Paradise of Imagination

Books of hours, tales of courtly love & chivalry, medieval monsters, and stained-glass designs form a rich tapestry of visual and material sources harnessed by artists across time and place. Paradise of Imagination: Medieval & Modern Encounters brings together artworks from the Middle Ages to today, showcasing painting, printmaking, tapestry, sculpture, and the illuminated manuscript. Artists featured in the exhibition, such as Edward Burne-Jones, Kushana Bush, Marilynn Webb, and George Frederic Watts, reveal the evolving legacies of the medieval past through striking imagery and guide us to imaginative realms where boundaries between history, fantasy, and memory blur.

Paradise of Imagination: Medieval & Modern Encounters is curated by Anya Samarasinghe, Dunedin Public Art Gallery Ihupukutaka Kairaupī Curatorial Intern 2025, with support from Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.