Richard Hamilton was one of the key artists to emerge in the first wave of Pop in the 1950s. His work reflected his interest in two innovations of the era: modern technology and mass media culture. Swindon’s piece Interior Study (a) from 1964 is created in a similar fashion, with images taken from several contemporary sources, carefully cut out and put together to construct an imaginary interior space. And his sources reflect an interest in easily accessible consumables, as well as his effort to break down the hierarchies of high and low imagery.

Another artistic development which emerged in the 1960s was conceptualism; and this refers to art which is led by ideas and information, rather than formal or aesthetic concerns. Michael Craig-Martin’s puzzling piece The Box That Never Closes from 1967 is no exception, and as far as pieces in Swindon’s collection go, it’s a bit divisive. The Box that Never Closes has the smooth, white finish of a domestic appliance, but though it emulates functionality, does not have a purpose. Even its basic use as a box is denied because it cannot be fully closed. Its shape implies that it should, that the lid can be pushed, and it will be whole.Craig-Martin is another artist interested in perception. He’s exploring the way we look and experience.

Phillips created this piece by drawing out the long title on the canvas horizontally several times, using four-inch stencils, until the canvas was covered. He later explained that the repeated stencilling was the equivalent to a musical canon, and the colour of each “crossing point” in the design is a careful blend of the ‘underlying’ and ‘overlaying’ colour. It reflects his great interest in the relationship between music and visual art. By doing this he also creates what he referred to as a “parody of academic formality” in the way the letters cancel each-other out and become incomprehensible.