Verner Panton, Swimming Pool, 1969 Spiegel Publishing House (Hamburg) © Panton Design, Basel
London • Design
A History of Pop
The Barbican's unmissable look at what happened when art met design...
Rob Wilkes • 25 October, 2013
Fancy a bit of Pop Art? How about a double dollop of Pop Art? How would you like to strip naked and dive headfirst into a swimming pool full of lovely, lovely Pop Art? Put your clothes back on you weirdos, this exhibition might make you take leave of your senses, but proper attire is still required at the Barbican Centre's Barbican Art Gallery. Yes, if Pop Art is your thing, it doesn't get much better than this. Heading right back to the start in the aftermath of World War Two, the exhibition Pop Art Design is all about the exchange of ideas between art and design that gave rise to the movement, and traces its development through a wish-list of important pieces that are rarely seen together in public. More than just a greatest hits collection, however, Pop Art Design is a study of the dialogue between the two disciplines and shows how ideas evolved around areas such as advertising, packaging and typography and migrated from the USA to Europe. The Barbican's curator Catherine Ince has assembled the collection with help from institutions such as Vitra Design Museum, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and Moderna Museet, and it's a bobby dazzler. Some of the highlights include a rare chance to see Studio 65's Leonardo sofa from 1969, Allen Jones' provocative Chair from the same year, and Moloch, the anglepoise to end them all from Gaetano Pesce. The exhibition opened this week and will continue until 9 February 2014. @BarbicanCentre
Pop Art Design Installation image 22 October – 9 February © Gar Powell-Evans 2013 Courtesy Barbican Art Gallery
Studio 65 Leonardo, sofa,1969 Manufactured by Gufram Collection Vitra Design Museum Photo: Andreas Sütterlin
Evelyne Axell Ice Cream 1, 1964 Private Collection © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2013
James Rosenquist I Love you with My Ford, 1961 Collection Moderna Museet Photo: Moderna Museet-Stockholm/Prallan Allsten © James Rosenquist/DACS, London/VAGA, New York 2013
Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Stardust Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas), 1968 Courtesy Museum im Bellpark Kriens from the "Las Vegas Studio" project © Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc., Philadelphia
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