2026
Ordinary: The Stories We Don’t Tell
A National Gallery Friday Lates presentation, London, 10 July 2026.
A one-minute film from the evening at the National Gallery.
On Friday 10 July 2026, marking the 420th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, the National Gallery presented Ordinary: The Stories We Don’t Tell, an evening with Siris Hill curated by Maryanne Saunders. Hill spoke in the Rembrandt Room on the painter’s influence on his practice and formation as an artist, followed by a presentation of works from the Ordinary series in the Roden Centre for Creative Learning.
Delivered in the Rembrandt Room of the National Gallery, Hill recounted his relationship with Rembrandt’s portraiture — a relationship that began with a chance encounter with the painter’s work at a formative moment in his life, whilst homeless.
“A painter of truth. When I stand in front of a Rembrandt painting I feel as if I’m about to converse with the subject… He didn’t paint what he saw, he understood them and captured their inner being.”
The talk underpins the direct, humane portraiture of Hill’s series Ordinary.
“I thought rather than focusing on Rembrandt’s legacy as a wider cultural impact, what better way to celebrate his birthday than to tell a story of how, 400 years later, Rembrandt’s work is still inspiring people in the most unlikely ways. I am an artist because of Rembrandt. A testament to his legacy.”
The evening included the first public screening of a thirty-minute documentary on the making of Ordinary. Film: 97films, director Callum Crossland.
Works from Ordinary were presented as elevated prints, digital paintings carrying physical relief, alongside tactile samples, with visitors invited to encounter the work through touch as well as sight.
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