David Billbrough and John and Karen Topping pay tribute to Ryder & Yates
Architecture buffs are in for a treat. Legendary local company Ryder & Yates, responsible for iconic modernist buildings across the North East from the 1950s onwards, is the starting point for a new exhibition running at Newcastle’s Hatton Gallery from Saturday 10th January.
Artists David Bilbrough and John and Karen Topping will be presenting Composite Mind, a showcase of new work, inspired by the trailblazing firm. Bilbrough has responded by delving into Ryder & Yates’ designs for the Kenton Bar estate in Newcastle, built in 1964, to present a blast from the past. His work takes the form of a series of photographs and montages which encapsulate the duo’s utopian vision.
John and Karen Topping meanwhile combine archive photographs with state-of-the-art technology to recreate two trade stands designed by Ryder & Yates in the 1950s as striking 3D models. Not only are these brilliant examples of contemporary building design, they also bear a close relationship to developments that were happening in the wider art world.
Today, many buildings from the 50s and 60s are considered unfashionable, and duly being knocked down. This is a brilliant opportunity to pause and celebrate these pivotal, concrete-tastic movements in North East architecture.
