The Holburne Museum, Bath, is excited to announce that three iconic sculptural works by contemporary artist Thomas J Price (b. London, 1981) will be on display for the next three years, on loan from the Goldstein Family, London.
Installed across three locations in the Museum’s Collection galleries, these large sculptural heads form the Numen series, exploring a new mythology in which the ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian traditions of monumental sculpture are deployed in the depiction of the twenty-first century social subject.
Thomas J Price is a multidisciplinary artist, best known for his large figurative sculptures that explore subjects of identity and representation. Price typically depicts fictional subjects, using a combination of traditional sculpting methods and digital technology to create works on a monumental scale.
The artist’s choice of materials also creates a dialogue between history and modernity. By combining ancient materials associated with sculpture from classical antiquity with modern aluminium, Price challenges perceptions of old and new and subverts hierarchies of artistic mediums.
The title of this series derives from the Latin term for ‘divinity’ or ‘divine presence’, signifying these sculptures as objects of worship.
Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, commented: “Our museum collection represents one of the most important displays of British portraiture in the world, including major works by Gainsborough, Zoffany and Lawrence. We feel it’s important to also work with a range of contemporary artists to respond to and reflect on these works, and these extraordinarily powerful sculptures will offer an important addition to our display. We are extremely grateful to the Goldstein Family, who are lending these significant works to the Museum for the next three years, and look forward to the conversations they will prompt.”
Thomas J Price (b.1981) lives and works in London. He studied at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art, London and has held solo exhibitions at institutions including The National Portrait Gallery, London; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Harewood House, Leeds; and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. In 2024 Price was nominated for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. He was also commissioned by Hackney Council to create the first permanent public sculptures to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants in the UK, unveiled in June 2022.
Thomas J Price, Numen (Shifting Votive Two), 2016. Aluminium, marble. © Thomas J Price, courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Ken Adlard