Output details

British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age.

31 March-12 August 2012

Victoria and Albert Museum

Ben Kelly was commissioned by Victoria and Albert Museum Head of Research, Christopher Breward, and curator Ghislaine Wood to develop an exhibition system and environment in response to pivotal curatorial themes for the 2012 showcase, British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age, which examined internationally acclaimed works by artists and designers, born, trained or working in the UK from post-war to the present day. Three distinct periods of British design were represented to explore “the tension between tradition and modernity; the subversive impulse in British culture; and Britain’s leadership in design innovation and creativity”. A facsimile of Kelly’s iconic interior design for the Hacienda (1982) was a key component to the exhibition’s narrative.

Kelly’s core research engaged in the capture and interpretation of the essence of particular periods of time the results of which were applied to the design of interior and exhibition spaces. This practice linked the materiality of aesthetics, through examination of shape, lighting, colour materials, spatial and structural arrangements, which has attuned Kelly to certain synesthetic concepts that both reference and create highly considered atmospheres.

Kelly’s approach toward creating a multi-modal system for the exhibition British Design 1948–2012, leading the viewer through approximately 350 exemplar exhibits and design practices, drew upon research into selected workspace environments inhabited by featured artists and designers, such as sculptor Henry Moore, designer David Mellor and architect Dennis Lasdun, which collectively informed spatial and lighting aspects. Artist and theatre designer John Piper’s studio inspired an organisational concept for a leaning and stacking structure, integral to the development of focal display and the accompanying graphics. Relevant period colour palettes were researched, including British Standard colours from the 1960's, providing specific visual tones and graphic styles throughout the exhibition.