The Royal Pump Rooms Art Gallery & Museum

Geometry of Fear 16 January - 15 March 2009 Bringing together sculptures and works on paper from the Arts Council Collection, Geometry of Fear explores the generation of sculptors that emerged in the post-war years, creating work in direct response to the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II, and in reaction to the climate of fear generated by the Cold War. The show takes its starting point from the ground-breaking exhibition at the British Pavilion in the 1952 Venice Biennale. It was here that art historian Herbert Read coined the term „Geometry of Fear‟ to describe this emerging group: "These new images belong to the iconography of despair, or of defiance... The geometry of fear …their art is close to the nerves, nervous, wiry." Geometry of Fear opens at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum on 16 January 2009, as part of a national tour.

As with the 1952 Venice exhibition, Geometry of Fear includes work by Lynn Chadwick, Geoffrey Clarke, Reg Butler, Kenneth Armitage, Bernard Meadows, Robert Adams, Eduardo Paolozzi and William Turnbull. Also like Venice, it includes a work by Henry Moore, highlighting the difference between the two generations. The young artists‟ work was characterised by linear, spiky forms, made from welded metal and reflected many of the concerns and anxieties of the post-war era. The exhibition includes key works of the period, such as Reg Butler‟s Girl and Boy (1951), Eduardo Paolozzi‟s The Cage (1951) and Kenneth Armitage‟s Figure Lying on its Side (1957). The contemporary recognition and praise enjoyed by these artists was largely influenced by the skill with which they interpreted some of the anxieties of their time. In today‟s uncertain climate, it is perhaps a timely moment to reconsider these works.

Hall & Son: Tailor Made Display at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum

A display at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum explores the history of Hall & Son, the last bespoke tailor in the town. The display focuses on the company in the second half of the 20th century and looks at how items of clothing were made, and the relationship between tailor and customer. Hall & Son was first established in Leamington Spa in around 1875 when it was known as Hall & Spindler. The business moved location several times, with shops on Victoria Terrace, Euston Place and Warwick Street. Many eminent Leamingtonians were customers including Sam Lockhart, Sidney Flavel and Lord Aylesford. Most of the objects on display have been kindly donated to Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum by Richard Dodd. He worked at the shop from 1954 until its closure in 1998 and was the last manager. Items on display include the shop sign, a 14lb iron used to press clothes before sale, and a pair of shorts made by Hall & Son in 1936.

Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 4AA. Tel: 01926 742700. Fax: 01926 742705. Email: prooms@warwickdc.gov.uk