Idea Generation Gallery Presents One of the Greatest Album Artists

LONDON.- Idea Generation Gallery presents a unique exhibition uncovering some of the events, exstallations, sculptures, images, drawings, and ideas behind Storm Thorgerson’s 40 year career as one of the pioneers of original commercial design. The retrospective is not only an exhibition of his most celebrated covers but also offers a unique insight into the otherworldly and incongruous work Storm is carrying out today.

Storm’s distinctive imagery is among the most recognisable in the modern world. Creating visually arresting and thought provoking visuals, Storm’s work establishes him as one of the most important creative minds of recent times. Responsible for what has been dubbed as one the greatest album covers of all time, – Pink Floyd’s 1973 “The Dark Side of the Moon” – Storm’s other collaborations with 10CC, Catherine Wheel, The Cranberries, Muse, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel have all gone down in musical and design history and he continues to create groundbreaking work well into his 60s.

"Pink Floyd The Division Bell", 1994. Design by Storm Thorgerson & Keith Breeden

The art of Storm Thorgerson is as famous as the music it accompanies. As a childhood friend of the founding members of Pink Floyd, he went on to become their designer-in-chief, creating a string of eye catching designs including “Atom Heart Mother”, “Wish You Were Here” and “The Division Bell”. Furthering his talents, Storm’s direction for the Pink Floyd video “Learning to Fly” won the best director award at the American Billboard Awards.

Considered as the most influential and prolific designer of rock music imagery and photography Idea Generation Gallery will showcase Storm’s unmistakable contributions to both visual art and music over the last few decades. As the music industry places its energies into downloads and MP3s album art work faces extinction, Storm’s work and pioneering legacy of this art form becomes even more important as it becomes ever rarer.

Alongside some of the most iconic images from his seminal career, the exhibition will include previously unseen sculptures, sketches and writings from the artist. The exhibition will provide an in-depth account of the artist and the processes behind some of Storm’s most acclaimed works. Especially for Idea Generation Gallery, Storm will present a number of brand new site-specific installations, including ambitious reinterpretations of a few his most renowned pieces.

Born in 1944, Storm Thorgerson is the most respected album cover artist. He is renowned for his art on iconic album covers such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Educated at Leicester University he graduated with a BA Hons in English and Philosophy and an MA in film and TV from the Royal College of Art, London.

In 1968 Thorgerson formed Hipgnosis with Aubrey Powell, a graphic design studio specializing in creative photography. Working mainly in the music business designing album covers for many rock ‘n’ roll bands including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, 10cc, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett and Styx. In 1983 Storm, along with Po and Peter Christopherson, formed Green Back Films and embarked on producing numerous rock videos including material for Paul Young, Yes, Nik Kershaw, Robert Plant, Interferon, Nona Hendryx, Big Country and many others and also long forms for Barry Gibb (Voyager), Yumi Matsutoya (Train of Thought), and Channel Q a heavy metal compilation for Polygram Records.

Thorgerson then went on to make videos by himself. His work included “Learning To Fly for Pink Floyd” which won “best director” at Billboard), He continued designing album covers for Pink Floyd, Catherine Wheel, Alan Parsons, Anthrax, amongst others, and branched out into documentaries, making Art Of Tripping for Ch 4 in 1993, a two part exploration of the connections between drugs and artists. In 1994 Storm directed six short films for Pink Floyd which were screened at concerts during their world tour.

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