Seven Decades of Contemporary Art – Norfolk Contemporary Art Society at Norwich Castle
Timothy Gurney Gallery
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
28 March 2026 – 28 February 2027
A new exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (ncas) will open at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery this March. Since its foundation in 1956, ncas has supported the Castle to collect and display the work of contemporary artists including LS Lowry, Colin Self, Bridget Riley and Roger Ackling. Seven Decades of Contemporary Art will highlight a fascinating selection of more than 30 artworks that have been purchased with the support of ncas.
The innovative works on display reflect ncas’ longstanding commitment to making sure that new approaches to the visual arts are represented in the collections at Norfolk Museums Service. Recent additions to the collection supported by ncas include Florence Peake’s performance-based figurative paintings; and photographic work by Daniel & Clara, exploring imagined narratives in a country estate. Work from ‘Wall Existing’, a multi-layered photographic survey of Norwich’s medieval city walls by Robert Filby and Glen Jamieson, will also be exhibited.
These recent acquisitions will be shown alongside highlights from the early decades of ncas’ activity including ‘Landscape with Farm Buildings’ (1954) by LS Lowry, a purchase which inspired the formation of ncas; and ‘Man entering a Boiler House’ (c.1956) by Prunella Clough, which was the very first work collectively acquired by ncas members. The Society built up an impressive collection of contemporary artworks in the 1950s and 1960s, including work by Mary Potter, Keith Vaughan, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bernard Meadows, Allen Jones and Colin Self, many of whom had strong connections with East Anglia.
In the 1970s ncas began working with Norwich Castle and national funding organisations to acquire high profile contemporary artworks. Early examples on display in the exhibition include paintings by John Hoyland, Howard Hodgkin and Bridget Riley. At the same time, ncas continued to support the Castle to collect work by artists with a direct connection to the region. Many of the exhibiting artists have been influential teachers and students at Norwich University of the Arts or have made work that responds in new ways to the East Anglian landscape.
Together, the artworks presented in the exhibition signal the changing ideas and relationships that have sustained the presentation of contemporary art at the Castle over seven decades, foregrounding artists who are experimenting with the conditions of painting, sculpture, photography and performance.
