Modern and contemporary works from the Pier Arts Centre Collection will feature in conversation with the Charles Asprey Gift – the biggest act of philanthropy the Centre has seen since 1979 and Margaret Gardiner’s founding gift ‘to the people of Orkney’.

Composed of 53 works of British and international art, the Charles Asprey Gift reflects a similar energy of collecting to Margaret’s, igniting conversations that reexamine the familiar whilst establishing relationships and exchange with artists working at the forefront of contemporary art.

Through their eyes will unfold a dialogue of changing displays, and present artists who have pushed the boundaries of painting, sculpture, print, film and installation. Collection works by Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Italo Valenti, Margaret Mellis, and Naum Gabo, will be displayed alongside contemporary works by artists who play with function and themes of modernism, providing thoughtful, witty, and sometimes edgy and unsettling responses to art and life.

The Pier Arts Centre and its Collection continue to thrive because of the many organisations and individuals who have believed in and supported its cause and mission. The Charles Asprey Gift is testament to this. Through Their Eyes provides an unfolding dialogue of changing displays, allowing both space and time for these objects to breath, to question, and to fuel curiosity. Moreover, the collective vision of this exhibition nurtures and reinforces the faith that the Pier, in the words of Margaret Gardiner, will have a long and lively future.

Artists in the Charles Asprey Gift, who feature in this exhibition, include: Wolfgang Tillmans (DE), Michael Dean (UK), Tenant of Culture (NL), Atelier EB (UK/BEL), Lucy McKenzie (UK), Manfred Pernice (DE), Ian Hamilton Finlay (UK), Marc Camille Chaimowicz (FR) and Martin Puryear (USA).

The exhibition opens at the Pier Arts Centre at 1030 on 2 May and runs until 1700 on 7 November 2026. Admission is free. The Pier Arts Centre is open Tuesday - Saturday.

Only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Visit Orkney, Culture & Heritage, Culture & Events, Stromness