'Bad Seed': Michael Petry returns to The Soane Museum

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Reinvigorating Sir John Soane's patronage of contemporary British artists and delving into the emotionally charged forces of light at work in the Museum, acclaimed multi-media artist Michael Petry will be returning to Sir John Soane's Museum 4 February to 12 March 2011 with his Bad Seed exhibition of site-specific work developed in response to the museum, its unique ambience, its collections and its archives. Drawing upon the Romantic elements of the collections and displays (including paintings by Henry Fuseli and Maria Cosway, as well as rooms such as the Monk's Parlour), Petry's new works will evoke the presence of the incubus and succubus - two favourite themes of Romantic artists and writers of the Regency period. Appropriately, Petry's installation coincides with the restoration of the Museum's significant holdings of historical, figurative stained glass panels which will be returned to their original locations as Soane intended as part of the Museum's Opening Up the Soane £7million programme of development and restoration. Petry's work is a contemporary continuation of the skills and artistry of earlier glass craftsmen and this exhibition echoes and continues Sir John Soane's ambition to support British artists and crafts.