Top ten must see

Our recommendations for you
A vast banner, pictured from below, hangs in GoMA's grand main entrance

GoMA hosts an extensive modern and contemporary art collection – here are the most popular things to see.

Photograph shows a work by Niki de Saint Phalle - a triangular mosaic - commissioned to sit above the outside entrance.

Niki de Saint Phalle - Tympanum on exterior of building

Tympanum on exterior of building Commissioned for the Gallery of Modern Art

This triangular mirror mosaic sits above the entrance on the outside of the building. Saint Mungo, the founding father and patron saint of Glasgow and the story of Glasgow’s coat of arms is the inspiration for the colourful symbols and figures depicted.

Commissioned for the GoMA building, 1996.

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A vast banner, pictured from below, hangs in GoMA's grand main entrance

Sam Ainsley, Scott Myles and Ciara Phillips

Use as Much Pressure as Possible (2020 - 2023)

This collaborative artwork in screenprint and collage depicts a masonry saw and literally cuts through three floors of our building. Hanging in grand entrance space, it’s a ‘must see’ that you literally can’t miss!

Read more on the GoMA Blog site
Photograph showing the texts which are carved into the stone steps around the Gallery of Modern Art.

Lawrence Weiner

Along The Way, Come What May / Somewhere, Somehow, 2015

This became the only publicly-sited artwork by Weiner in Scotland and one of only a few in Britain. It's also the first public artwork commissioned by Glasgow Museums for GoMA since it opened in 1996. The texts are embedded into paving stones on Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow.

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Photograph showing Rabiya Choudhry's artwork 'DAD', 2018

Rabiya Choudhry

DAD, 2018

Mazhar is the name of Rabiya Choudhry’s father - a Pakistani immigrant who moved to Glasgow in the 1970s. Choudhry’s dad owned a fashion and textiles shop in Glasgow and the use of neon is a reference to this and to general use of neon and signage in retail.

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Photograph shows a gallery assistant welcoming visitors to GoMA in the entrance lobby.

Niki de Saint Phalle - mirrored entrance room

This mirrored entrance to GoMA was commissioned to create a transformative space from the city into the realm of the museum. Saint Phalle included a ‘lamp sculpture’ referred to as ‘Bischofberger 482’ (1972) by Jean Tinguely (1925-91) in her overall design for the museum’s entrance.

Photograph showing Peephole by Tim Stead, 1996, in GoMA.

Tim Stead

Peephole, 1996

For the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, opened in 1996, celebrated artist and wood sculptor, Tim Stead, made 'Peephole'. From various woods he created a warm seating alcove in the wall on the first balcony where visitors could enter and spy into the gallery below.

Photograph showing the artist James Rigler, beside his work 'Old Money', 2021.

James Rigler, 2021

Old Money, 2021, presented by the Contemporary Art Society through the Jackson Tang Ceramic Award 2020/21

Old Money is formed of two elements - a plain shelf structure, carefully tailored to the simple circulation space of the 1996 redevelopment, and an informally arranged collection of metal-leafed ceramic forms.

The title refers to the history of the building and the privilege it represents.

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Photograph showing 'Stained glass windows', by Adrian Wiszniewski, 1996

Stained glass windows, by Adrian Wiszniewski, 1996

A concept for the windows on the stairways of GoMA.

You can see themes of fire, earth, water and air, and colours of the elements. Fire in the basement, Earth on the ground floor with browns, greens and earthy hues. Water on the second floor has blues, and finally Air on the top floor is portrayed by opaque and white whirls on glass.

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Photographs showing COMMONSPace, a space in GoMA where we showcase our current community projects.

COMMONSpace

This space is where we showcase our current community projects. Our aim is to share the creative outcomes of ongoing collaborations between GoMA and local groups or institutions.

These displays are devised, created, and designed with, and by, individuals from different professional and social backgrounds. It is a space where we can celebrate the power of creativity and bring communities together.