ART lovers are looking forward to the opening of a new sculpture exhibition at York Art Gallery, featuring work by artists including Damien Hirst.

Relationships: Contemporary Sculpture is opening at the end of this month, and follows the success of the gallery's previous contemporary exhibition, Tom Bendhem: Collector.

Exhibition curator Jennifer Alexander said it showed there was a real appetite for modern art in the city.

The exhibition will include pieces from the gallery's own collection, as well as loans from the Arts Council Collection. Work will be displayed from some of the country's most famous sculpture artists; as well as Hirst there will be Rachel Whiteread, also from Yorkshire, and Anya Gallacio among others.

"We are delighted to be bringing some of the top names in contemporary sculpture to York," said Miss Alexander.

"Most of the artists included have been nominated for - or won - the Turner Prize in recent years and this is a rare chance to see work by the likes of Yorkshire's own Damien Hirst and Rachel Whiteread here in the city."

The new exhibition will explore the idea of relationships in both simple and more complex terms, making use of different materials and the shapes and forms related to them. The inclusion of household name Damien Hirst could attract large numbers of visitors to the exhibition.

Fans of Hirst might recognise Relationships, his piece which appeared in his first solo exhibition, Internal Affairs, in 1991. It consists of a drinking glass filled to a certain point with water upon which a ping- pong ball floats.

Art fans can also expect to see Rachel Whiteread's Untitled (Six Spaces), Rebecca Warren's Journey Into The Heart Of The Night, John Frankland's Untitled (shed) and Anya Gallacio's Can Love Remember The Question And The Answer.

The exhibition runs from Saturday until May 13. A guided talk by Jennifer Alexander will take place on April 18, at 12.30pm. Phone 01904 687687 for details or visit www.yorkartgallery.co.uk