Collection: William Tillyer - Against Nature - 14 March - 4 April 2026

In 1974, William Tillyer first read 'A Rebours', the experimental novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans, which inspired him to create an image based on the text. Since then, he has continually returned to Huysmans' text and over the ensuing 43 years has created a suite of 52 original prints. This exhibition is only the second occassion on which the entire suite has been exhibited in its entirety. 

Huysmans' central character, Jean des Esseintes is an eccentric reclusive aesthete who turns his back on society to retreat into his own artistic world. The book is almost entirely a catalogue of his musings on literature, painting, religion and aesthetic tastes, particularly artifice over nature. 

William Tillyer was born in North Yorkshire and studied at Middlesbrough College of Art and the Sladd School of Fine Art. His work has been exhibited internationally and notable Collections include the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, UK's Art Council Collection, the V&A and Tate Museums. 

Image: 'Like those Japanese boxes that fit one inside another', Intaglio print from two zinc plates on Arches paper, Paper Size 66 x 50.8 cm