Rose English

Rose English has generously produced Bed in Field 1, 1971 (printed in 2022), a limited edition print to coincide with the exhibition, Radical Landscapes, at Tate Liverpool, 5 May – 4 September 2022.

For her limited edition, English has chosen an image from a series of works she created in early spring of 1971. The series captures two figures lying next to one another in a ploughed field in the English countryside. Rather than lying on top of the ground, the couple are tucked under the tilled soil with pillows under their heads as if tucked up in bed. The intimate moment between a couple seems at odds with the wide open surroundings. The act of sleeping peacefully, normally reserved for the domestic realm, is brought outside. Like much of English’s performance work, the scene is at once humorous, challenging and poetic.

Each print in the limited edition, Bed in Field 1, 1971 (printed in 2022) comes unframed and is accompanied by a certificate which is signed and numbered by the artist.

Prices of the artwork are liable to change. As a limited edition sells out, prices of the artwork are subject to increase and the price will be clearly indicated.

• Artist Rose English
• Artwork Bed in Field 1
• Dimensions 50.2 x 60.3 cm
• Image size 35.1 x 55.8 cm
• Material Silver gelatin print on Ilford Multigrade FB Classic paper
• Edition Limited edition of 30, accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate
• Date of work 1971 (printed 2022)

Rose English (b. 1950, Hereford, UK) is best known for her contributions to the development of performance art in Britain. Emerging from the conceptual art, dance and feminist scenes of the 1970s, English has developed an extensive interdisciplinary practice over the past 40 years, honing a unique artistic vocabulary that has consistently analysed and commentated on aesthetics, politics and philosophy, including aspects of British pop culture, from show girls and show horses to magic acts and pantomime. Her work challenges conventional understandings of both feminism and femininity through the combination of forms with which she engages, including theatre, circus, poetry and fine art, producing acclaimed performances but also works in other media such as film and installation.

English has been writing, directing and performing her work internationally for over 40 years in venues as varied as old music-hall palaces, ice rinks, Tate Britain, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Adelaide Festival and Lincoln Center in New York. Selected solo exhibitions include ‘Rose English: Form, Feminism, Femininities, Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, UK (2019); 'Remember This!' as part of Circus Originals at Somerset House, London, UK (2018); 'Rose English for the Grand Tour,' Harley Gallery, Welbeck Estate, UK (2016); 'A Premonition of the Act,' Camden Arts Centre, London, UK (2015–2016); 'The Eros of Understanding,' Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark (2014–2015). Her work has also been featured in significant group presentations, including ‘Bodily objects’, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh (2020), ‘Sixty Years’, Tate Britain, London, UK (2020), 'FEMINISMS' at Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), Barcelona, Spain (2019); 'DRAG: Self-portraits and Body Politics,' Hayward Gallery, London, UK (2018), amongst others. English Lives and works in London, UK.