Brutalities of conflict exposed at Coventry gallery

It no doubt reflected the 18th century attitude to conflict. But the artists in this mixed multimedia exhibition of British art might feel they have more in common with Goya and his 19th century exposé of the brutality and violence of conflict in his Disasters of War series. Though paradoxically there’s much that is beautiful in this impressive show.

There’s delicacy in Matthew Picton’s “Coventry and Dresden” 2010, where detailed models of the two blitzed cities are shown side by side with the ruins constructed from the singed and torn fragments of the scores of Britten’s War Requiem and Wagner’s Ring cycle. There’s vision too in an impressive set of sunset photos, shot ironically by soldiers on leave from their conflict zones.

But a more familiar version of the average squaddie is brilliantly portrayed by the Rosie Kay Dance Company in a cleverly choreographed video of square-bashing routines that begin to get serious. It’s an agenda-setting piece in a section of the show where no punches are pulled in exposing the brutalising influence of war.

There are two impressive mural-sized works by the duo, Peter Kennard and Cat Philips, that are massively assertive. They make use of techniques that were developed in the 1960s by Robert Rauschenberg but with a sense of purpose that makes a significant difference.

Mike Peel exposes the propaganda element of the printed image and Cornelia Parker reveals the innocent-looking beginnings of a deadly weapon. Powerful subject matter, but powerful subject matter doesn’t necessarily produce powerful art. But in this brilliantly curated show, you would never know it.

Peter McCarthy