The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition

Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads

Charcoal drawing of a man, Frank Auerbach, sitting slightly side-on to the viewer and staring at us with a stern expression. The background is roughly completed, and the face somewhat fragmented by the background. i Frank Auerbach (b.1931), Self-Portrait, 1958, charcoal and chalk on paper, private collection © the artist, courtesy of Frankie Rossi Art Projects, London

9 Feb – 27 May 2024 
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries

A remarkable series of hauntingly beautiful, large-scale drawings by Frank Auerbach (born 1931), is being presented together for the first time at The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery.

During his early years as a young artist in post-war London, Frank Auerbach produced one of his most remarkable bodies of work: a series of large-scale portrait heads made in charcoal. Auerbach spent months on each drawing, working and reworking them during numerous sessions with his sitters.

The marks of this prolonged and vigorous process of creation are evident in the finished drawings, which are richly textured and layered. Sometimes, he would even break through the paper and patch it up before carrying on. Auerbach’s heads emerge from the darkness of the charcoal as vital and alive, having come through a lengthy period of struggle – the image repeatedly created and destroyed. The character of the drawings speaks profoundly of their times as people were remaking their lives after the destructions and upending of war.

The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads will be the first time Auerbach’s extraordinary post-war drawings, made in the 1950s and early 1960s, have been brought together as a comprehensive group. They will be shown together with a selection of paintings he made of the same sitters; for him, painting and drawing have always been deeply entwined.

The exhibition will be a unique opportunity to see early masterpieces by one of the world’s most celebrated living artists.

Tickets from £14. Includes entry to the permanent collection and displays.
Friends go free. Other concessions available.

This event has passed.

9 Feb – 27 May 2024

10.00 – 18.00 (last entry 17.15)

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery  The Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries 

Tickets from £14. Includes entry to the permanent collection.

Title Partner

Griffin Catalyst logo

Supported by Kenneth C. Griffin, The Huo Family Foundation and The Garcia Family Foundation

With additional support from The Rothschild Foundation

★★★★★

â€Àá²Ô³¦°ù±ð»å¾±²ú±ô±ð.â€

★★★★★

★★★★

“One epic experience.â€

★★★★

“Thrillingly alive.â€

★★★★

“A°ù°ù±ð²õ³Ù¾±²Ô²µ.â€

★★★★

★★★★

Limited edition print

Frank Auerbach, Sketch for ‘Mornington Terrace, 2015–16

Exclusive to The Â鶹ÊÓƵ, this limited edition print has been developed in partnership with Frank Auerbach, to celebrate his landmark exhibition at The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery.

One of an edition of 200 plus 5 artist’s proofs. Each print has been hand signed and numbered by the artist and is presented in a handmade portfolio with a certificate of authenticity. All proceeds from the print will support The Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

Frank Auerbach, Sketch for ‘Mornington Terrace’, 2015–16, © the artist i Frank Auerbach, Sketch for ‘Mornington Terrace’, 2015–16, © the artist

Buy the catalogue

The catalogue accompanying The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads is now available to purchase from The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Shop.

Join the art movement

Get free unlimited entry to The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery and exhibitions including The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads, priority booking to selected events, advance notice of art history short courses, exclusive events, discounts and more.

Become a friend
Â鶹ÊÓƵ Friends logo

You might also like

A painting of three women in conversation. The woman on the left leans into the other two in earnest discussion. They sit in front of an open window with a bouquet of flowers visible.

Display, The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery, What's On Highlights

Vanessa Bell: A Pioneer of Modern Art

25 May – 6 Oct 2024 

This display will be the first devoted to The Â鶹ÊÓƵ's significant collection of Vanessa Bell’s work, including her masterpiece A Conversation, and the bold, abstract textile designs she produced for the Omega Workshops....

Exhibition, The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery, What's On Highlights

Roger Mayne: Youth

14 Jun – 1 Sept 2024 

An exhibition of works by photographer Roger Mayne, bringing together his evocative documentary images of communities and neighbourhoods of 1950's inner London, alongside intimate images of his own family at home in Dorset in the 1970s....

The houses of parliament in the fog, with an orange sun and purple sky reflecting on the river Thames

Exhibition, The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Gallery, What's On Highlights

Monet and London. Views of the Thames

27 Sept 2024 – 19 Jan 2025

An exhibition reuniting for the first time in 120 years an extraordinary group of Claude Monet’s Impressionist paintings of London, depicting Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament....

Citations