The Bluecoat, Liverpool to host two touring exhibitions featuring immersive installation, photography, sculpture, film and more exploring themes of care, connection, spirituality, science and the vastness of the cosmos.
Becky Beasley: 'A Gentle Man (Part II) (1975-2029)'
Opens Sat 26 Sep 2026 - Sun 3 Jan 2027
Previews Fri 25 Sep
Opening in September 2026, Becky Beasley’s exhibition A Gentle Man (Part II) (1975-2029) will transform the gallery into a contemplative and immersive landscape, featuring a large pale green linoleum floor artwork, ceramic work, video installation and sculptural seating which invites audiences to pause, sit, and spend time with each piece. A trio of architectural textile sculptures will form mesmerising and intimate spaces for reflection - collectively tracing out the letters: ‘H S P’ (Highly Sensitive Person). Beasley's work draws on literary references as a primary tool for constructing and reconstructing her experience of the world.
“The frequent appearance of watery metaphors throughout ‘A Gentle Man’ operates on various connected levels. At the most simple level, water, especially the still water of lakes, suggests calmness on the surface while implying a hidden depth beneath.” — Quote from Corridor 8 review
Becky Beasely’s A Gentle Man (Part II) is a touring exhibition commissioned by QUAD, the Bluecoat and John Hansard Gallery with funding from the Freelands Foundation and Arts Council England.
Isabel Nolan: 'some fundamental forces'
Opens Fri 29 Jan - Sun 2 May 2027
Previews Thu 28 Jan
To begin 2027, the Bluecoat will host some fundamental forces by Isabel Nolan, the most comprehensive display of work by the Irish artist in the UK to date. Nolan’s powerful work makes the case that art can go beyond merely documenting the world, asking us also to look to our place in the universe. Her interest in a variety of viewpoints; historical, scientific, and the spiritual, offers a sweeping perspective beyond our present situation. Drawing on science, spiritual and cultural legacies, Nolan’s exhibition promises to be a powerful experience for visitors. This major exhibition comes at a significant moment in Nolan’s career, in 2026 she represents Ireland at the 61st Venice Biennale, Italy.
“The opportunity to have this exhibition travel to the Bluecoat is very gratifying. I had the pleasure of making multiple visits to Liverpool in 2024-2025 leading into exhibiting at the 2025 edition of the Liverpool Biennial, 'Bedrock'. Searching for both the inspiration and the location for the commissioned outdoor work was a particularly special way to get to know some aspects of the city. I'm already looking forward to being back.” - Isabel Nolan
Isabel Nolan’s exhibition at the Bluecoat is in partnership with Southwark Park Galleries in London, where it will launch in August. This exhibition is generously supported at the Bluecoat by Culture Ireland, the Paul & Louise Cooke Endowment, Arts Council England and the Henry Moore Foundation.
About the Artists
Becky Beasley (b.1975) lives and works in St. Leonards on Sea, East Sussex. She is an award-winning visual artist, mentor, educator & autism advocate and works across sculpture, photography and writing. She is Professor of Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, London.
Beasley’s practice broadly explores objects and spaces of the everyday, and how we might inhabit them. It is concerned with spatial experience, and particularly the interior. She has developed a practice which explores image and the limits of language; referencing both personal experiences and literary references to capture moments of complexity and ambiguity – some of which are intertwined with her autism diagnosis and human experience in this world.
Isabel Nolan (b. 1974) lives and works in Dublin. Her expansive practice incorporates sculptures, paintings, textile works, photographs, writing, works on paper and performance.. Her work often explores cosmological phenomena, religious reliquaries, Greco-Roman sculptures and literary/historical figures, examining the behaviour of humans and animals alike. Nolan’s work is often recognised for its geometric shapes, vivid colours and an intensive research approach to the subject.
Nolan was a part of Liverpool Biennial 2025, curated by Marie-Anne McQuay. Her sculpture – ‘Where you are, what we are, with others’ – remains situated in Liverpool City Centre at the John Lennon Art and Design Building at Liverpool John Moores University, and reflects architectural details of two historic Liverpool Cathedrals – St Nicholas’ Pro-Cathedral and Lutyen’s Crypt at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.