"APOCALYPSE - Beauty and horror in contemporary art "
2000-09-23 until 2000-12-15
Royal Academy of the Arts
London, , UK

This autumn the Royal Academy will present Apocalypse, a major exhibition of international contemporary art which will reflect aspects of the richness, beauty, horror, complexity and diversity of the world today. Concentrating on themes inspired by the arrival of the 21st century, the exhibition will feature some thirteen installations, paintings, sculptures and video works, the majority of which have never been seen in public before.

Apocalypse is a story of extremes. This exhibition is a contemporary, secular interpretation of the biblical story of St John the Divine which contains elements ranging from the horrors of genocide to the beauties of Utopia. These elements are represented in the exhibition which aims to demonstrate the possibilities art holds in the world in which we live.

Artists in Apocalypse are: Darren Almond, Maurizio Cattelan, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Chris Cunningham, Angus Fairhurst, Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons, Mariko Mori, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Richard Prince, Gregor Schneider, Wolfgang Tillmans and Luc Tuymans.

The exhibition encompasses all media from painting and sculpture to multi media works using the latest technology. Anticipated works in the show range from a monumental new piece by the Chapman brothers - Hell - depicting the horrors of 20th-century genocide, to Mariko Mori's highly spiritual 21st-century Dream Temple. Powerful new paintings by Luc Tuymans will be included as will a video installation by cult pop video maker Chris Cunningham, whose work has never previously been exhibited in a gallery, accompanied by a soundtrack by Richard James, the Aphex Twin.

For the first time in the Academy's history, each artist will be given their own gallery. Works by young British artists Darren Almond and Jake and Dinos Chapman were previously exhibited in Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection, held at the Royal Academy in 1997.

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