1960's Exhibition Review: 'A Marriage of Styles'

Mascalls gallery hosts another exciting exhibition. This exhibition is curated as part of the celebrations around the 50th anniversary of the University of Kent. It looks at two movements in the 1960s (Pop Art and abstraction) and how British Artists mixed the two.  All of the selected works are paintings. The exhibition features works by major British Artists that gained acclaim around the year 1965 (the year the University of Kent opened). This includes: Allen Jones, Bridget Riley and David Hockney. The title of the exhibition - ‘A Marriage of Styles’, comes from Hockney’s wittily entitled work featured in the exhibition.  This exhibition hopes to capture the impulse and originality of British Art in reflection of Britain in 1960s. 

All the works featured in the exhibition truly embody the ‘swinging sixties’. This was a time that was fun, fast, fresh and new. This was the year that demanded change. Pop Culture became an intrinsic part of society. It was these changes that inspired Artists to create work that captured the very essence of a revolution.

Artist's such as Frank Bowling, playfully merge aspects of Abstract and Pop Art in order to create something new. His painting: ‘Swan II’, is featured in the exhibition. The transatlantic links established in the 60’s meant that many Artists, particularly in the exhibition, were influenced by Abstract expressionism. This movement gained recognition due to American Artists such as Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning. Pollock’s method of dripping and pouring paint captures the Artist’s personal psychological expression to create a visual monologue.

Op Art (or optical illusion) is an Abstraction term coined by Bridget Riley. It is a visual exploration that blurs the lines between reality and imagination. These works can be quite disorientating to look at. Riley’s’ ‘Crest’ in particular is a piece that you can only truly appreciate once you witness its compelling nature in person. The bold swerve of repetitive black lines create an overwhelming sense of space and movement.  The hard lines, the finely calibrated measurements and the sleek progression of black and white lines break done both sexual and aesthetic barriers. Contrastingly, Pollock’s rustic way of applying the paint creates a calming typically feminine aesthetic. The paint gyrates and dances around the canvas gracefully as it curves and loops around the canvas. Overall, there is an intentional tension created when viewing Riley’s ‘Crest’ it deludes the retina and dishevels the psyche in effect simulating the effect of being under the influence of drugs.

A visit to this exhibition is truly worthwhile. It is a remarkable visual showcase that demonstrates how the past became the future. Enjoy.

By Lalita Bailey(Curation intern)

‘A Marriage of Styles’ ends on the 6^th of June.