A major exhibition of works by British artist Jenny Saville to launch in Edinburgh

Best known for her monumental depictions of the naked female form; unflinching paintings of fleshy, un-idealised bodies, often painted close-up, on a massive scale, Saville is a hugely successful international artist. Her 21-foot-long triptych Strategy (South Face/Front Face/North Face) reached a wider audience when it appeared on the cover of the 1994 album The Holy Bible by Welsh band the Manic Street Preachers.

Bringing together 17 works from private and public collections across the globe, this will be the first museum exhibition of Saville’s work ever to be held in Scotland, and only her third in the UK. The selection will span 26 years, from iconic early paintings such as Propped (1992) and Trace (1993-4) to recent charcoal and pastel drawings, demonstrating how Saville’s approach to depicting the human body has shifted over the course of her career.

Other highlights will include a series of large-scale head paintings, such as Rosetta II (2005-6), made while the artist was based in Italy, and the premiere of a major new work, Aleppo (2017-18), that will be hung at the Scottish National Gallery alongside historic works from the collection.

Alongside the work of Jenny Saville will be new and recent works by five artists who have explored ideas related to the body, performance, process and materials. Robin Rhode, Christine Borland, Sara Barker, Markus Schinwald and Catherine Street will all feature as part of the wider NOW exhibition, launching on 24 March and running until 16 September 2018 at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.