Viewing The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial

Heavenly bodies.

For its major summer hit, Saatchi Gallery turns its attention to the skies. The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial brings together contemporary and historic works exploring humanity’s fascination with the two celestial bodies that govern our days and nights.

Following last year’s FLOWERS – Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture, the theme expands on how the natural world inspires creativity. Spread across nine galleries and two floors, it follows the passage of a full day, moving from sunrise through daylight and dusk into darkness. It explores how artists have used the Sun and Moon to think about everything from mythology, spirituality, science to timekeeping and navigation.

Among the artists featured are Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Caulfield, Sinta Tantra, Peter Doig, Zak Ové, Yinka Ilori and Nancy Holt across media including painting, sculpture, fashion, textiles, photography, film and installations.

One of the centrepieces is Luke Jerram’s Helios, a six-metre illuminated sculpture of the Sun. Drawing on detailed solar imagery, NASA observations and astrophotography, the work invites an unusually intimate encounter with the star.

As we shift into nocturnal chapters, attention turns to lunar mythology, moon landings and the mysteries of the night sky. Saad Qureshi’s large-scale split moon will be suspended from the ceiling, while Margo Selby and Helen Caddick’s Moon Landing brings together textile and music in a tribute to lunar exploration. Works by Paula Rego and Joan Miró bring the journey to a close, with teamLab’s immersive Massless Suns and Dark Suns and Massless Sun and Surface of the Sky installations turning light and darkness into sculpture.

An ideal show for long midsummer evenings with an apero stop en route.