POP! at Catto Gallery

POP AR T

An introduction to Pop Art! How to sum up the essence of Pop Art? Why did it happen when it did? Typically, it was Andy Warhol that nailed it. He said: “What’s great about America is the tradition where the richest consumers buy the same things as the poorest... The President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and you can drink Coke, too. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.”

His words capture the optimism of post-war western à V iÌÞ° >Ãà «À `ÕVÌ Ü>à LÀ } } >vyÕi Vi Ì Ì i masses. It was ironing out the gross inequality of the old world. Pop Art was the response. It was saying: there’s no high or low art – everything is good, like those Cokes.

Well, partly. Because here’s the other thing about Pop Art. It is aware of the darker side of the argument.

Industrial capitalism might make us richer, but it risks de-personalising us too.

This is why, buried inside Pop Art’s sunny titles and primary colours, there’s a clear ironic detachment.

Do we really believe Andy Warhol was being serious when he painted monumental soup cans and made statements such as: “I think everybody should be a machine”?

- Üi V> >À}Õi Ì >Ì * « Ü>Ã Ì i wÀÃÌ >ÀÌ Ûi i Ì with a sense of irony. Yes, the Dadaists put a urinal in a gallery in 1917, but theirs was a much more intellectual conceit. Pop Art sniggered. In that sense, it gave birth to an artistic sensibility that is still dominant today.

Of course, Pop wasn’t only a response to the consumerism of the 1950s and 1960s. It was also a reaction to the artistic movement that came before it. The abstract expressionism of Pollock, Newman and Rothko was austere and deep. Pop Artists kicked back. Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist, Oldenburg et al Vi iLÀ>Ìi` Ì i ÃÕ«iÀwV > > ` Ì i iÛiÀÞ`>Þ° ÕÌ >VÌÕ> Þ] Ì iÞ ÜiÀi ½Ì Ì i wÀÃÌ Ì ` Ì° v>VÌ] Ì i À Ì Ã } Ì Ì iÀi wÀÃÌ° * « čÀ̽à Li} }à V> i 1953 when the Independent Group of artists staged the Parallel of Art and Life exhibition in London. Like the Americans that came later, these artists – Richard Hamilton, Nigel Henderson, John McHale, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi and William Turnbull – were also reacting against the old guard by embracing popular culture.

As the IG’s resident critic Lawrence Alloway said: “We felt none of the dislike of commercial culture standard

among most intellectuals, but accepted it as fact, discussed it in detail, and consumed it enthusiastically.”

Today, Richard Hamilton’s 1956 work ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?’ à Ài}>À`i` >Ã Ì i wÀÃÌ Ü À v * « čÀÌ° / i V >}i presents a body-builder and a burlesque dancer (Adam and Eve?) surrounded by cut-outs of mod cons clipped from magazine ads. Tellingly, lumped in with the tinned ham and the vacuum cleaners is a Jackson Pollock.

Everything is the same and everything is good.

Like his American successors, Hamilton simultaneously celebrates the disposable modern world and critiques it. Yet this is still a very British image – with a certain detachment. After all, the Brits might have gazed across the Atlantic at the new prosperity being built, but they were still living in a world of rationing and bomb sites. > Ì ½Ã Ü À «À Ûi` Õ}i Þ yÕi Ì > ° à `i > decade, Pop was the art world’s pre-eminent aesthetic.

The movement’s seminal works came thick and fast.

In 1962, Warhol premiered his Marilyn Diptych and Claes Oldenburg revealed his giant squishy sculptures (Floor Burger, Floor Cone and others). A year later, Roy Lichtenstein painted Whaam! and Ed Ruscha presented Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas. In the UK, Pop’s ascendancy to the mainstream was crowned when Peter Blake created the sleeve art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

Half a century later, these works are museum pieces.

They sit alongside Titians and Goyas and Picassos in the galleries of the world. But the spirit of Pop – its fascination with surface and ephemera – undoubtedly lives on in the work of contemporary artists.

For this exhibition, Catto has gathered together a group v >ÀÌ ÃÌÃ ` ÀiVÌ Þ yÕi Vi` LÞ Ì Ã Ûi i Ì\ iL À> Azzopardi, Alain Bertrand, Sebastian Burdon, Chuck Elliott, David Gerstein, Perish the Thought, David Spiller, Russell West. We also include works by two artists actually working at the time: Peter Blake and Walasse Ting. Indeed, Ting’s 1964 book of poems One Cent Life, illustrated with original lithographs by 28 artists, is now regarded as one of the foundational moments in Pop Art. 50 years ago, Pop forced mainstream culture onto the elitist art establishment. It asked the question: what is the difference between high and low art? Today, > Ü À ` v ÃÌ>}À> yÕi ViÀÃ > ` >À`>Ã > billionaires, that question is more relevant than ever.

