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Art.sy Insight: Richard Hamilton and industrial design

Artsy Editorial
Nov 28, 2012 10:14PM
Toaster - deluxe study II, 2008
Gagosian Gallery
Toaster - deluxe study VIII, 2008
Gagosian Gallery

Richard Hamilton had a self-proclaimed interest “in trying to establish the idea that any common object could be a subject for Pop Art, even if it was high style.” As a result, he frequently turned to everyday objects for subject matter, and was particularly infatuated with the icons of household design produced by Dieter Rams for the German company Braun. “My admiration for [Rams’ work] is intense and I have for years been uniquely attracted towards his design sensibility,” Hamilton said. “So much so that his consumer products have come to occupy a place in my heart and consciousness that the Mont Sainte-Victoire did in Cézanne’s.” Late in his career, he produced a series of collage prints based on the sleek toaster Rams designed for Braun.

Artsy Editorial