Richard Hamilton (Londres, 24 février 1922 - 13 septembre 2011) est un artiste peintre et graphiste britannique.
Il suit des cours à la Royal Academy puis (de 1948 à 1951) fréquente la Slade School of Fine Art de Londres. Il fait partie du Independent Group créé au sein de l'Institut d'art contemporain de Londres, à l'origine d'expositions marquantes, en particulier This is tomorrow (1956), qui inaugure le pop art. Son œuvre Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? est l'une des premières de ce mouvement. Comme ses confrères américains, il stigmatise surtout les clichés du monde des mass media et de la consommation à outrance. Il organise la première rétrospective européenne de Marcel Duchamp à la Tate Gallery en 1966. Il a également imaginé avec Paul McCartney la pochette de l'Album blanc des Beatles.
Après avoir pratiqué la peinture abstraite, il revient à l'art figuratif dans les années 1990.
Il est reçu membre de l'Ordre des compagnons d'honneur (CH) en 20001. Richard Hamilton est aussi récipiendaire, en 2008, du Praemium Imperiale.
One of the most influential British artists of the 20th century, Richard Hamilton (1922–2011) is widely regarded as a founding figure of pop art, who continued to experiment and innovate over a career of 60 years. Tate Modern presents the first retrospective to encompass the full scope of Hamilton’s work, from his early exhibition designs of the 1950s to his final paintings of 2011. This exhibition explores his relationship to design, painting, photography and television, as well as his engagement and collaborations with other artists.
Richard Hamilton
The critic laughs 1968 / Private collection
© The estate of Richard Hamilton
Hamilton is best known for his pivotal role in the birth of pop art, including the groundbreaking installation Fun House 1956. A centrepi...
From the lyrics of OutKast’s pop anthem Hey Ya to clues laid out for the amnesiac protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s film Memento, the Polaroid has had a significant impact on contemporary culture. ‘Shake It: An instant History of the Polaroid’ brings to light some of the more intriguing and innovative examples in the history of the Polaroid photograph, exploring its cultural significance and the diversity of its applications. Besides work by some of the most important artists working with the medium, the show will also include Polaroids from other diverse professions and disciplines such as forensics, archaeology, medicine, filmmaking and fashion, as well as those of amateurs and enthusiasts.
Many of the works in this exhibition have never been shown in the UK before, such as David Hock...