Sunday, 12:30am
15 January 2023

Graphic design live #9

Adana in London; Marclay in Paris; revolutionary graphics from Mexico and Germany in Los Angeles; and label art from Ireland in Dublin

Graphic Design Live 9

Here are some January 2023 events highlights for your diaries. To stay up to date with exhibitions, conferences, talks and workshops, read the Eye Events page which is updated weekly.

Coming Soon
Print pound notes!
26 January — 24 April 2023
Location: St Bride Library, 14 Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ, UK

In January, St Bride Library will launch a new exhibition to mark the centenary of the Adana printing press. The exhibition will showcase a collection of material, including early drawings for the company’s first flatbed press and working models of popular 1920s presses, as well as photographs and documents from the Aspinall family archives.

The display will offer a glimpse into the company’s history, from its humble beginnings by Donald Affleck Aspinall in 1922, to its early success and later struggles during the Great Depression and the Second World War. The exhibition will also highlight Adana’s postwar rebirth and rise in popularity, its acquisition by printing press engineer Frederick Ayers, and later the Caslon Group, which is still manufacturing Adana today.

An illustrated talk by Bob Richardson on 31 January will give a more detailed account of the company’s roller-coaster history.

Advert for New Adana 1931 ’Baby’ flatbed letterpress.

Picture of the New Adana High-Speed Printing Machine Model No. 1, featured in the Printing Made Easy instruction manual published by Adana in the 1950s.


Currently on
Christian Marclay
to 27 February 2022
Location: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou Paris 75004, France

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is hosting a retrospective exhibition of work by multimedia artist Christian Marclay. The exhibition features video installations as well as objects, assemblages, photographs, prints and paintings, many of which have not been on display since 2007. A significant number of his large-scale installations are featured, including Video Quartet (2002), Subtitled (2019) and a new video installation titled Doors (2022) shown here for the first time.

The exhibition covers Marclay’s 35-year career and situates his work in the context of Fluxus, the Pictures Generation and the musical New Wave through the use of collage and montage. In addition, Marclay has collaborated with Snap AR Studio to transform the Centre Pompidou’s exterior into an interactive musical instrument.

Works by Christian Marclay: Untitled (Crying), 2020; Allover (Céline Dion, Dvorák, Mozart and Others), 2009 ; Guitar Neck, 1992; Untitled (from the series Recycled Records), 1985.

Works by Christian Marclay: Face, 2020; Surround Sounds, 2014-15.

Currently on

Pressing Politics: Revolutionary Graphics from Mexico and Germany
to 22 July 2023
Location: Charles White Elementary School, 2401 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057, US

‘Pressing Politics’ is an exhibition that offers a unique perspective on the intersection of art and politics in the twentieth century. Visitors will be able to see how artists in Mexico and Germany used printmaking as a powerful tool for political expression and communication. The exhibition is curated to provide a comprehensive overview of the works and themes, with a focus on the social and historical context. It also features an interactive section where visitors can learn about the techniques and materials used by the artists in the creation of their works.

In addition, the accompanying one-day symposium held on 29 April 2023 is an opportunity for visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the themes explored in the exhibition and the role of graphic art in political transformation.

Exhibition organised by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Left. Fernando Castro Pacheco, Carrillo Puerto, 1947. Right. Leopoldo Mendez, Protest, 1943.

Left. Frans Masereel, Businessman, 1920. Right. Constantin von Mitschke-Collande, Freedom, 1919.

Final weeks

Label Art from Ireland
to 26 March 2023
Location: The National Print Museum, Old Garrison Chapel, Beggars Bush Barracks, Dublin 4, D04 E0C9, Ireland

Still at the National Printing Museum in Dublin is an exhibition of Irish label art, curated by illustrator and designer Niall McCormack. Spanning from the 1890s to the 1990s, the exhibition showcases an array of colourful labels from various industries such as minerals, beer, whisky, hotels, linens, groceries and pharmacies. This is the first exhibition of its kind in Ireland, highlighting a previously overlooked aspect of Ireland’s material culture.

Many of the designers behind these labels remain anonymous, making this exhibition an important means of preserving their work. Each label tells its own story, creating a rich tapestry of Ireland’s social, cultural and visual history. The exhibition aims to showcase the diversity and sophistication of Irish design in the early twentieth century, and to explore the social, cultural, political and technological influences that shaped its production.

The exhibition follows the release of McCormack’s book Grand Stuff: Label Art from Ireland, published by Hi Tone Books in 2022.

Label for Ballymena Old Irish Whiskey from James McAllister & Sons.

Spread from Grand Stuff: Label Art from Ireland by Niall McCormack, featuring labels for Arbutus from Killarney Mineral Water Co, produced lithographically in 1950s.

To feature your event on Eye events page, please email us with details.

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