Alan Fletcher Exhibition

Cube Gallery
Alan Fletcher: Fifty years of graphic work (and play)
Runs: 22.01.10 – 03.04.10

Cube Gallery
113-115 Portland Street.
Manchester,
M1 6DW
Telephone: 0161 237 5525
e-mail: info@cube.org.uk
www.cube.org.uk
Gallery opening hours: Monday – Friday, 12:00 – 5.30, Saturday: 12.00 – 5.00

The Alan Fletcher exhibition showcased at Manchester’s Cube Gallery displayed a vast archive celebrating 50 years of the designers work, described as ‘Britains best ever Graphic Designer’ by the observer, Alan Fletcher has always remained a unique influence on the Design scene, recognised for introducing an element of play into his designs, the exhibition combines corporate works and personal projects visualising his unique, creative curiosity.

Born in Kenya to British parents, Alan Fletcher was brought up in West London from the age of five, his early interest in the visual arts encouraged Alan to enrol at art school, continuing his studies at The Royal College of Art, he achieved the opportunity to exchange to study at Yale in the US, where he was taught by designer Paul Rand and the prolific artist Josef Albers.
Enhancing his career in the US, he worked with many recognised designers and artists including Saul Bass and Tom Greismar. He returned to London in 1959, where he collaborated with fellow designer Colin Forbes, whom he met previously at Art School and Bob Gill, an American designer who had come to London to work for an Advertising Agency, formed Fletcher/Forbes/Gill. The Trio’s individual qualities combined effectively and soon built up a corporate portfolio including Shell and Imperial Chemical Industries. In 1965 Gill left the company so Architect Theo Crosby joined the partnership forming Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes, the trio continued to work for high profile clients and expanded the company with two more designers Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky to form Pentagram in 1972.
He left Pentagram in 1992 to develop a studio attached to his own home offering the opportunity to experiment with earlier ideas and interests and to work on projects personally rewarding. Continuing to work for corporate clients he also began working on his personal book Beware Wet Paint (1996) combining forty years of his work, the book is a unusually arranged in inspirational rather than chronological order and is titled with the phrase used by the Dada artist Marcel Duchamp to “warn against making too hasty a judgement”, which is a theory portrayed throughout Fletchers work over the past five decades and is especially explored in his book ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ (2001). This unique collection contains an intriguing, inspirational compilation of graphic images, anecdotes and playful comments, encouraging the reader to embrace visual surprise, to open their eyes and see what is beyond what is generally perceived as visually appealing.

Whether corporate or personal, Fletchers designs influence the viewer to see further than the design and appreciate the normal everyday things which surround us which have visual fascination if creative curiosity is applied. His method of merging everyday objects or images with his personal playful wit combine effectively to create design masterpieces which have always remained a unique influence on the Design scene.
The exhibition successfully takes you through the story of the ingenious designer combining his professional and private projects, visually and mentally capturing the imagination of the viewer to enter the curious, witty and vibrant mind of Alan Fletcher.