Sarah Cunningham

In autumn 2026 Nottingham Contemporary will present the first institutional solo exhibition, and largest presentation of works to date, of the late British artist Sarah Cunningham (1993–2024, UK).The exhibition marks a deeply meaningful homecoming: the return of the artist’s work to the city where she was born and raised.Cunningham sought out the essential and the alive through her imaginary wildernesses and fluid forestscapes, taking inspiration from the speculative landscapes of science fiction literature, art history, ecology and personal references.

Part abstract experimentation, part spiritual journey, every painting at some level represents the intuitive and unspoken connection between nature and humankind.

Her unusual, nocturnal practice estranged her limbs and thoughts from systematic, painterly movements, resulting in works that briefly dwell in darkness only to culminate in the arrival of the dawn chorus.

Through her sweeping expressionistic gestures, Cunningham built up layers of paint that she shaped into fluid motion, creating landscapes not just as we know them, but as scenes of possibility and portals into other worlds.