Hipgnosis Studio exhibition at MArTA Taranto explores Pink Floyd album covers

The MArTA museum in Taranto, Italy, is hosting 'Hipgnosis Studio: Pink Floyd and Beyond', an exhibition dedicated to the visual universe created by the design studio Hipgnosis. Founded in the late 1960s by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, Hipgnosis is best known for its iconic album covers for Pink Floyd, including 'The Dark Side of the Moon', 'Wish You Were Here', and 'Animals'. The exhibition, curated by ONO Arte Contemporanea of Bologna, features 55 works, mostly related to Pink Floyd. It is displayed across the museum's archaeological collections, creating a dialogue between ancient artifacts and modern visual art. The show runs until July 17, 2022. Highlights include a focus on 'The Dark Side of the Moon' in the first room, surrealist-inspired images for 'Wish You Were Here', and illustrations for 'Animals' by Hipgnosis and illustrator Bus Hollyhead. More recent collaborations, such as photographs for the posthumous 2021 release 'Live at Knebworth 1990', are also included. The exhibition traces the origins of Hipgnosis and its founders' move from Cambridge to London in 1966, where they crossed paths with future Pink Floyd members Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. The partnership began in 1968 with the cover for 'A Saucerful of Secrets' and continued until Thorgerson's death in 2013. The show concludes on the ground floor with depictions of 'Meddle' and 'A Saucerful of Secrets', and a portrait of Syd Barrett.