POP! Deborah Azzopardi Alain Bertrand Peter Blake Sebastian Burdon Chuck Elliott David Gerstein Perish The Thought David Spiller Walasse Ting Russell West

CATTO GALLERY 100 Heath Street • Hampstead • London NW3 1DP Tel: +44 (0)20 7435 6660 • art@cattogallery.co.uk

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Deborah Azzopardi Courtesy Cynthia Corbett Gallery. Images © Deborah Azzopardi

Deborah Azzopardi is internationally recognised for her distinctive, colourful, cartoon-like scenes. She has been painting for over 30 years, and is now widely collected. Her images deal with the drama and joy of the everyday – illustrating moments in life we can all relate to. Her glamorous women celebrate the comedy of turbulent relationships, self-image, seductions and fantasies.

Working simple graphics, a strong Pop Art line and toned shading, Azzopardi’s bold V ÕÀÃ Ì Þ Õ wÀÃÌ° / i Ì i Ã>ÕVÞ « ÃÌV>À` Õ ÕÀ v Ì i Ì Ì ià > ` ÌiÝÌà `À>ÜÃ Þ Õ ° Her pictures capture those points in time we have all experienced forever in paint. iÀ «> Ì }à >Ài i À>L i] «À Û V>Ì Ûi > ` y ÀÌ>Ì Õð čââ «>À` «> Ìà > Ì >Ì Þ Õ dare to fantasize about.

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Firebird (2016), Limited Edition Screen Print with Platinum Leaf 109 x 130cm. Edition of 15

Gossip (2016), Limited Edition Screen Print, 91 x 91cm. Edition of 10

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Alain Bertrand Alain’s love of American cars, cartoons and consumer goods was founded at an early age.

He grew up in France near an American air base in France waving to passing GIs in their Jeeps, listening to their rock records and smoking their king-size cigarettes.

After working in the design department of car maker Renault, Bertrand’s talent as an industrial illustrator brought him to the attention of many more brands. He created campaigns for Pirelli, Peugeot, Nestlé amongst others, and designed movie posters for w à ÃÕV >à One from The Heart, Mommie Dearest and Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World.

Alain’s trademark style fuses the language of illustration, advertising and photorealistic painting. It’s instantly recognisable, and it’s brought him legions of fans all over the world.

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Peter Blake

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/ i } `v>Ì iÀ v À Ì Ã * « čÀÌ] *iÌiÀ > i >à Lii `À>Ü } Ì i À V Ü À ` v popular culture for decades. Blake is primarily renowned for his connection with the music industry and is best known for co-creating the album cover for the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and iconic sleeve designs for bands including The Who, Oasis, and the Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas? In 2002 he was knighted at Buckingham Palace for his services to art.

Central to Blake’s artworks is his interest in popular culture. His work mixes images from photographs, comic strips, advertising texts, and other printed ephemera, with his own bold geometric patterns. Using this imagery, Blake creates strikingly contemporary and poignantly nostalgic original prints which celebrate the beauty of everyday modern life.

Matchboxes 2011, Silk Screen Print, 103 x 102cm. Edition of 100

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Sebastian Burdon

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-iL>ÃÌ > ÕÀ` wÀÃÌ ÃÌ>ÀÌi` > } ` } Ì> >ÀÌ >Ì Ì i >}i v ÃiÛi Ü i Õà } Ì i čÌ>À 130 XE. After moving to London in 2006, he worked as an assistant and consultant to established British artists. Burdon now creates artworks using both digital and traditional ÌiV µÕiÃÆ i` Õ Ã ÃÕV >à Àià > ` wLÀi} >Ãà v À à ÃVÕ «ÌÕÀ> Ü À ] à ÃVÀii «À Ìà and more unconventional materials such as 3D printing.

His high gloss colourful pop art dogs are unmissable, and are Burdon’s playful twist on Jeff Koon’s iconic balloon art.

Red Happy Dog, Polyurethane Resin, 19 x 30 x 15cm. Edition of 25

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Popek Blue 30, Polyurethane Resin, 30 x 30 x 15cm. Edition of 25

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Chuck Elliott Chuck Elliott’s artworks dazzle the eye with their complexity. Hovering between printmaking and photography, his practice is an investigation into colour, movement, geometry and light. Computer generated, free-form shapes are cropped, recoloured and enhanced as if editing in a camera view.

Elliott has been making digital images since the late eighties. An early adopter in the ` } Ì> ÀiÛ ÕÌ ] i V > Ã Ì >Ûi ÕÃi` Ì i wÀÃÌ č«« i V «ÕÌiÀ « ÀÌi` Ì Ì i 1 ° i received formal training at Hornsey Art School, and later carved out a successful career in V iÀV > `ià } > ` ÕÃÌÀ>Ì ] «À `ÕV } Ü À v À 9 9> > Ì ] č«« i] - Þ > ` Nike, among others.

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David Gerstein Gerstein’s joyful pop art wall sculptures have been exhibited all over the world– from New 9 À Ì , ] vÀ *>À Ã Ì 6i}>ð `ii`] i½Ã à Vi iLÀ>Ìi` à i V Õ ÌÀÞ v ÃÀ>i that he has been commissioned to create over 50 public art works.

