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Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood to have first public art exhibition

Thom Yorke performs with the Smile/OK Computer cover
Thom Yorke performs with the Smile/OK Computer cover Copyright  AP Photo/1997 XL Recordings Ltd.
Copyright AP Photo/1997 XL Recordings Ltd.
By Jonny Walfisz
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Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood's collaborative artwork for Radiohead will be featured in a public exhibition for the first time.

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A major retrospective of the works of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and the band’s long time collaborator Stanley Donwood is coming to Oxford.

Next year, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK will present ‘This is What You Get’, the first public gallery exhibition of the works of Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke. Donwood, 56, is the English artist and writer known for his album cover designs for Radiohead.

Donwood has designed all of Radiohead’s album covers since first collaborating with the band on their 1994 ‘My Iron Lung’ EP. He met Radiohead lead singer Yorke at university and has also designed the artwork for Yorke’s other projects including Atoms for Peace and The Smile.

Thom Yorke & Stanley Donwood, Unchecked, 2021.
Thom Yorke & Stanley Donwood, Unchecked, 2021. Via TIN MAN ART

Alongside his musical output, Yorke is also a visual artist in his own right and has collaborated with Donwood on the album covers, most recently for new band The Smile’s artwork.

‘This is What You Get’ will feature over 120 works from the two artists, tracing back from the 1980s through to the present day. It follows last year’s exhibition of the pair’s oeuvre at Tin Man Art Gallery in London, which represents the pair’s art.

Radiohead 'OK Computer'
Radiohead 'OK Computer' 1997 XL Recordings Ltd.
Wall of Eyes, Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke, 2023, tempera, gouache and gesso on linen
Wall of Eyes, Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke, 2023, tempera, gouache and gesso on linen Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke (used for The Smile, Wall of Eyes album cover, 2024)
Get Out Before Saturday, Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke, 2000, acrylic on canvas
Get Out Before Saturday, Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke, 2000, acrylic on canvas Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke

As well as the famous album covers, the Ashmolean exhibition will include personal sketchbooks and notebooks never before seen in public.

The Oxford location is personally fitting for the exhibition as it’s the city where Radiohead’s members grew up and formed the band in 1985, first under the name On a Friday.

‘This is What You Get’ will be at the Ashmolean Museum from 8 August 2025 to 11 January 2026.

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