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Royal Academy presents its 255th Summer Exhibition

From 13 June to 20 August 2023, the Royal Academy presents the 255th edition of its Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show which has taken place every year without interruption since 1769

Source: Royal Academy of Arts · Image: The courtyard of Burlington House on “Varnishing Day”, the artists’ opening of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, year 2015 · Image by Kleon3, license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

For the Summer Exhibition 2023, David Remfry RA will explore the theme ‘Only Connect’, inspired by a quote from the novel “Howards End” by E. M. Forster: “Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its highest. Live in fragments no longer.”

Remfry said: “‘Only Connect’ can be as simple or as complex as you like – as simple as putting a plug into a socket, as meeting a friend for a coffee or the fabric of the entire cosmos. In Howards End, E. M. Forster’s 1910 novel, the phrase ‘Only Connect’ meant a connection between the spiritual and the quotidian; I use it to mean a connection between oneself and everything else. Almost 100 years later in 2005, Zadie Smith wrote ‘On Beauty’, a brilliant and moving contemporary retelling of the story. Both novels have wise central characters with humane views of their respective dysfunctional and often unfair societies, and both take the view that human empathy and connection is the only solution. American singer Nina Simone said, ‘You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.’”

Peter Barber RA will further explore the theme of connection within the Architecture Room by focusing on the art of making and the hand-made within the design process, which can often be overlooked in the digital age.

The Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show which has taken place every year without interruption since 1769. The members of the Summer Exhibition Committee serve in rotation, ensuring that every year the exhibition has a distinctive character, with each Royal Academician responsible for a particular gallery space. Works from all over the world are judged democratically on merit and the final selection is made during the eight-day hang within the galleries. The majority of works will be for sale, offering visitors an opportunity to purchase original work. Funds raised support the exhibiting artists, the postgraduate students studying in the RA Schools and the work of the Royal Academy.

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