Tuesday 3 September 2019, 7:00 PM
St Bride Foundation
Bride Lane
Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8EQ
Ilona Karwińska and David Hill will show their fabulous images from Poland’s ‘era of neon propaganda’ and tell the story of Europe’s first neon museum. Since 2005, photographer Karwińska and graphic designer Hill have been documenting and preserving Poland’s Cold War era neon signs – symbols of the creative expression that emerged alongside the ‘Khrushchev Thaw’ of the 1950s and 60s.
As well as founding the Neon Muzeum, which opened in 2012, Karwińska has also published Neon Revolution: Eastern Bloc Electro Graphic Design, a visual survey of state-controlled ‘neonisation’ across the former Eastern Bloc, and exhibited her photographic project ‘Polish Neon’ at galleries in Warsaw, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Wroclaw.
Neon Specialists’ Kerry Ryan will discuss his career as a neon expert, from being a teenage apprentice in the 1980s to commissions from artists such as Tim Noble & Sue Webster and Tracey Emin, as well as graphic designer Morag Myerscough, restaurateur Mark Hix and work of his own. Ryan will discuss his ambitions for the future of neon education, and the challenges of repairing and maintaining neon artworks owned by galleries and private collectors worldwide.
September’s Type Tuesday will feature other luminaries from the world of neon, including specialists and fabricators who collaborate with designers and artists to turn words and pictures into lights.
The evening will conclude with a panel discussion on neon typography and design chaired by Eye editor John Walters.