22 October 2013 – 9 February 2014

The first comprehensive exhibition to explore the origins, motives and methods of dialogue between Pop Art and design

From the mid 1950s to early 1970s, Pop was characterised by a dynamic exchange of ideas between the fields of design and art. The touring exhibition from Vitra Design Museum, curated and significantly expanded for its UK finale by Catherine Ince, brought together around 200 works, by over 70 artists and designers, alongside a diverse selection of ephemera, film, photography and documentation of Pop interiors and architecture.

Significant buildings and spatial analogues were sampled and synthesized to allow visitors to appreciate and enjoy the objects in the context of their original production.

We used the exposed concrete of the Barbican galleries to enhance the intense material qualities of the Pop objects. Warhol’s 'Close cover before striking', synthetic polymer paint and sandpaper on canvas (1962) on pick hammered concrete (1982).

In the upstairs gallery each room was painted a different colour in response to the colours of the key objects, heightening the intensity of their visual qualities and associations.