100 years of ‘Pop Art’ pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi to be celebrated in home city of Edinburgh

Leith-born artist was the son of Italian immigrants

He was the Leith-born son of Italian immigrants who would go on to become one of Scotland's greatest ever artists.

Now the late "Pop Art" pioneer Sir Eduardo Paolzzi, whose sculptures can be seen around Edinburgh, is to be honoured with a major exhibition in his home city to mark the centenary of his birth.

The forthcoming show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art devoted to Paolozzi, who drew inspiration from the ice cream shop his parents ran in Leith, will feature a host of his best-known works, including Mickey Mouse tapestry and a mosaic designed for a London Underground station.

This 1953 collage will be will be among the Eduardo Paolozzi works going on display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art next year. Picture: Paolozzi Foundation

Born in March 1924, Paolozzi was interned at the start of the Second World War, but would go on to study at Edinburgh College of Art, then in London and Paris.

The Paolozzi at 100 exhibition, which will run from 27 January-21 April, is one of the highlights of the National Galleries of Scotland's 2024 programme for its Edinburgh attractions.

A spokeswoman for the National Galleries said: “Packed with the artist’s most popular works, Paolozzi at 100 will allow you to take a step inside the wacky and eclectic mind of the artist, and his take on popular culture and the machine age.

“You can tour through his early work from the late 1940s, to his designs and prints of the 1960s and 1970s, and later epic public art projects.”

Marine Composition will be among the Eduardo Paolozzi works going on display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art next year. Picture: Paolozzi Foundation

Next year’s National Galleries line-up will also feature a major new exhibition exploring the "radical ideas and rebellious methods" of feminist artists who took a stance on issues like reproductive rights, equal pay and race equality in the UK between 1970 and 1990.The show, which has just opened at Tate Britain in London and will arrive in Edinburgh in October, will feature paintings, photography and films by more than 100 artists who were inspired to fight against injustice.

Tate Britain said the exhibition - which will recall the impact of the women's liberation movement, punk rock music and the AIDS epidemic - “shines a spotlight on how networks of women used radical ideas and rebellious methods to make an invaluable contribution to British culture.”

It added: “Their art helped fuel the women’s liberation movement during a period of significant social, economic and political change.

“This creativity helped shape a period of pivotal change for women in Britain. Despite long careers, these artists were often left out of the artistic narratives of the time. This will be the first time many of their works have been on display since the 1970s.”

'Moonstrips Empire News' will be among the Eduardo Paolozzi works going on display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art next year. Picture: Paolozzi Foundation. Licensed by DACS, London 2023

Also opening in October is the first major retrospective devoted to the Tanzania-born, Edinburgh-based artist, Everlyn Nicodemus at Modern One, which will span more than 40 years of her life and show how she has explored the global oppression of women, the profound impact of racism, and personal trauma and recovery in her work.

The National Galleries has also secured a major exhibition by the South Koren artist Do Ho Suh, which will span 25 years of his work. Drawings, animations, architectural rubbings, paper sculptures, printmaking, watercolours and sketchbooks will all feature in the show, which will open in February.

Sir John Leighton, director-general of the National Galleries, said: “There is so much for visitors to look forward to next year with our tantalising 2024 exhibition programme.”