panorama Award, 2015); Toronto International Film Festival & San Francisco International Film Festival. He has just been awarded the Silver Lion for Promising Young Participant at the 2022 Venice Biennale for his work Titans, and his new feature film The Dam will premiere at Cannes Film Festival in May 2022 www.alicherri.com

About the National Gallery Artist in Residence

Over the course of one year, the National Gallery Artist in Residence has access to the unique National Gallery’s on‐site Artist’s Studio, the Gallery’s staff and its archives and research resources. The residency includes a publication and the display of work at the National Gallery, which travels to the UK Partner Museum. A work from the residency will then be acquired for the partner museum by the Contemporary Art Society.

The residency replaces the previous Associate Artist scheme. The Artist in Residence is selected by a jury. The Contemporary Art Society’s contribution is generously supported by Anna Yang and Joseph Schull.

The first Artist in Residence was Rosalind Nashashibi, announced in 2019, and whose display Rosalind Nashashibi: An Overflow of Passion and Sentiment opened at the Gallery on 2 December 2020.

About the National Gallery’s Modern and Contemporary Programme

For nearly two centuries, the National Gallery’s Collection has provided inspiration to contemporary artists. The National Gallery’s Modern and Contemporary Programme continues this tradition through exhibitions, displays, commissions, and residencies. 2019 saw the unveiling of Bridget Riley’s monumental wall painting Messengers in the Gallery’s Annenberg Court, as well as the exhibitions Rachel Maclean: The Lion and The Unicorn (29 November 2018 – 3 February 2019) and Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery (13 April – 11 August 2019.) The first Artist in Residence of the programme was Rosalind Nashashibi, announced in 2019, and whose display Rosalind Nashashibi: An Overflow of Passion and Sentiment ran at the Gallery 3 December 2020 – 27 June 2021. The first Contemporary Fellowship, awarded to Nalini Malani, and supported by Art Fund, was announced in June 2020.

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 Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

 Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is an award‐winning gallery and museum situated in the cultural heart of Coventry. The Herbert has a large and wide‐ranging collection including social history, archaeology, natural history and art. There are around 6,000 works in the Herbert's visual arts collection, the earliest of which is an Elizabethan portrait attributed to Lucas de Heere. British life and landscape feature in canvases by LS Lowry, Stanley Spencer, David Bomberg, Paul Nash and George Shaw. The Gallery collects new and recent art in a variety of media and styles, currently developing a collection of art on the themes of conflict, peace and reconciliation. Temporary exhibition spaces have hosted collections from museums nationally and internationally. Further info: https://www.theherbert.org/about/default.aspx

About the Hiscox Group

Hiscox is a global specialist insurer, headquartered in Bermuda and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:HSX). Our ambition is to be a respected specialist insurer with a diverse portfolio by product and geography. We believe that building balance between catastrophe‐exposed business and less volatile local specialty business gives us opportunities for profitable growth throughout the insurance cycle. It’s a long‐ standing strategy which in 2018 saw the business deliver a profit before tax of $137.4 million in a challenging year for insurers.

The Hiscox Group employs over 3,300 people in 14 countries, and has customers worldwide. Through the retail businesses in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, we offer a range of specialist insurance for professionals and business customers as well as homeowners. Internationally traded, bigger ticket business and reinsurance is underwritten through Hiscox London Market and Hiscox Re & ILS.

Our values define our business, with a focus on people, quality, courage and excellence in execution. We pride ourselves on being true to our word and our award‐winning claims service is testament to that. For more information, visit www.hiscoxgroup.com.

Press enquiries and images

National Gallery Press Office on 020 7747 2865 or email press.external@nationalgallery.org.uk

Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry email ruark.jon‐stevens@culturecoventry.com   

Contemporary Art Society email Tosin Adegoke tosin@contemporaryartsociety.org

Publicity images can be obtained from https://press.nationalgallery.org.uk/