Paolozzi ‘Pop Art’ touring exhibition stops off at Tonbridge’s OBS Gallery
Pop Art is the theme of an exciting new exhibition coming to Tonbridge’s Old Big School Gallery in January.
General Dynamic F.U.N. will be showcasing the screen prints of Eduardo Paolozzi, one of the pioneers of the pop movement in the UK.
A Hayward Gallery National Touring exhibition, the show will run between Thursday 19 January and Sunday 26 February.
Entry is free and it will be open to the public most weekends from 12pm to 4pm (please check the EM Forster Theatre website). School visits can also be booked for most weekdays, via the OBS Gallery.
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi CBE RA (1924-2005) is revered for his mechanistic sculptures and his kaleidoscopic print projects. Paolozzi’s work in this exhibition, General Dynamic F.U.N., consists of a series of 50 screen prints and photolithographs created between 1965 and 1970, which attests to his long-held interest in collecting and collaging found materials.
He drew from such rich pop culture sources as American magazines, the Disney studios and consumer advertising. Within his work, Elizabeth Taylor glowers in neon and a chimpanzee is propelled into the Jet Age.
The artist’s friend and sometime collaborator, J.G. Ballard, described General Dynamic F.U.N. as “a unique guidebook to the electric garden of our minds”. Another critic wrote that Paolozzi’s work is “a health warning for an uncreative and thriftless society”.
* A Private View for Tonbridge students and staff, plus invited guests, takes place on Wednesday 18 January between 6.30pm and 8pm.
* An Art Talk, ‘Eduardo Paolozzi by Selina Skipwith’, Independent Curator, takes place on Thursday 26 January between 7pm-8pm in the BSC Atrium. Gallery open from 6.30pm. Free but bookable, with limited spaces.
* A Family ‘Drop-In’ Workshop, with Caroline Bugby, Sculptor, is on Sunday 26 February, 12pm-4pm, Big School. No booking needed.
* Follow the Old Big School Gallery on Instagram.
* Up-to-date opening times and other information, including dates during the February half-term, will be posted on the EM Forster Theatre website.
