The Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh are delighted to celebrate the Italian Design Day 2024 in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland on the occasion of the “Paolozzi at 100” exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two).
Celebrating 100 years since the birth of Scottish pop artist Eduardo Paolozzi, on Thursday, 14th March at 6:00 pm a special private visit of the exhibition will take us on a tour through his most popular artworks and explore Paolozzi’s design connections with his homeland of Italy. The guided tour will be conducted by Kerry Watson, Senior Librarian of Modern and Contemporary Art and Curator of Paolozzi at 100, and will be followed by a reception.
Of Italian descent, Eduardo Paolozzi (1924 – 2005) was born in Leith near Edinburgh. He studied in Edinburgh and London and spent two years in Paris from 1947, where he produced enigmatic, bronze sculptures reminiscent of those by Giacometti. During the same period he made a series of dada and surrealist-inspired collages in which magazine advertisements, cartoons and machine parts are combined, thus anticipating the concerns of Pop Art. Alongside teaching at various art schools he developed his printmaking and sculpture. Paolozzi was particularly interested in the mass media and in science and technology.
The exhibition at the Modern Two features over 60 works set out over two gallery spaces and the Keiller Library. Highlights include his Mickey tapestry made with Dovecot Tapestry Studio and graphic and gold ceramic plate collaborations designed with Wedgwood. Marvel at his colourful tile designs for Tottenham Court Road tube station, and don’t miss the kinetic energy of the Calcium Light Night and Moonstrip Empire News screenprints. Discover Paolozzi’s eclectic take on popular culture and the machine age. You can see all this alongside a replication of Paolozzi’s actual art studio, complete with multiple plaster casts, and collected memorabilia.
The Italian Design Day is an event conceived to promote Italian design abroad, to support exports and the internationalisation of companies in this sector, to foster international know-how and exchange of technical and creative skills, as well as to increase incoming tourist flows. To this end, during this annual celebration, this year on its 8th edition, the network of Embassies, Consulates, Italian Cultural Institutes and ICE offices organise a number of promotional initiatives specifically tailored to the needs of each individual location.
Event organised under the patronage of the Council of Viticuso.
By invitation only.
#IDD2024
