Ghosts Shimmer in Sunlight at Thirsk Hall

Now on view at Thirsk Hall, an 18th-century townhouse nestled between the dales and moors of North Yorkshire, is Ghosts in Sunlight, a group show of 16 artists curated by Ocula’s Rory Mitchell.

In his 2014 commencement speech for students at Columbia University School of the Arts, the American critic Hilton Als described artists as ‘wretched builders and destroyers of truth and memory, makers who take from the past—their memories—to create a present that shimmers with veracity and poetry.’

Als borrowed the title for his speech, ‘Ghosts in Sunlight’, from Truman Capote’s 1967 essay describing his experience on the set of the film adaptation of his novel, In Cold Blood. Mitchell has, in turn, borrowed it once more for this exhibition.

‘Als’ ode to artists spurred me into thinking about why these paintings and sculptures are being brought together,’ he said.

‘There are ghosts here, so it seemed fitting.’

The light-filled exhibition space with its brick walls, high ceilings, and large glass doors is a curious setting that sparks new and unexpected interpretations of the paintings and sculptures.

Works by 20th-century painters Edward Burra and Frank Walter are contrasted against those of contemporary artists Andrew Cranston, Alastair Mackinven, Kaye Donachie, Mary Ramsden, Alvaro Barrington, Oliver Bak, Anton Munar, Libasse Ka, Anderson Borba, Mark Barker, Andrew Miller, Robbie Fife, Raphael Egil, and Behrang Karimi.

Spanning different time periods and media, Ghosts in Sunlight (5 July–31 August 2024) reveals how harmonious interplays can be read in haunting unity.