A new tapestry by the Turner prize-nominated artist Hurvin Anderson will go on show at Guildhall Art Gallery in London later this year, coinciding with the blockbuster Bayeux Tapestry show at the British Museum.
Anderson’s work will be a centrepiece of Beyond Bayeux: Tapestry Now (23 October-21 March 2027), featuring an array of tapestries woven at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh in collaboration with contemporary artists. Founded in 1912, Dovecot is the longest-running tapestry studio in the UK.
Anderson’s new tapestry was commissioned to mark the 600th anniversary of Lincoln College, Oxford, where it will be permanently installed next year. The six-metre-long tapestry took a team of five weavers over seven months to create. “Hurvin's design features a long table focusing on the college’s dining tradition and its role in bringing students, tutors and alumni together,” according to the college website.
Anderson says in a statement: “I think as a painter, it's intriguing to see how the brushstrokes, palette and rhythms of the painting can be recreated and reinterpreted along the way. I find the idea of facsimile a recurrent theme in my work, and this project is taking it that bit further I suppose."
The Guildhall show will include tapestries by more than 20 artists, including David Hockney, Yinka Shonibare, Rachel Maclean and Alberta Whittle.
Hockney’s A Tapestry Made from a Painting, Made from a Painting of a Tapestry, Made from a Painting (1970) marked the late artist’s first collaboration with the weavers at Dovecot Studios. The work subverts perspective by showing John Kasmin, Hockney’s London dealer, standing with palms and nose pressed flat against an imaginary pane of glass.
Rachel Maclean's contribution Goo Gaa (2024) is inspired by French Rococo art, reflecting aspects of her digital imagery. “The original artwork, which was then interpreted as a tapestry, was part of her 2024 series MAMA and made using oil and acrylic on digitally printed canvas,” a Dovecot spokesperson tells The Art Newspaper.
Another recent commission on view will be The Garden Carpet by Farshid Moussavi. Created for the V&A Dundee in 2025, the tapestry draws on Persian textile heritage to present a paradise scene populated by Scottish plants and wildlife.
Celia Joicey, the director of Dovecot Studios, says in a statement: “To ensure that tapestry continues to flourish, it is crucial to highlight the importance of commissioning new work, while celebrating the incredible skills of Dovecot and British tapestry weavers.”
