LIVERPOOL.- Two works by the artists Michael Landy and Shaqúelle Whyte have been acquired through the CAS Collections Fund for Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. In anticipation of the Walker’s 150th anniversary in 2027, the works selected by this year’s Collections Fund at Frieze Committee and the Walker’s curators draw from prominent themes in the museum’s vast collection while also signifying a refresh of its contemporary collection.
Known for its rich collection of religious works from the 15th century onwards, featuring Old and Modern masters including Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet and Degas, the Walker’s celebrated contemporary collection exists alongside the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize, first established in 1957 to support the work of contemporary artists. A priority of its collecting practice today is to acquire works that engage with the historic collection but also embrace artists of global majority backgrounds and perspectives.
Multi-Saint, 2013, Michael Landy
Reflecting the museum’s historic collection of Christian iconographical works, Landy’s interactive and kinetic work Multi-Saint, represents the saints – St Catherine, St Lucy, St Peter Martyr, St Lawrence and St Michael – along with their identifying symbols. The sculptural assemblage also draws upon modern references, in particular, Swiss artist Jean Tinguely’s foot-pedal operated kinetic sculptures, which Landy first encountered as a student at Tate Britain in 1982. Created after Landy’s National Gallery residency (2010–2012) and subsequent exhibition Michael Landy: Saints Alive in 2013, Multi-Saint captures fragments of Christian iconography from artists in the Gallery’s collection: Carlo Crivelli, Ambroggio Bergonone and Hans Memling. His resulting sculpture satirises the canon of art history in a delightfully playful and provocative way that directly engages the viewer.
In an embroiled fashion, 2025, Shaqúelle Whyte
Known for his large-scale figurative paintings that propose elusive, imagined spaces, Whyte’s In an embroiled fashion continues his characteristic style of loosely rendered, energetic brushwork using a colour palette of deep and rich hues. Featuring two male figures engaged in a physical wrestle, Whyte interrogates the human body through paint without revealing his subjects’ identity, thus adding to a pervasive sense of mystery. In the foreground, a third, nude male walks towards us, though his head turns backwards, as if he has detected something - or someone - beyond our gaze. Set against a shadowy, rural landscape, these figures invite further speculation. Narrative plays a key part in Whyte’s work; though his enigmatic paintings carry certain familiar motifs in a non-linear way. In this sense, each painting can be read individually whilst also sparking dialogue with other works by the artist.
Charlotte Keenan McDonald, Head of the Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool: We are incredibly grateful to the Contemporary Art Society for selecting the Walker as the recipient of this year’s Frieze Collections Fund. This generous support has been a rare opportunity for us to make ambitious acquisitions, and we are delighted to bring works by Michael Landy and Shaqúelle Whyte into the collection. These hugely significant works will transform our displays and be at the centre of our new Post-War and Contemporary art galleries when they re-open next summer, ahead of our 150th anniversary in 2027. Fittingly, both works bridge the gap between our historic and contemporary collections in their subjects and references, while bringing new ideas and concepts to our displays.
Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society: Once again, galleries have brought work of the highest calibre to Frieze London and we are proud to have been able to select two major works to add to the world-class collections at the Walker in Liverpool. Michael Landy and Shaqúelle White’s works will enter into dialogue with historic as well as contemporary works in the collections at the Walker and will, I am sure, very soon be star attractions for visitors to the gallery.
