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84.
Unfinished Paintings & Objects by Yoko Ono.
London: Indica Gallery, November 1966. Exhibition poster. Printed offset in black on pale cream paper. 61.6x45.6cm. Credit line states ‘Designed by James Dwyer for Yoko Ono’.
SIGNED by Yoko Ono in blue biro: “Yoko Ono London ‘66” (one of only two known examples of the poster with her contemporary signature).
The distinctive typography in the lower part echoes the private view invite, which was designed to be folded like a concertina in order to be read.
The show, announced by the poster as opening on November 7 though in fact the private view was held on November 8, was Yoko’s first exhibition outside the USA and Japan. It consisted mostly of all-white and transparent plexi-glass objects, with the exception of ‘Add Colour Painting’ (represented by the poster), a work inviting viewer participation for which paints and brushes were provided on an adjacent white chair.
The show came about after John Dunbar, the director of the gallery, met Yoko at the ‘Destruction in Art Symposium’ in September 1966, and it was Dunbar who suggested to John Lennon that he should visit before its opening, famously leading to John and Yoko’s first meeting on November 7, while the show was still being installed. In an interview with Jann Wenner four years later, Lennon recalled that “John Dunbar insisted she say hello to the millionaire, you know what I mean. And she came up and handed me a card which said ‘Breathe’ on it, one of her instructions, so I just went (pant). This was our meeting”.
Lennon was the first to sign the Indica Gallery visitors’ book for the show, using his middle name of Winston rather than John, and writing out his Kenwood address in full.
Yoko’s exhibition received significant attention in the press and led to her being offered further solo and joint shows, including at the Lisson Gallery a year later, and her first joint collaboration with Lennon at the Arts Lab in June 1968.
Two 1cm. closed tears to upper and right edges; tiny nicks to left edge; light soiling to upper right corner; some superficial creasing, esp. to lower right corner, and minor handling wear; o/w Very Good.
The poster was printed in a very small run, and since almost everything exhibited at the show was conceptual and never intended to be finished, it stands as one of the few tangible objects surviving from the event (none of the pieces sold); and rarer still for being one of only two copies Yoko signed at Indica. Provenance: Barry Miles (with letter of provenance).
Price:
£4,000.00
