Explore the Collection through the eyes of our team as we take your through our favourite artworks and explain why!
Check back regularly for more updates to this page.
Our Favourite Artworks this Holiday Season
25 November 2022
Oscar Murillo, Catalyst #13, 2016. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
“Murillo describes the production of his work as being part of a ‘continuous process’. What evolves in this work is an intensity of mark making where the everyday and culture collides.”
Lynn Chadwick, The Seasons, 1956. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © The Estate of Lynn Chadwick
“It suggests to me a tortured animal and a landscape of nuclear disaster ruined mountain and woodland. Created during the height of cold war, it has the unsettling atmosphere which bares all the hallmarks of what Herbert Read called ' the Geometry of Fear' Merry Christmas.”
Susan Collis, Untitled (rawl plugs), 2007. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
“I drilled some very tiny specific sized holes and concealed these works in the wall during the Breaking the Mould installation in Hull. They are incredibly intricate and delicate made from brown goldstone and onyx. I enjoyed the subtle intervention in the space, you wouldn’t notice them at first glance."
Joan Eardley, A Field of Oats, 1962. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © The Eardley Estate
"Joan Eardley's landscape paintings of the fishing village Catterline in Scotland evoke a sense of freedom. There are wonderful photos of her painting outdoors on large canvases battling all types of weather, observing the changing landscape."
Michael Horsley, Untitled 77-78, 1977. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
“I saw this work in person for the first time when visiting the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University last week where it has been on long loan for the past few years. It is huge in size and its colourful, collage-like appearance worked so well in the space and really lit up the interior of the building.“
Carol Rhodes, Industrial Landscape, 1997. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
"Carol Rhodes was a Scottish artist known for her paintings and drawings which depict the peripheries of urban and industrial sites. Rhodes used source material including geographical textbooks, maps and her own aerial photographs to create fictionalised landscapes that always position the viewer from above, looking down. I love the complexity and psychological intensity of Rhodde’s works; in Industrial Landscapes the edges of infrastructure and inhabited areas encroach on the landscape. As with all of her paintings, it feels both ambiguous and familiar at the same time”
Rachel Jones, lick your teeth, they so clutch, 2021. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist. Image courtesy of the artist and Thaddaeus Ropac, London
"When I first saw this stunning, large-scale pastel work it pulled me across the gallery. Her use of colour is masterful, it sparked a bit of joy and made my eyes brighter. The longer you look at the work the more you get from it and I could stare at it all day!"
Emma Hart, Fork Face, 2017. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
"I love the playfulness of Emma's work, her use of materials, visual design and everyday objects. Reflecting on her own life experiences, emotions and using humour makes light of her struggles and observations. I also like that she works beyond the gallery context in the public realm."
Keith Piper, (You are now entering) Mau Mau county, 1983. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
"Textural, colourful, and bold while conveying a message, Piper's artwork centres conversations around race, gender, history, and conflict. I love the way the use of textile adds a rough dimension to the piece and subject matter."
Faisal Abdu'Allah, The Last Supper, 1995. Arts Council Collection, Souhbank Centre, London © Faisal Abdu' Allah & Clive Kofi Allen
"I have worked on his collection before and I always thought he created and captured incredible scenes. The images do not justify his photographs. I am not sure which edition the Arts Council has but I have worked on the first edition on unsized paper and they are out of this world beautiful."
Lygia Clark, Animal 1, 1969. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist
"I love this piece because it is both quiet and complex. It looks like it would be lovely to handle and view from many different angles"
Lindsey Mendick, Cigs, 2020. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist. Installation view (detail) at Eastside Projects, Birmingham, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Carl Freedman Gallery,