The Ikon Gallery’s greatest hits

In a crowded storeroom at Ikon, Birmingham’s contemporary art gallery, its director Jonathan Watkins is unwrapping the pictures for his latest show. His excitement is infectious. He’s like a big kid on Christmas day. This exhibition marks the start of Ikon’s 50th season, for which he’s devised a special programme — a history of Ikon, which doubles as a compact history of contemporary art.

To celebrate Ikon’s half-century, Watkins is mounting shows by five artists, one from each decade, who’ve exhibited here during the past 50 years. First up is the photorealist John Salt — the first artist ever shown at Ikon. He’ll be followed in April by Ian Emes, whose short animated film, French Windows, was made to accompany ‘One of These Days’, a song by Pink Floyd. Cornelia Parker’s ‘Thirty Pieces of Silver’ (now in the Tate collection) was commissioned by Ikon back in 1988. She’ll be reconstructing this artwork here in July.