Fairground Abstract is a new commission by Lothar Götz which responds to
the unique architecture and remarkable history of the Hatton Gallery and its collection, as well as its pivotal role in international innovations in exhibition design and installation art. Götz’s wall painting transforms the Hatton’s most historic gallery into a vibrant and immersive space where details of works from the collection are reimagined and brought to life through parallels in colour and form. The wall painting has been created using highly-pigmented acrylic paint.
For this site specific work, Götz has carefully selected and installed five works from the Hatton collection. The majority of the selection was created and acquired during the 1950s and 1960s. This period saw the growth of the Hatton’s teaching collection, under Professor Lawrence Gowing’s tenure from 1952 to 1958. Victor Pasmore’s Relief Construction was produced while Pasmore and Richard Hamilton’s Basic Design course was underway at King’s College (now part of Newcastle University). The course, influenced by the foundation year at the Bauhaus, encouraged first year students to experiment with the fundamental principles of line, shape, colour and form. Artists such as John Kinnaird demonstrate that, although radical teaching methods were being implemented, traditional painting methods continued to be actively pursued at the art school. Drawing for Sculpture, 1961 by Eduardo Paolozzi was purchased from the artist in the year of its completion. Alongside Victor Pasmore, Kenneth Martin was
a leading figure in the revival of Constructivist art in Britain, focusing on pure geometric abstraction.
Fairground Abstract is also in dialogue with two posters from the Hatton Gallery’s archives. The poster King’s College Charity Arts Ball January 27 1956 gives a sense of the diversity of creative events organised by staff and students over the years.