British Pop Art is toast

I have an almost religious relationship with toast. Not a day goes by without my consuming at least two slices of this simple delicacy. Of all people, I am the most predisposed to view the toaster as a fetish item, the 21st-century, domestic version of the sacrificial altar.

But this series of works by the legendary British pop artist Richard Hamilton, based on this essential cooking device, deserves to head straight for another vital piece of kitchen equipment — the waste disposal unit.

Born in 1922, Hamilton produced one of the first works of Pop Art anywhere in the world in 1956, a collage called Just What Is It that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?

In the Sixties and Seventies, he turned out many major Pop works, including an image of a toaster, from 1967, which he has revived here. The result is like an ageing rockstar re‑recording his greatest hits.

In the nine works, which combine digital photography and collage, Hamilton plays on the sleek minimalist forms of his original designer toaster and sets it against a variety of contemporary backdrops.

There’s toaster with pots and pans; toaster with electric toothbrush; toaster with colour chart; and, in the only decent work in the show, toaster in a fragmented constructivist composition. The series looks like a glossy print from Habitat, which is surely Hamilton’s point, since his art has long been about the refinement of commercial design — but, in 2009, this is a small and tired point.

When the contemporary art market crashed last autumn, Larry Gagosian sent a blunt email to his gallery staff, telling them that "the luxury of carrying underperforming employees is now a thing of the past". He would do well to give his stable of artists a similar kick up the butt.
Until 30 May. Information: 020 7851 9961; www.gagosian.com

Richard Hamilton: Toaster Deluxe
Gagosian Galllery
W1