Design for Life: Art and Architecture – Part 1

18 March – 2 July 2023, Hestercombe Gallery

Curated by Tim Martin

Photo courtesy of Hestercombe Gallery.

The exhibition explored the visual and historical intersection of art and architecture, considering artists and architects from the past 65 years. Eight different spaces link works including drawings, paintings, sculptures, models, photographs, films and plans by over twenty international artists. The contemporary works are shown in tandem with works by pioneers of modern architecture and original plans from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from Hestercombe’s collection.

The exhibition included the work of Artist Bridget Riley and Estonian architect Leonhard Lapin, works of the Somerset-based artist Tony Davey, German photography by Andreas Gursky and architectural pioneers such as Superstudio and Le Corbusier.

Tony Fretton, Lisson Gallery II, Sketches of Ground Floor Gallery and Ceiling, 1991-2, United Kingdom, pen and ink on tracing paper, 298 x 420 mm. DMC 2886.6.

Drawing Matter contributed 27 works from the collection, including drawings by Leonhard Lapin, Tony Fretton, Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys, Le Corbusier, Ugo La Pietra, Superstudio, Michael Craig Martin, Christo, and Derek Boshier’s 16 Situations.

Leonhard Lapin, Objects on the beach, 1973, Estonia, pen and gouache on paper, 398 x 400 mm. DMC 3216.2.
Leonhard Lapin, Trepp Mere Kaldal (Stairs by the Sea), 1973, Estonia, pen and gouache on paper, 402 x 440 mm. DMC 3216.1.

Derek Boshier, 16 Situations, 1971, United Kingdom, Photographs mounted on blocks, 145 x 202 x 45 mm. DMC 1252.2.
Anton Constant, Frontispiece New Babylon, 1963, Netherlands, pen and ink, 115 x 200mm. DMC 1472.11.
Superstudio, Montagna a diversi profili, 1971, Italy, pencil, charcoal and pastel on thin wove paper, 420 x 590 mm. DMC 2932.
Michael Craig Martin, 5 identical boxes with progression of lids – in colours, 1969, United Kingdom, tape on graph paper, 440 x 570 mm. DMC 2038.
Christo, Corridor Store Front, 1966-7, New York, collage drawing, 275 x 170 mm (folded). DMC 2202a.