Eduardo Paolozzi 1924 - 2005

Eduardo Paolozzi was born in Leith, Edinburgh in 1924 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art (1943-47) and the Slade School of Art. A member of the Independent Group in London, he was commissioned to make a work for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Throughout the 1960s and 70s he was a pioneering figure in British sculpture and printmaking, representing Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1960. Paolozzi has undertaken a number of high profile public commissions throughout his career, most prominently a mosaic for Tottenham Court Road Underground, London. Eduardo Paolozzi died in London in 2005.

works in the collection - 8

PAC/075

Paolozzi developed a method of gathering ideas based on his intense study of museum and gallery collections while studying at the Slade - then in Oxford. His series of 'fisherman' drawings drew on childhood memories of Leith and the non-western sculptures he studied at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.

Fishermen, 1946


PAC/078

Paolozzi's interest in the transformation of the everyday object stems from the two years he spent in Paris between 1947-49. While there, he met Giacometti and became fascinated by the work of Klee, Ernst, Miro and Dubuffet. His study of Surrealism and Dada offered him techniques that drew on a wide range of sources such as popular culture, science and technology.

Lamp, 1947


PAC/076

This untitled work is part of a series of bas-reliefs that Paolozzi made in Paris during 1948. While there, he met Giacometti and became fascinated by the work of Klee, Ernst, Miro and Dubuffet. His study of Surrealism and Dada offered him techniques such as collage, frottage and assemblage that he has used throughout his career.

Untitled, circa 1948


PAC/077

Paolozzi was a key figure in the development of Pop Art in Britain. His fascination with transforming everyday objects grew out of his awareness of DADA and the Surrealists, and his images often merge organic and mechanical forms.

Untitled, circa 1948


PAC/079

This work is one of a series of studies of Parisian cigarette booths Paolozzi made while living in France (1947-49), abstracting their garish interiors into geometric motifs.

Targets, 1948


PAC/080

The coarse surface of Standing Figure is the result of Paolozzi's technique of modelling in plaster and incorporating machine parts or found objects into the form. During the 1950s Paolozzi made series of important figurative sculptures, which are organic-mechanical hybrids based on his interest in museum collections, science fiction, technical mechanisms and pop culture.

Standing Figure, 1954


PAC/082

During the 1960s and 70s Paolozzi made a body of sculpture based on the aesthetics of mechanical devices. Fabricated from sheet metal or bronze, and occasionally painted, these works appear to be surreal mechanical hybrids whose function is ambiguous.

Untitled (date unknown)


PAC/081

Throughout the 1970s Paolozzi based his imagery on machine aesthetics. His distinctive lexicon of forms developed from his practice of collecting images from an eclectic range of sources, such as technical manuals, science fiction and museum objects.

Miennes, 1976