POP! Art in a Changing Britain
[ Exhibition )
This exhibition is now closed
Richard Hamilton, Swingeing London ’67, 1968, Relief, screenprint on oil on photograph on hardboard, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Wilson Gift through Art Fund, 2006) © Richard Hamilton 2020. All rights reserved, DACS
How did artists in 1950s and 1960s respond to rapid social change?
A vivid exploration of how Pop Art emerged as a means of addressing the rise of mass media, celebrity and political concerns.Drawn from our significant collection of British Pop Art, this exhibition explored how artists in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s responded to the rise of mass media, the cult of celebrity, questions of identity and prevalent political concerns – issues that still resonate today.
A generation of artists led by Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake and Patrick Caulfield radically challenged thinking about art and mass media, democratising art by questioning the traditional division between high and low art. They took their cue from advertising, comics, science fiction and contemporary music, embracing non-traditional materials and techniques.
This exhibition celebrated our significant collection of British Pop Art, including major paintings, sculpture and its extensive holding of Pop prints. It includes seminal works such as Peter Blake’s ‘The Beatles, 1962’ (1963-68), Richard Hamilton’s ‘Swingeing London’ (1968), Jann Haworth’s ‘Cowboy’ (1964) and an early example of Pop printmaking, Eduardo Paolozzi’s ‘As Is When’ (1965).
Thanks to this exhibition, we were able to add important new artworks to our collection
These new acquisitions will help us to better tell the story of British art by filling gaps in our permanent collection.
Antony Donaldson, Hollywood
Thanks to this exhibition, we were able to add important new artworks to our collection
These new acquisitions will help us to better tell the story of British art by filling gaps in our permanent collection.
Gerald Laing, Baby Baby Wild Things & Brigitte Bardot (1968)
Purchased with the support of the Art Fund and Pallant House Gallery Acquisitions Fund (2018).
Gerald Laing’s iconography of starlets, film stars, astronauts and racing car drivers from mass media sources, characteristically presented in flat colour shapes have been described as ‘pure pop’. The addition of this iconic portfolio to our collection is the first example of Gerald Laing’s work in our collection.
What the press said
Purchased with the support of the Art Fund and Pallant House Gallery Acquisitions Fund (2018).
Gerald Laing’s iconography of starlets, film stars, astronauts and racing car drivers from mass media sources, characteristically presented in flat colour shapes have been described as ‘pure pop’. The addition of this iconic portfolio to our collection is the first example of Gerald Laing’s work in our collection.
Explore British Pop Art
Richly illustrated throughout, Pop! Art in a Changing Britain uses the Gallery’s collection of British Pop Art as a lens to examine how British Pop artists responded to social change during the tumultuous mid-20th century.
Including artist biographies, a timeline of the 1960s which places significant moments in the development of British Pop Art alongside important events in wider culture, science, technology and politics, this is essential for any fan of British art and history of the 20th century.
Want to know more?
If you’re conducting research into this artist or any other aspect of British Modern art, please contact Sarah Norris, Collections Manager on s.norris@pallant.org.uk.