COME DECK THE HALLS! Alison Smithson: Intertwining Life and Art

 

Come Deck the Halls! celebrates the work of the renowned post-war British architects, Alison and Peter Smithson. From the start of their careers, the Smithsons had a strong interest not only in buildings, but also in the life unfolding within and around buildings.

In each of their projects, they advocated for an architecture that finds fulfilment in the presence of users and their activities. In their vision, occupation not only gives meaning to architectural spaces but can also be regarded as an art form in itself: the art of inhabitation.

Christmas is a time of year when such signs of occupancy become obvious.  Every year, the objects of celebration stir people’s creativity, prompting them to take responsibility for the look of places. Alison and Peter Smithson actively engaged in this process, renewing themselves each year with Christmas ephemera that often contained the seed of their current projects and subsequent work.

This exhibition provides an insight into their architectural thinking through the lens of Alison Smithson’s Christmas cards, spanning 1956 to 1992.  Far from being a peripheral aspect of her family life, this series of artistic expressions served as a realm of experimentation, integral to comprehending the entirety of the couple's work. The cards serve as a vivid illustration of the interconnectedness between Alison's personal life and professional endeavours, exemplifying the Smithsons' enduring belief that architecture is indivisible from life itself.

Come Deck the Halls! was the title of an exhibition envisaged (but never carried out) by Alison Smithson in 1981 whose objective was not only to construct another exhibition structure, but also to facilitate a public participatory event held by the host community, intertwining life and art.

The Roca London Gallery exhibition will showcase the postcards as a way of revisiting the Smithsons' work and invite public interaction through talks and events.

Exhibition curator Ana Abalos Ramos, whose PhD Alison and Peter Smithson: The Transient and The Permanent (Sept 2015), explores the wider implications of the Christmas Card Exhibitions, says:

“Alison Smithson chose Christmas as the vehicle for exploring what she saw as an urgent need to renew the sense of collective responsibility for the look and use of places.  The exhibitions were a way of disseminating the couple’s ideas to a broader audience, as well as a live forum for continuing their research into the art of inhabitation during a doldrums period in their work, which arose after the completion of the Robin Hood Gardens scheme in 1972.   The exhibition space became the ideal laboratory in which to continue reflecting on and experimenting with transient materials, but in real space.  I therefore decided to bring their exhibition back to life, both in their honour and as a way of continuing their work.”

 

Exhibition team:

Curator:

Ana Ábalos Ramos

Ana Ábalos Ramos, architect (2004) and PhD in Architecture (2016), combines her professional practice with teaching at the Department of Architectural Projects at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) and academic research.

Her doctoral thesis “A&P Smithson: The Transient and the Permanent” and subsequent scholarly output, encompassing articles, books, and exhibition curation, explores the contemporary relevance of Alison and Peter Smithson's legacy, with particular focus on their approach to processes of spatial appropriation in domestic and urban environments.

Exhibition design:

abalosllopis architects

The architectural practice ábalosllopis architects (www.abalosllopis.com), founded in 2004 by Ana Abalos Ramos and Pablo Llopis Fernández, develops architectural projects with a crafted approach that seeks the equilibrium between each intervention and its specific context.  Based in Valencia, the practice has established a body of work that encompasses all scales, gaining international recognition both for its built works and competition proposals. Amongst their most notable projects are the extension of the Almería Auditorium, Can Feliç Nursery School, Flor de Amancaes Park (Peru), and the residential building Les Terrasses de Puçol. ábalosllopis's architectural practice forms part of broader research into contemporary architectural phenomena, encompassing university teaching and theoretical reflection, establishing a constant dialogue between professional practice and academic inquiry.

abalosllopis architects created a version of this exhibition for the Van Eesteren Museum, Amsterdam, which ran 14 December to 28 January 2023.

This exhibition has been made possible thanks to the support of the Smithson Family Collection.

Alison Smithson preparing Christmas Hogmanay Exhibit 1980_ The Scotsman Publications

Alison Smithson_1985 card interior © Smithson Family Collection