The RA Schools Show, the annual exhibition of works by final year students, will open on 19 June at the iconic Royal Academy Schools. Held in the historic studio spaces of the Schools, situated in Burlington Gardens the exhibition invites students to show works developed over a three-year period of study, providing visitors with a rare opportunity to view and buy exceptional pieces from an aspiring generation of international artists. The RA Schools support a broad range of contemporary art practice, and visitors can expect to see work that includes painting, sculpture, performance, video and digital media.
The class of 2013 follow in the footsteps of JMW Turner, John Constable and John Hoyland – with more recent graduates including Matthew Darbyshire, Catherine Story and Turner Prize nominee Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
The exhibition will see a blend of traditional materials and familiar techniques of painting, mould casting and screen-printing, with the cutting-edge of contemporary. The RA Schools Show will include a pop-up Hackney radio broadcast from one studio with the display of video and sound art on an iPod in another. Further installations range from an exploration of the effects of fluorescent light on retroreflective fabric to an architectural investigation into the practical function of materials, via a suspended concrete floor. The exhibition also brings together a striking assortment of objects, from wigs made of goat’s hair to a room of scented candles and a full-size cactus, made out of cast resin.
The RA Schools has a unique place in the post-graduate art school landscape as the only art school to offer a 3 year post-graduate course, tailor-made to the needs of each individual student. The RA Schools Show consequently reveals the diversity of the students’ practices and offers the visitor an array of different ways to experience art. All students are supported throughout their studies by the expert professorship of Royal Academicians, including Tracey Emin, Humphrey Ocean, Fiona Rae and Richard Wilson.
The RA Schools Show will feature the work of 17 third-year students, from the UK, Germany and Singapore: Charlie Billingham, Adham Faramawy, Stephen Forge, Joe Frazer, Bradley Grievson, Nancy Milner, Michael O’Reilly, Tom Owen, Eddie Peake, Tim Pratt, Mary Ramsden, James Robertson, Prem Sahib, Sarah Shoughi, Marie von Heyl, Amy Woodward and Esther Yuan.
RA Schools Show, 19 until 30 June, Royal Academy Schools, Burlington Gardens, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD. www.royalacademy.org.uk
Image: Michael O’Reilly, 3rd year RA Schools student
