Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval

Please note that this exhibition has now closed. It took place from 16 May to 4 October 2026.

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Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval reflects on the ‘rules’ that we live by today. Exploring the idea of routine and regulation, the exhibition vividly presents the richness and complexity of the dialogue between medieval experiments in a different way to live, and modern reflections upon how life is (and might yet be) organised.

Taking as its starting point the Rule of St Benedict, a deeply influential guide for communal living written in the 6^th century, the exhibition brings together extraordinary objects from medieval monastic contexts with a fascinating selection of contemporary artworks. Medieval loans include the Hatton Codex, the earliest copy of the Rule of St Benedict in the world (c.700 AD); the Etheldreda Panels, one of only a handful of English medieval paintings to have survived the Reformation; and the Gorleston, Ormesby and Macclesfield psalters, some of the most important illuminated manuscripts of the 14th century. These are put in dialogue with important works by a range of international contemporary artists.

The exhibition is curated by Dr Jessica Barker FSA, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Art History at The Courtauld and Dr Ed Krčma, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of East Anglia.

Featured contemporary artists:

Pavel Büchler
Andrea Büttner
Moyra Davey
Tacita Dean
Samuel Levi Jones
Vivienne Koorland
Susan Morris
Elizabeth Price
Ingrid Pollard
Lucy Skaer
Christopher Stewart
Alison Turnbull
Danh Vo
Richard Wright
Charlotte Zinsser

Plus a commissioned performance by Kate Pickering

The exhibition is supported by The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, Pilgrim Trust, Sam Fogg, Paul Mellon Centre, Idlewild Trust, The Leche Trust, Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, Kress Foundation, International Centre for Medieval Art, The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, A4 Arts Foundation, and those who wish to remain anonymous.

A new publication, Living by the Rule: Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery, co-authored by the exhibition curators Dr Jessica Barker FSA and Dr Ed Krčma, is published by Lund Humphries, alongside this exhibition.

The Benedictine Art Project and lecture series at Norwich Cathedral has been designed to complement this exhibition and sees newly commissioned work by three artists reflecting the Benedictine themes of healing and wholeness, hospitality and contemplative learning.

Norwich University of the Arts have also developed a project in consultation with Ed Krcma and Jessica Barker, inspired by the Living By the Rule exhibition.  Performing the Rule: Contemporary and Medieval Computus will take place at Norwich Cathedral at 8pm on 18 September. Follow this link for more information and to book tickets: Norwich Cathedral.

Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval is part of the Sainsbury Centre’s What is the Meaning of Life? exhibition season.

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Image top: Andrea Büttner, Dancing Nuns, 2007, woodcut on paper, 180 x 113 cm. All images courtesy of Hollybush Gardens, London; David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, and JanMot, Brussels © Andrea Büttner / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025