Storm Thorgerson

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Storm Thorgerson (1944-2013) designed album cover art for over 40 years.

Storm Thorgerson designed many of the most famous album covers in history, including Pink Floyd’s instantly recognisable Dark Side of the Moon. Many of Storm Thorgerson’s classic album covers have become masterpieces in their own right. Storm Thorgerson’s designs are noticeable for their surreal elements. He often places objects out of their traditional context, setting them in vast spaces that give them an awkward appearance whilst highlighting their beauty.

Born in Dartford, Kent in 1944, Storm Thorgerson went to school with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett. He studied English and Philosophy at university before going on to complete an MA in Film and Television at the Royal College of Art. His career as an artist began accidentally; around the time of his graduation from the Royal College Pink Floyd were completing their second album A Saucerful of Secrets, when a friend turned down the job of creating its sleeve. With no background in art or graphic design Storm Thorgerson volunteered to step into the fold. Along with his friend Aubrey Powell he set up the British graphic art group Hipgnosis in 1968, they specialised in creative photography for album covers. Many of Storm Thorgerson’s album covers were designed before the advent of advanced computer design software, and were created through the use of photography, paint and sculpture.

“Since I cannot draw for toffee, I work with photography. But just because I can’t draw, it doesn’t mean I can’t take the flight of the imagination. I like photography because it is a reality medium, unlike drawing, which is unreal. I like to mess with reality. Some of my work asks the question: is it real or not?”STORM THORGESON

Storm Thorgerson’s surrealist work raised the bar for album cover designs, changing the way the world looked at the music of everyone from Peter Gabriel to Black Sabbath. From the burning businessman on the cover of Wish You Were Here to the giant flying pig over Battersea Power Station for Animals, Thorgerson went on to design almost every Pink Floyd album sleeve. His most iconic work was for 1973’s Darkside of the Moon. Thorgerson has worked with many bands over the years, including Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Led Zeppelin, Muse, 10cc, Syd Barrett, Offspring and The Cranberries to name a few.

From 1983 Storm Thorgerson directed numerous rock videos. In 1994 he directed six short films for Pink Floyd, which were screened at concerts during their world tour. Storm Studios continues to design album covers and direct the occasional film along with writing and designing several books.

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Scrutiny

‘Scrutiny’ is a Limited Edition digital print by graphic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: on application

Limited edition of 50

Digital print

The last work from Storm Thorgerson encapsulates so much about his vision as an artist. The image we are presented with nominally asks questions of technology versus nature, and man’s paranoia of woman, but it also reveals much about his working process and his overall desire to make his audience think- to stop to consider, and to fire their imagination; their sense of the surreal. The machine Scrutiny was actually constructed by Thorgerson and his team at Storm Studios, there is no photoshop/ computer generated malarkey here, just straightforward photography; Thorgerson considers this more real.

‘ I want our productions to tell a story. My goal is to invest a picture with ambiguity. To make people curious. To make them want to look again.’

Scrutiny is an exploration of the mystery of womanhood, it’s non-definable non-empirical nature and man’s quest to understand, quantify and categorise it. So this is a work about the battle between the sexes. It is also a work that pits man/nature against machine/technology. The machine is massive, inescapable- much like technology in our day to day lives. The human body is exposed, frail and vulnerable before it.

“At first glance it may look like an image that’s about threatening a woman – since machinery is often a male preserve, it is a male threat. But I think it is more about man’s paranoia, his fear of woman more than his antipathy, i.e. the only way that a man can understand a woman is via an enormous machine – a scientific probe which can scrutinise the inner recesses of the female mind that many men claim to find so elusive. There were two issues much discussed, namely the nudity – was it necessary? And at what was the probe actually pointing? Finally the nudity seemed valid for reasons of vulnerability, and it was felt the heart was the best ‘target’.”

2013

975x976mm

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Beach Catalogue

‘Beach Catalogue’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: on application

Limited Edition of 150

Silkscreen print

Signed by the artist

2010

798x635 mm

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Chrome

‘Chrome’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

SOLD OUT

Limited Edition of 125

Silkscreen print

Signed by the artist

2003

760x1015 mm

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Deepest Blue

‘Deepest Blue’ is a stunning Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £776

Limited edition of 395

Silkscreen print

Signed by the artist

2003

660x837mm

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Tear Drop

‘Tear Drop’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £695

Limited edition 150

Silkscreen print

Based on his iconic album cover Dark Side of the Moon for Pink Floyd, Thorgerson has amended this classic image to reflect the theme ‘mending broken hearts.

Created especially to raise awareness and funds for the British Heart Foundation. All profits go to the British Heart Foundation.

