On Thursday the 3rd of March 2022, the Postwar Modern Exhibition: New Art in Britain 1945-1965 officially opened. It delves into a style of art produced in post-war Britain; highlighting how the effects of a cataclysmic war can change how artists viewed the world around them.
The exhibition features “48 artists and around 200 works of painting, sculpture, photography, collage and installation” according to the Barbican’s website – and features a wide array of styles and ideas; truly reflecting the wild society World War Two had opened up for Britain.
The work must be viewed for itself, but it is a truly remarkable spectacle, and a stark reminder of how the human spirit triumphs through great ruin and catastrophe, an ideal all too real in the world at this point in time.
The art remains beautiful, melancholy, and hopeful. The variation of emotions on display, reflected in all sorts of styles like minimalism, expressionism, and surrealism, have earned the exhibition five-star reviews from both The Observer, and The Independent – with the likes of The Guardian and The Times giving the showcase four-stars.
It is truly worth seeing for yourself, especially given where the world is at currently. It closes on Sunday the 26th of June, therefore allowing plenty of time to pay a visit.
