The Classical Now opens at King's on 2 March 2018

The Classical Now , a major exhibition exploring Greek and Roman antiquity in the modern artistic imagination, opens at King's College London on 2 March 2018. Presented by King's College London in partnership with MACM (the award-winning Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins), the exhibition traces the ways in which Graeco-Roman art has captured and permeated the modern imagination. It examines classical presences in the works of twentieth-century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore and Yves Klein, and leading contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, Alex Israel, Louise Lawler, Grayson Perry, Marc Quinn and Rachel Whiteread. The show explores the myriad continuities and contrasts between the ancient, modern and contemporary, revealing the 'classical' as a living and fluid tradition. The Classical Now is staged across two spaces at King's College London, the Inigo Rooms in the East Wing of Somerset House, and the Arcade at Bush House - part of the Cultural Quarter at King's. Exhibited works range from classical Greek and Roman artefacts (in bronze, marble and mosaic) to contemporary painting, sculpture, video and photography. The exhibition will feature contemporary works in which classical forms receive provocative new expression - such as the fragmentary bodies by contemporary artist Marc Quinn - alongside more oblique or suggestive uses of ancient themes, such as Bruce Nauman's landmark video performance, Walk with Contrapposto (1968).