Turner Contemporary is bringing the first exhibition of Jean Arp's work in a public gallery to the UK since his death in 1966 in collaboration with the Kröller-Müller Museum in The Netherlands.

This landmark exhibition comprises over 70 loans of work, the majority of which have never been on display in the UK. As well as drawings, collages, paintings, wood reliefs and sculptures, the exhibition explores Arp’s poetry, adding a new dimension to his biomorphic sculptures with flashes of the artist’s ingenuity.

Arp’s diverse practice had a poetry and playfulness at its core that is as engaging for audiences today as it was in Arp’s lifetime. His role in Dada, Surrealism and Abstraction, as well as his impact on the British avant-garde, make him a fascinating artist for modern audiences.

The exhibition is curated by Frances Guy, an independent curator, working with Eric Robertson, Professor of Modern French Literary and Visual Culture at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Arp: Painter, Poet, Sculptor (Yale University Press, 2006). It is co-ordinated by the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands, and will be shown there in summer 2017 before touring to Turner Contemporary as part of a new collaborative partnership.