Panoply

Gerald Laing’s Panoply highlights the artist’s position as one of the original Pop artists in Britain, inspired by the rise in pop culture and space travel during the 1960s. Providing a commentary upon American culture, his work explored the rise in celebrity culture through movie stars, drag racers and astronauts. Within the present work, Laing’s interest in both bright abstraction and found images are combined in a strikingly vibrant composition. The highly stylised format and pop motifs were further enhanced by the shaped canvases, similar to David Hockney’s experiments at the time that are directly representational. Within the present work, the shaped canvas divides the composition, giving the impression of collage. The imagery of the repeated NASA astronaut juxtaposed with stylised flames, is reminiscent to those found upon racing cars. Laing held Panoply in high regard: painted in 1993, the present work revisits - with slight variation in colour - his painting of the same title from 1964, and he kept it until 2005 when he sold it to the present owner.