Turner Contemporary, Margate
14 November 2026 - 11 April 2027
This autumn, Turner Contemporary will present Perpetual Motion Machine with Museum Piece con Gas (2019) by American artist Nicole Eisenman. The dyad will go on display in the Sunley Gallery, set against the backdrop of the North Sea.
The first figure, Perpetual Motion Machine, is a larger-than-life bronze. Slumped and labouring, its fists bob up and down, countered by a painter’s pole from which empty tuna cans jangle. Its back foot is stuck in a wad of chewing gum and slung over its shoulder are straps by which it drags along Museum Piece con Gas. Square wheels make progress seemingly impossible. Atop the cart is a second figure encrusted in brown wax and shaggy wool, which periodically emits jets of ‘smoke’ from its behind—an action Eisenman has described as a ‘post-Trumpian gesture’.
Crafted from bronze, plaster, fibreglass and an array of non-traditional, quotidian materials, ranging from human hair to coffee cup lids, Perpetual Motion Machine with Museum Piece con Gas’s abject, unruly forms speak both to individual disenfranchisement within a chaotic political climate, and the labour of collective action. The work originates from Eisenman’s monumental, 16-metre-long, sculptural assemblage Procession—a parade of figures first shown at the 2019 Whitney Biennial.
Since the early 1990s, Eisenman has achieved renown for works on paper, painting and, more recently, sculpture, drawing on the language of figurative art and her deep knowledge of art history to create incisive, often humorous, observations on contemporary life. At Turner Contemporary, Perpetual Motion Machine with Museum Piece con Gas will offer the opportunity to encounter the monumental work of an artist whose work rewards close looking.
The presentation continues our commitment to bringing ambitious sculpture to Margate, creating opportunities for audiences to encounter influential artists and consider new perspectives on the world around them.
Clarrie Wallis, Director, Turner Contemporary, said: ‘We are delighted to be exhibiting this major work by Nicole Eisenman for the first time in the UK. The presentation builds on Turner Contemporary’s ongoing commitment to sculpture, continuing a series of ambitious projects with leading international artists including Simone Leigh and Lynda Benglis. Together, these projects reflect our ambition to bring significant works to Margate, creating opportunities for audiences to encounter sculpture in new and unexpected ways.’