As a boy, Gerstein made his own toys from anything that came to hand – thus people and V>Àà ÜiÀi VÕÌ ÕÌ v V>À`L >À`] Ü Ì Ü ` ÜÃ] Ü ii à > ` ` Àà «> Ìi` ° / i Ã> i colours are used in his trademark wall-sculptures today, and something can still be seen of the two-dimensional painted cars and toys of his youth.

He continues to return to the pop culture obsessions of his youth – cartoons, billboards, ÕÃi ` «>V >} } > ` Ì Þð à L ÕÀà v VÞV ÃÌÃ] LÕÌÌiÀy iÃ] `> ViÀà > ` y ÜiÀà >Ài full of life and visually arresting.

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Beauty Hunter, Hand Painted Metal Wall Sculpture, 99 x 170cm. Edition of 150

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United State, Hand Painted Metal Wall Sculpture, 110 x 110cm. Edition of 150

Home of Love, Hand Painted Metal Wall Sculpture, 60 x 45cm. Edition of 95

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Perish The Thought

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Walasse Ting i Þi>Àà >vÌiÀ à `i>Ì ] 7> >ÃÃi / }½Ã « >Vi >à > } > Ì v ÓäÌ Vi ÌÕÀÞ «> Ì } à >ÃÃÕÀi`° / i iÃi L À >ÀÌ ÃÌ Ûi` ÃÌ v à vi >Ì Ì i Û>À Õà i« Vi ÌÀià v ÜiÃÌiÀ «> Ì }] iÜ 9 À ] *>À à E č ÃÌiÀ`> ° / i >ÀÌ i «À `ÕVi` ÛiÀ à xä Þi>À V>ÀiiÀ ÀiÛi> Ã Ì iÃi > Þ yÕi Við / } à LiÃÌ Ü Ü v À Ã Û LÀ> Ì V ÕÀvÕ ÃÌÞ i° " Vi Ãii ] à yÕ ÀiÃVi Ì * « čÀÌ «> Ì }à v ÃVÀÕÌ>L i V>ÌÃ] Ãi ÃÕ ÕÃ Ü i ] > ` Û Û ` y À> LÕÀÃÌà >Ài Õ ÃÌ> i>L i° / `>Þ] > Þ v Ì iÃi « iVià >Ài Ü i` LÞ Ì i iÌÀ « Ì> ÕÃiÕ v čÀÌ] />Ìi `iÀ ] Õ}}i i ÕÃiÕ ] Ì i - Ì Ã > č iÀ V> čÀÌ ÕÃiÕ > ` Ì i Shanghai Art Museum plus many devoted private collectors.

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Russell West Russell West’s intensely coloured, dripping paint artworks draw the eye into a threedimensional labyrinth of layers and hollows, colours and patterns. He can spend up to a year creating one of his pieces, repeatedly applying prepared layers and strips of paint Ì «Ài >ÀÀ> }i` Ü Ài > ` « Ã > L >À`] Ì i > Ü } Ì i Ü À ] «>ÀÌ] Ì Li `iw i` by the natural effects of gravity and the serendipitous movement of the paint. À > ` À> Ãi` * ÀÌÃ ÕÌ ] 7iÃÌ «À>VÌ Vi` >Ã > }À>« V >ÀÌ ÃÌ Õ Ì £ n ° i Ì i moved to South East Asia, spending many years working as an artist in Hong Kong, the Philippines and India before returning to Britain.

His knowledge of paint, its weight, and movement is an understanding that could not be taught, he has personally developed this unique style over the last 25 years and there is no other artist to rival West’s expertise in this ingenious creative technique.

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David Spiller

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>Û ` -« iÀ VÀi>Ìi` >ÀÌ w i` Ü Ì vi > ` i iÀ}Þ] Ã Ü À V L iÃ Ì i «Õ V Þ >iÃÌ iÌ Và v * « čÀÌ Ü Ì Ã Ü LÀ> ` v iÝ«ÀiÃà à yÕi Vi` LÞ ÕLÕvviÌ] * V>Ãà > ` à wÀÃÌ Ìi>V iÀ] À> čÕiÀL>V ° - Õ Ì> i ÕÃ Þ vÕ > ` à ViÀi] à «> Ì }à iÀ}i bright colours, simple graphics and images with song lyrics to produce beautiful screen prints. Ì Ã] à w > ÃVÀii «À Ì] Ì i V Ãi ÞÀ Và > ` ÌiÝÌà ¼ >Þ č }i à À } Ì 7>ÌV "ÛiÀ 9 Õ / } ̽ ¼č > ` i Ì i 7 `½ > ` ¼ Ûi à č / iÀi ý >``i` à ÌÀ>`i >À freehand, take on a new poignancy following his death last year.

Somewhere over the Rainbow, Screen Print, 104 x 107cm. Edition of 95 22

Back Cover: Walasse Ting Girl with the Orange Flower, Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm

CATTO GALLERY 100 Heath Street • Hampstead • London NW3 1DP Tel: +44 (0)20 7435 6660 • www.cattogallery.co.uk • art@cattogallery.co.uk Opening times: 10am - 6pm Mon - Sat • 12.30pm - 6pm Sunday • and by appointment

Exhibition dates: 11th - 29th April 2019