The Groninger Museum has purchased a unique stained glass window from design studio Hipgnosis. The museum was presented with the window, of which there are only two in the world, by Hipgnosis founder Aubrey Powell.
The exhibition The Art of Hipgnosis: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel & 10cc was on display at the beginning of 2023. It was the world’s first major retrospective of the London design studio Hipgnosis. From the 1970s onwards, millions of teenage rooms were filled with Hipgnosis-designed album covers of major international artists. One of the most famous covers is that of Pink Floyd’s LP The Dark Side of the Moon. This album celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2023.
In 2003, to mark the thirtieth anniversary, Hipgnosis made two stained glass windows with the motif of the Dark Side of the Moon prism. Photos of these windows became part of the ‘anniversary box set’.
Aubrey Powell, co-founder of Hipgnosis, offered one of the windows exclusively for sale to the Groninger Museum. The window was obtained partly thanks to the Groninger Museum Salon. The age-old craft of stained glass often decorates sacred buildings. This modern version will adorn the museum as a temple of art. The window is permanently visible to the public.
