Richard Hamilton: A Retrospective
Richard Hamilton is one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century and is widely regarded as a founding figure of pop art. His work is celebrated in a retrospective at the Tate Modern.
This is the first retrospective to encompass the full scope of Hamilton’s work, from his early exhibition designs of the 1950s to his final paintings of 2011. The works on display explore his relationship to design, painting, photography and television, as well his engagement and collaborations with other artists.
Hamilton is best known for his pivotal role in the birth of pop art, including the groundbreaking 1956 installation Fun House. The depiction of Mick Jagger in his iconic Swingeing London image, as well as images of other celebrities such as Bing Crosby and Marilyn Monroe, show Hamilton’s continued interest in popular culture. He also addressed wider contemporary issues and political subjects including the Kent State shootings and the IRA ‘dirty protests’, as well as figures like Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair in such works as Treatment Room and Shock and Awe.
Hamilton was noted for his many collaborations with other artists, from making the official reconstruction of Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors Even (The Large Glass) to a life-long series of Polaroid portraits which Hamilton invited other artists to take of him, including Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. This interest in the work of others can also be seen in his very final computer-aided paintings, which were inspired by the masters of Italian Renaissance.
The retrospective is on display at the Tate Modern, London, England until Monday 26 May 2014. It will then tour to Madrid, Spain where it will be exhibited at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía from June until October 2014.
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