A woman faces away from us, straps crisscrossing her back, in this photograph by Catherine Opie.
Read moreTriptych, May-June 1973
Francis Bacon depicts his lover lingering on the edge of death in this stark triptych of paintings.
Read moreBacks
We encounter fourteen slouched figures in this series of sculptures by Magdalena Abakanowicz.
Read moreScreen Test
Edie Sedgwick blinks blearily, facing a test of endurance in this work of video art by Andy Warhol.
Read moreCancer of the Uterus
A medical diagram is appended with glitter and fluff in this thought-provoking collage by Wangechi Mutu.
Read moreSpiral Jetty
A sculptural coil spirals out into the Great Salt Lake, Utah, in this work of land art by Robert Smithson.
Read moreFireflies on the Water
Coloured lights are reflected into infinity in this mesmerising mirror installation by Yayoi Kusama.
Read moreVenus of the Rags
A goddess stands amid a pile of laundry in this cheeky sculpture by Michelangelo Pistoletto.
Read moreFlower Matango
This garish globe of grinning, plastic daisies by Takashi Murakami once stood in the Palace of Versailles.
Read moreTilted Arc
Richard Serra's curved steel sculpture towered over New York commuters in the eighties, provoking awe and ire.
Read moreChicago Board of Trade II
We survey a room crammed full of stock brokers in this frenetic photograph by Andreas Gursky.
Read moreMetamorphosis III
We are led through a series of puzzling transformations in this confounding woodcut by M.C. Escher.
Read moreInasmuch As It Is Always
A fragmented body is scattered across sixteen screens in this disquieting video installation by Gary Hill.
Read moreUntitled #209
A quartet of blue hues sweeps over the viewer in this sunny, deceptively simple painting by Etel Adnan.
Read moreUntitled #97
Cindy Sherman sits, slumped against hand, clutching a bathrobe to her body in this frank photograph.
Read moreThe Second Situation
Four faces guffaw at a private punchline in this quartet of self-portrait paintings by Geng Jianyi.
Read moreAngel of the North
Antony Gormley's arresting, celestial sculpture towers over the A1, carrying the mythology of its homeland.
Read moreDropping a Han Dynasty Urn
A fragile historical artefact tumbles to the floor in this provocative photographic triptych by Ai Weiwei.
Read moreRyan in the Tub
We intrude on a woman reclining in dingy bathwater in this intimate, dimly lit photograph by Nan Goldin.
Read moreCOSPlayers
Spider-Man and Hello Kitty pose against a grey Guangzhou backdrop in this multimedia series by Cao Fei.
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