Keith Coventry’s Junk Series Included in British Museum’s New Acquisitions Exhibition

Since its inception in 1753, the British Museum has put together an extensive and unique collection of prints and drawings, from fine art to satirical works. New acquisitions Gozzoli to Kara Walker, an exhibition presented at the British Museum until 27 January 2019 reflects the Museum’s focus on collecting works from the 20th and 21st centuries.

The exhibition includes 'Junk' by Keith Coventry, a portfolio of nine prints, 5 etchings and 4 lithographs. Coventry proposes a new visual language that focuses on elements of the instantly recognizable McDonald’s logo. He first began to manipulate the American fast-food chain’s logo in 2000, inspired by the discarded fast-food wrappers that accumulated outside his studio.

Coventry says of the series, “I have always been interested in hard, clear, and repeatable images, rather than an atmospheric quality. The colour is provided by the McDonald’s logo, and the white or blank space represents a purity, edging out the commercial image in favour of a more abstract composition.”