Paul Merrick: "The New Domestic Landscape", Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art

The New Domestic Landscape National Gallery for Contemporary Art Sunderland, England 01 - 30 October 2010 http://www.ngca.co.uk "In the 1970s more people than usual were searching for an ideology or an aesthetic which would transform the world... Parts of the 1970s are very much with us. More than 30 years on, 1970s style and design still divides and confuses. It can seem antiquated or contemporary, extravagant or impoverished, embarrassing or enviable. It is reviled and it is revived. It is celebrated and written off." Andy Beckett, London Review of Books, 19 August 2010 "If you never change your mind, why have one?" Edward de Bono Work by: Christopher Cox, (Denver) Dan Ziglam and Elliot Brook (Newcastle) Fantome (North-East England) Kyouei Design, (Toyko) Max Lamb (London) Clarita Lulic (Newcastle) Paul Merrick (Newcastle) Martin Ruiz de Azua (Barcelona) Ronja Svaneborg (Copenhagen) Laila Maia Baria (London) Does the temper of our times demand more contradiction and complexity than ever from "the stuff that surrounds you", as Wallpaper* magazine calls our domestic consumer items? In 1972 the Museum of Modern Art staged a seminal exhibition entitled "The New Domestic Landscape" which revealed a new spirit in design, of exuberance and contradiction. The 'New Domestic Landscape' of 2010 is, if anything, even more complex and contradictory. The exhibition brings together a range of international artists and designers who create objects that might resemble conventional furniture in either form or function, but whose real aims are to challenge our established ways of life or our conventional habits of mind. All of the works are intended to be enjoyed in - or endured in - a domestic environment. 'The New Domestic Landscape' is part of the Design Event North East festival which is supported by the Arts Council, England and Northern Rock Foundation.  The festival takes place from 21-31 October 2010 throughout the North East region and the theme this year is Conversation.  There will be a range of exhibitions and events covering all aspects of design from product design to graphics, fashion and architecture.  For more information please visit www.design-event.co.uk. Image: Paul Merrick Untitled (Chair), 2009 Sterling board, ply wood, aluminium, gloss paint 81 x 48 x 56 cm (PME0082)