On Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Painting

To celebrate our exhibition 'Glenn Brown and Mathew Weir: The Sight of Something', artists Glenn Brown and Mathew Weir discuss the exhibition's themes with psychoanalyst and author Josh Cohen.

This event is free for all Members of the Freud Museum London.

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Glenn Brown and Mathew Weir’s new exhibition at the Freud Museum, which takes its name from an enigmatic remark in Freud’s brief but suggestive sketch ‘Medusa’s Head’, brings a selection of their drawings, paintings and sculptures into dialogue with objects and artefacts throughout the Freud Museum.

In this special event, Brown and Weir will be in conversation with psychoanalyst and author Josh Cohen, to trace the themes that are explored in the exhibition, including the link between marking and memory traces, sexuality, drive dualism, and the relationship between creativity and pain.

You will also have the opportunity to see the exhibition outside of visiting hours, as well as enjoy a complimentary glass of wine.

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Speakers:

Glenn Brown (born 1966 in Hexham) lives and works in London and Suffolk. He is known for the use of art historical references in his paintings. Brown studied at the Bath School of Art as well as Goldsmith’s College, the latter of which placed him within the Young British Artists. Brown was nominated for the Tate Turner Prize in 2000. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Centre d’Art Contemporain, France (2000); Serpentine Gallery, London (2004); Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (2008); Tate Liverpool, England (2009), which travelled to the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin and Ludwig Múzeum, Budapest; Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands (2013); Rennie Collection, Vancouver (2013); Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles (2016); Des Moines Art Center, Iowa (2016), Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati (2016), Rembrandt House, Amsterdam (2017), Museo Stefano Bardini, Florence (2017), Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, UK (2018), British Museum, London (2018) and Sprengel Museum and Landesmuseum, Hanover, Germany (2023).

In 2022, he and his partner Edgar Laguinia established The Brown Collection in the heart of London’s Marylebone district. This dedicated museum space showcases his own work alongside a curated selection of historical and contemporary artists.

Mathew Weir (born 1977 in Ipswich) lives and works in London. He graduated from the Royal College of Art, London in 2004 and has exhibited internationally. His most recent exhibitions include: The Beast at the End of the Rope, Knust Kunz, Munich (2022); Miscellaneous fact: a hypothesis in 26 letters, 5 equations and no answer with Abigail Lane (curated by Nicolas Surlapierre and Vincent Lavoie), MAC VAL – Museum of Contemporary Art of Val-de-Marne, Paris (2024); Death and the Devil: The Fascination with Horror (curated by Westrey Page), Kunstpalast Düsseldorf (2023) and toured to Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt and Museum Georg Schäfer in Schweinfurt; The Teardrop Explodes, Kunsthaus Villa Jauss Oberstdorf, Germany (2023); NATURE MORTE: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still Life Tradition, Rowe Arts Gallery, University of North Carolina, USA (2022); The Time is Now, Millennium Gallery, Museums Sheffield, UK (2019); FEELING CALLED LOVE. Collection of an Idiot, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany (2019).

Josh Cohen was born in London, where he has lived most of his life. He established himself as an academic in American literature and critical theory, before deciding to train as a psychoanalyst. His books combine these influences, exploring major contemporary issues like privacy, work, meritocracy and anger through the lenses of psychoanalysis, culture and personal experience. His books include How to Read Freud (Granta, 2005), The Private Life: Why We Remain in the Dark (Granta 2013) Not Working: Why We Have to Stop (Granta, 2019), How to Live. What to Do: How Great Novels Help Us Change (Ebury, 2021) and Losers (Peninsula, 2021). He has published reviews and essays in The Guardian, New Statesman, Economist/ 1843, Granta, Aeon and TLS. His latest book is All the Rage: How Anger Drives the World (Granta, 2024)

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Tickets:

£10 for Non-Members.

Free entrance for Members. Please contact perry@freud.org.uk to request your free ticket.

Freud Museum Members and Patrons receive 20% off the standard ticket price on all events, courses, conferences and On Demand programming.

The purpose of this event is to raise funds for the Freud Museum London, which receives no regular Government income. We are grateful to you for supporting our independent museum as generously as possible.

The event will be held on the first floor of the Museum during regular opening hours. Unfortunately the Freud Museum does not have step-free access at this time. Advance booking is highly recommended as capacity is limited.