Constantinople, or The Sensual Concealed: The Imagery of Sean Scully

Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast From Oct 24 www.nmni.com/um

After extensive refurbishment, the Ulster Museum is reopening as a multi-purpose building, incorporating sciences and the arts. To show off the art galleries, they’ve opted to begin with a large retrospective of the work of Dublin-born Sean Scully (above), an abstract painter of international reputation. Constantinople, or The Sensual Concealed was organised by the Foundation for Art and Culture in Bonn, and the Ulster Museum is the only venue in Ireland and Britain where it will be seen.

With 60-plus paintings, and works on paper, it is a formidable exhibition, especially when you consider that Scully habitually works on a large scale. As the title indicates, it is also a lush exploration of his work, tracing a line of sensuality in an art that is often considered as quite austere in its level of abstraction.

Scully takes the language of geometric abstraction and emphasises that it is a medium for the expression of human experience, for emotion as much as for rationality. With key works from various turning points in his career, and a sizeable number of recent pieces, it’s an unmissable show.

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