Signed by the artist

2010

585x750mm

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PB40 Best Of

‘PB40 Best Of’ is a stunning Limited Edition Silkscreen print with Glazes by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £975

Limited edition of 160

Silkscreen print

Thorgerson features many of the album cover artworks that he created for iconic British band Pink Floyd (including The Wall, Division Bell, Darkside of the Moon, Animals, Delicate Sound of Thunder, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Wish You Were Here, Pulse and Meddle). Each image makes up a floor tile, over which a teacher strides- perhaps a refernce to the famous Pink Floyd lyric ‘hey, teacher, leave them kids alone’.

The silkscreen with glazes is printed on 410gsm Somerset Tub Sized paper and is signed by the artist.

2012

863x876mm

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Mr. Love Pants

‘Mr. Love Pants’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £833

Limited edition of 325

Storm designed the artwork for an album cover for English rock & roll band, Ian Dury & The Blockheads.

The 18 colour silkscreen is printed on 410gsm Somerset Tub Sized paper and is signed by the artist.

660x837mm

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Dark Side of The Moon 40th Anniversary

‘Dark Side of The Moon 40th Anniversary’ is a stunning Limited Edition Silkscreen print with embossing, gold leaf, diamond dust and glazes by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £960

Limited edition of 160

Silkscreen print with embossing, gold leaf, diamond dust & glazes

In March 1973 one of the most successful albums of all time was released: Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. The artwork for the album became as famous and iconic as the musical content and was designed by Thorgerson who was then part of the graphic art group Hipgnosis. For the 40th anniversary Thorgerson created a limited edition silkscreen print divided into a 7×7 grid of squares. Forty of these squares are variations of the original Dark Side image – displaying an incredible level of imagination, inventiveness and humour from the artist. The remaining squares are filled with individual letters spelling PINK FLOYD. Some of the images reference other works by the artist; the prism motif painted onto bodies is redolent of Thorgerson’s Back Catalogue works. Several of the images recreate the prism design in homage to great artists including Dali, Miro, Lichtenstein and Picasso.

Please note:

Dark Side 40th was in the final stages of production when Storm Thorgerson died.

The Print was proofed under Thorgerson’s executive control, and he had discussed with Brad Faine of Coriander Studio what glazes and finishes should be applied to the final edition to complete it. The print has been finished exactly as per his wishes, each copy printed with Storm’s signature.

The counter-signing of the print by the directors of StormStudios, Dan Abbott, Peter Curzon and Rupert Truman, confirms its authentication.

2013

1010x1010mm

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Dark Side of The Moon 30th Anniversary

‘Dark Side of The Moon 30th Anniversary’ is a stunning Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: SOLD

Limited edition of 325

Silkscreen print

Storm decided to rework his iconic album cover for the re-release of Pink Floyd’s album.

“Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon was remixed from original tapes in 5.1 surround sound or super audio to provide an even more detailed and splendid audio experience. It was the same music but not the same mix. A different beast, in effect, and it seemed appropriate to indicate as much on the cover by reworking the original design, which was an airbrush illustration with line work for tint lay.” STORM THORGERSON

The 20 colour silkscreen with part glaze is printed on 410gsm Somerset Tub Sized paper and is signed by the artist.

2004

835x660mm

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Calendar Chair

‘Calendar Chair’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £700

Limited edition of 150

Silkscreen print

This classic surrealistic image from Album cover art legend Storm Thorgerson places an oversized armchair in a rural field. The chair is upholstered with images from Storm’s Pink Floyd album covers.

This image was intended to promote the Pink Floyd 30th Anniversary campaign. However the remastering of the albums for the 30th anniversary wasn’t completed in time and so in the end the artwork was never used.

The chair was an enormous polystyrene model painted and photographed in a field outside of London. It was covered with Storm Thorgerson Pink Floyd album cover images from from Dark Side Of The Moon to Pulse. On the chair are sitting three with two men in the field standing there looking up at them.

The 20 colour silkscreen with part glaze is printed on 410gsm Somerset Tub Sized paper and is signed by the artist.

2006

750x975mm

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Back To Back

‘Back To Back’ is a beautiful Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

Price: £900

Limited edition of 295

Silkscreen print

Thorgerson utilises the seductive curves of womens’ torsos to showcase Pink Floyd album covers from Divison Bell to Animals.

Signed by the artist

2002

770 x 1015mm

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Adam and Eve

‘Adam and Eve’ is a vibrant Limited Edition Silkscreen print by iconic artist Storm Thorgerson.

SOLD OUT

Limited edition of 125

Silkscreen print

‘Adam and Eve’ was printed on 410gsm Somerset Tub Sized paper and is an album cover for UK band Catherine Wheel.

Thorgerson plays with gravity by putting his nude figures inside red compartments and rotating them.

Signed by the artist

2003

760x1015mm

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