Sainsbury Centre at University of East Anglia campus

The Sainsbury Centre is re-opening on 7 July, with special Covid-safe conditions

Sainsbury Centre
ART DECO BY THE SEA 
exhibition extended to 20 September 2020

This February, the Sainsbury Centre opens Art Deco by the Sea, an exciting new exhibition examining British coastal culture between the First and Second World Wars and the Art Deco style. The exhibition explores how Art Deco transformed the British seaside in a new age of mass tourism. It examines how coastal resorts were modernised, how new resorts were established and how iconic examples of Art Deco architecture from hotels and apartment blocks to cinemas and amusement parks altered the look of the British seafront. From the Midland Hotel in Morecambe to the villas of Frinton-on-Sea or Hunstanton, Art Deco became the seaside style.

The show also explores how the seaside became a site for innovative modern manufacture, featuring companies such as Poole Pottery, ECKO radios and Crysède textiles, all known for their striking modern designs. Major seaside employers, these companies produced popular Art Deco styled products exported all over the world. The 1920s and 30s witnessed the advent of the healthy body culture, when sunbathing, swimming and a host of other outdoor activities became fashionable.

The development of amenities such as lidos and golf courses changed the look of seaside resorts while holiday camps such as Butlin's provided new types of holiday experience. The show explores coastal amusements and activities, featuring Art Deco fashion, and for the first time including the more ephemeral, popular culture of the seaside such as circuses, fairgrounds, pleasure parks, fun fairs and illuminations. In addition, a significant group of paintings explore how a fashion for realism underpinned much imagery of the seaside during the period.

The show includes around 150 works in all media including paintings, posters, brochures, drawings, photographs, fashion, furniture, ceramics and textiles. It is be drawn from public and private collections in the UK. The exhibition features works by Serge Chermayeff, Dame Laura Knight, Gluck, Wells Coates, Oliver Hill, Tom Purvis, Septimus Scott, Truda Carter, Alvar Aalto, Jean Dunand, ECKO radios and Poole Pottery.

Ghislaine Wood, curator of the exhibition said, “The exhibition explores how Art Deco became the key style for pleasure and leisure, transforming coastal resorts and coming to symbolise new values for people experiencing new freedoms. Art Deco had enormous appeal for its glamour and accessibility, which still attracts audiences today.” The exhibition is curated by Ghislaine Wood, Acting Director of the Sainsbury Centre.

A major new publication accompanies the show edited by Ghislaine Wood with essays by Professor Bruce Peter, Glasgow School of Art; Gill Saunders, Victoria & Albert Museum and Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Sheffield University.

The show is organised by the Sainsbury Centre in partnership with the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle where show runs 11 July – 11 October 2020. Supported by collenandclare.com

The Sainsbury Centre is proud to be working with award winning architectural and heritage consultancy practice Purcell to produce a brand new Art Deco map of East Anglia, to be launched alongside Art Deco by the Sea. purcelluk.com 

Exhibition Information Art Deco by the Sea
9 February – 14 June 2020
£13 | £12 concessions 50% off for under 18s, full-time students and Art Fund Members FREE for Sainsbury Centre Members, UEA and NUA Student Members
Tickets on sale from 1 December 2019

Visit scva.ac.uk or call 01603 593199 (Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm)

About the Sainsbury Centre The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is one of the most important public university art galleries in Britain. It was founded in 1973 at the University of East Anglia (UEA) with the support of one of the nation’s great philanthropic families, Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury who donated their extraordinary art collection which includes works dating from prehistory to the late twentieth century from across the globe. A radical new building by Norman Foster was designed to house the collection and was his first public work.

The Sainsbury Centre holds one of the most impressive art collections outside of the national institutions. It includes a significant number of works by modern masters of European art such as Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Jacob Epstein, Jean Arp, Chaïm Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani. There is also a remarkable collection of art and antiquities dating from prehistory to the late twentieth century from across the globe. There are major holdings from Oceania, Africa, the Americas, Asia, the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as Medieval Europe. Alongside these permanent collections, it hosts a range of exhibitions in the largest suite of temporary exhibitions galleries in Eastern England. sainsburycentre.ac.uk

About the Laing Art Gallery Situated in the centre of Newcastle, the Laing is home to an impressive collection of art. Its exhibition programme is renowned for bringing the biggest names in art to the North East and includes historic, modern and contemporary art. The gallery’s permanent displays feature important 18th and 19th century paintings including Joshua Reynolds, William Homan Hunt, John Martin, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, and other spectacular art. laingartgallery.org.uk About Collen & Clare Described by award winning journalist India Knight as 'the ultimate boutique', Collen and Clare bring effortlessly chic collections to three locations in the East of England. Offering an exclusive range of womenswear, menswear and beauty, the flagship store in Southwold has been an essential part of the high street for over 15 years, gaining cult status with loyal customers visiting from around the UK for its curated edits of niche and big name designers including S'Max Mara and Barbour. After expanding in 2013 with two new stores in Aldeburgh and Burnham Market, the business launched collenandclare.com and now bring a unique mixture of menswear, womenswear, beauty and excellent customer service to customers around the world. 

New Brighton & Wallasey Artwork by Septimus Edwin Scott, 1923-1947. © National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library

This celebration of British coastal culture will look at how Art Deco became the seaside style.
 
From resorts and hotels to cinemas and amusement parks, iconic examples of architecture will reveal how Art Deco altered the look of the British seafront. This exhibition of over 150 works will also shine a light on interiors and fashion, with striking designs from renowned manufacturers such as Poole Pottery, ECKO radios and Crysède textiles.

A significant group of Art Deco paintings, underpinned by a fashion for realism, will be brought together for the first time. The more ephemeral, popular culture of the seaside will also be featured, to highlight the glamour and accessibility of this much loved style.