Have you ever been attracted to the sleek, elegant lines of the Art Deco movement, which captured the imagination of the world in the inter-war years?
Well, this summer you can step back in time to the 1920-30s at the David Roche Gallery in Adelaide with the exhibition, Art Deco: A Modern Vision. Celebrating 100 Years.
Read ahead:
Understanding Art Deco
Art Deco was a global movement – one that reached Australian shores and became embraced especially in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Timothy Roberts, David Roche Gallery Curator, says that Art Deco is more than just sleek lines and geometric design. ‘It truly encompassed all decorative and applied arts from architecture, interior design, transportation, and fashion and jewellery,’ adding that the Gallery’s exhibition offers art enthusiasts, ‘an insight into this transformative world.’
While Art Deco debuted in Paris just before the first World War, the name Art Deco only really came into use after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts), and quickly became a global sensation.
Everything from skyscrapers to ocean liners, cinemas to china, furniture and fashion, adopted the Art Deco style. Influenced by the bright colors of Fauvism and the Ballets Russes, and the exoticised styles of art from China, Japan, India, Persia, and ancient Egypt, Art Deco was all about luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.
It was also a period that introduced exotic – and new – materials such as chrome plating and Bakelite, as well as revisiting the likes of ebony and ivory. Art Deco: A Modern Vision revisits those materials in a collection of works that starts with the launch of Art Deco in France and Europe, with a highlight looking at the decorative arts, including a striking glass by Lalique in Gallery 1.
Art Deco and Australia
From its extraordinary debut in 1920s Paris to its lasting influence on Australian, Art Deco art and architecture continues to seduce through its beauty and design, never waining in its popularity – we only need to remember The Block’s 2016 renovation of an Art Deco soap factory in Melbourne.
In Gallery 3, the exhibition focuses on how the style arrived in Australia, with a special look at its impact on Australian cinemas and homes – the objects people lived with that defined this modern moment. There are over 180 pieces in this exhibition drawn from both public and private collections.
One of the most well-known examples of Art Deco architecture in Australia is the ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park designed by C. Bruce Dellit and Raynor Hoff, however, many examples of residential Art Deco buildings can be found all over the country – and in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Read: Art Deco comes to life
While Potts Point in Sydney has the largest concentration of Art Deco architecture in Australia, Adelaide overall had a widespread embrace of the style, with many examples still preserved. Of special note, are the many Art Deco homes in Adelaide building during the 1930s, designed by Christopher Smith, and William Van Alen – known also for New York’s iconic Chrysler Building.
Rounding out the exhibition, Gallery 2 presents a collection of vintage travel posters, Australian and European fashion and ceramics from the period.
Art Deco: A Modern Vision. Celebrating 100 Years is showing at the David Roche Gallery in Adelaide from 8 November to 31 January, 2026. Ticketed.
