Sainsbury Centre: Art Deco by the Sea

Art Deco by the Sea

From fashion to architecture, manufacturing to culture this new exhibition at The Sainsbury Centre celebrates how Art Deco transformed the British seaside

Early Morning Newlyn Dod Procter 1926 Oil on canvas Lent by Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, Wales © The Estate of Dod Procter / Bridgeman Images

Leaping Deer vase Carter, Stabler & Adams Ltd, Poole Painted by Eileen Prangnell c.1935 © John Clark

Armchair Gerald Summers 1934 Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture Moulded 13-ply birch plywood © Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia

ECKO AD-76 circular radio Wells Coates Bakelite1935 © John Clark

From now until June 14th, the Sainsbury Centre presents 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-onSea or Hunstanton, Art Deco became the seaside style. The show will also explore 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 will explore 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 will 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, 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 says; ‘The exhibition will explore 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.’

A major new publication will accompany 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 the show runs from July 11th-October.

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