Rethinking Abstract Art
22 November 2025 – 15 February 2026
From the early 20th century to today, artists around the world have re-defined abstraction, using colour, form and gesture to express ideas, emotions and cultural connections. Rethinking Abstract Art presents rarely seen and recently acquired works from the Whitworth collection, that celebrates the bold, imaginative possibilities of abstract art.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Mary Martin was one of many international artists exploring ideas from constructivist art, which developed in Russia around 1915. Martin’s work explored geometry and structure, creating precise works using industrial materials that echoed postwar optimism in technology and design. At this time, art in Britain was transformed by the arrival of artists from the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. Taiwanese-born Richard Lin combined minimalist art with Chinese and Taiwanese traditions, using subtle tonal shifts to evoke balance and contemplation. The contemporary work of Zhang Enli uses abstract colour and light, exploring the themes from the Chinese zodiac and the prospect of renewal and transformation.
In Britain, the work of Peter Lanyon embraced wider national and international contexts, beyond the familiar ideas of landscape and place that shape our view of the St. Ives artist colony to which he belonged. Gillian Ayres brought bold colour and energetic gesture to painting, embracing expressive verve at a time when formal restraint dominated visual art. The exhibition also explores how abstraction found expression beyond painting and drawing, through a display of textiles from the Whitworth collection.
Together, these artists and designers explore how abstraction can propose ways to think and connect across global cultures and generations.
Image credit: Perspex Group on Red E O.2001.1, Mary Adela Martin. © The Whitworth, The University of Manchester.
Further information:
- Opening times: Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 am-5.00 pm; open until 9.00 pm on Thursdays
- Location: The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER
- Getting there: By foot: 20-30 minures from Manchester city centre; By Bike: Sheffield stands and lockers (£1 coin, refundable) both available at the gallery; By Bus: 15, 41, 42, 43, 140 – 143, 147 – ask for bus stop nearest MRI, Oxford Road; By Metrolink: St Peter’s Square (plus 10 minutes on the bus or 20 minutes on foot); Train: Oxford Road (plus 10 minutes on the bus or 20 minutes on foot); By Car: On-street parking (maximum stay, 2 hours) on Denmark Road. Nearest car park Cecil Street
- Admission is free
