Glenn Brown is returning to Bath this summer with 'Glenn Brown in Bath: Arrows of Desire', a museum presentation that places his work in direct dialogue with the Holburne Museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition runs from 16 June to 25 August 2026 at the Holburne Museum in Bath and is included in general admission.
Brown, born in 1966, is described by the Holburne as one of the most celebrated painters to emerge from the Young British Artists generation. The museum’s exhibition page says he is known for borrowing images, colours, painterly brushstrokes and drawn lines from art history to create paintings that feel fresh yet unsettling, and for developing a pictorial language of his own. The display is designed to set that visual language against the museum’s historic holdings.
At the Holburne, Brown will hang a selection of past works among the museum’s permanent collection galleries, alongside smaller drawings in antique frames in adjoining spaces. The museum says his interventions will introduce “the uncanny, the excessive, and the unsettling” into rooms usually associated with refinement and order, creating a tension intended to make familiar artworks appear newly charged. The exhibition page also notes that the encounter sharpens attention to both the historical works and Brown’s contemporary practice.
Bath gives the project an added local dimension. The museum identifies Brown as having studied at Bath School of Art and Design, and the exhibition marks his return to the city. In the newsletter sent by the Holburne, the museum says Brown is “back in Bath” and bringing his own twist on the collection. The Holburne’s exhibition text also includes a remark from the artist about returning to Bath 40 years after his student life, though the museum’s published wording is reproduced exactly as part of its own material.
The Holburne is framing Brown’s show as one of several summer exhibitions and events, but 'Arrows of Desire' is the main headline art presentation among them. The museum also lists 'Beyond Impressionism: Printmaking from Manet to Picasso', running from 23 May to 13 September 2026, in its current and upcoming exhibitions. Brown’s show, however, has its own distinct dates and curatorial approach, focused on the interaction between contemporary painting and the museum’s historic rooms.
The exhibition is listed as suitable for all ages and wheelchair accessible. The Holburne’s ticketing information says it is included in general admission tickets. The museum’s exhibition page places the display across its galleries, and the event date range given by the Holburne is 16 June to 25 August 2026 at the Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath.
