Eduardo Paolozzi: Collaging Culture
[ Exhibition )
Eduardo Paolozzi, Untitled screenprint from Moonstrips Empire News (Stacked and parked cars), 1967, Screenprint on paper, Pallant House Gallery (Wilson Gift through The Art Fund, 2006) © Trustees of the Paolozzi Foundation
A major retrospective of the work of Eduardo Paolozzi (1924–2005), one of the most inventive and prolific 20th century British artists.
With 150 works in a variety of media, the exhibition explored the extraordinary versatility of Paolozzi’s approach to making art. Although best known as a sculptor, he worked in ceramics, collage, drawing, film, jewellery, printmaking, textiles, and even the decoration of Tottenham Court Road Underground station.
Paolozzi’s use of collage was a particular feature of the exhibition. As both a working process and a conceptual approach, Paolozzi used the method to combine disparate sources of inspiration. We see this in his iconic images cut from the pages of American magazines and his robotic sculptures expressing man’s relationship with technology.
As a retrospective, the pieces on display spanned the length of his career. The rich variety included early Surrealist sculptures, 1950s textiles for Hammer Prints Ltd. and Horrockses Fashions, innovative Pop Art screenprints, ceramics designed for Wedgwood and Rosenthal, and maquettes for his later public commissions.
Curated by Simon Martin, the exhibition featured loans from a range of private and public collections including Arts Council Collection, British Council Collection and Tate. It also drew upon our own collection of the artist’s work, donated by the artist’s lifelong friend and patron, the architect Colin St John Wilson.
The exhibition was made possible by the provision of insurance through the Government Indemnity Scheme. Pallant House Gallery would like to thank HM Government for providing Government Indemnity and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.
An illustrated catalogue is available from Pallant Bookshop.
What the press said
Celebrates the inventive force of one of the most forward-looking and prolific postwar British artists
Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times
A compelling exhibition. There are moments of tension and intrigue in pretty much every room.
Simon Olding, Crafts magazine
Alive with the energy and inventiveness of a multi-talented man with an immense curiosity about the world around him.
Richard Cork, Financial Times
This exhibition was made possible by a number of generous organisations and individuals
Want to know more?
If you’re conducting research into this artist or another aspect of Modern British art and would like to use our library and archive, please contact Sarah Norris, Collections Manager on s.norris@pallant.org.uk.