Art Deco Scotland: Design and Architecture in the Jazz Age

The exhibition Art Deco Scotland: Design And Architecture In The Jazz Age and an accompanying book of the same title are Scotland’s contributions to an international celebration of the centenary of the staging in Paris of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a great exhibition of modern decorative arts that later gave the Art Deco style its name. Originating in France, Art Deco also had resonances with developments in visual culture across the wider European continent and in the USA. Despite turbulent economic circumstances, the style was associated with progress and with a hoped-for better future. In Scotland in the inter-war era, Art Deco spread widely and was applied to buildings, objects and environments of many kinds. The exhibition comprises a general introduction to contextualise the subject, followed by sections about Housing and Furnishing, Governmental and Municipal buildings, Transport, The Empire Exhibition of 1938, Retail and Commercial buildings and spaces, Hospitality and Catering, Entertainment, Industry and Engineering and Ocean liner interiors.

The exhibition and book have been prepared by Bruce Peter, Professor of Design History at The Glasgow School of Art, in association with GSA Exhibitions.