Callum Innes
Encyclopedia
Callum Innes is a Scottish abstract
painter
and former Turner Prize
nominee.
. He studied at Gray's School of Art
(1980–84) and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art
in 1985.
Innes began exhibiting in the mid-to-late 1980s and in 1992 had two major exhibitions in public galleries, at the ICA
, London, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
, Edinburgh
. Since then he has had numerous solo shows throughout Britain, Europe and North America, and more recently in New Zealand
. A substantial selection of his best-known series, the "Exposed" paintings, was exhibited in 1998 at the Ikon Gallery
, Birmingham, England, and at the Kunsthalle Bern
the following year. "From Memory", a major exhibition of Callum Innes' work over the past 15 years, was shown at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in 2006, and toured to Modern Art Oxford, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
. Innes had a substantial solo exhibition of new work at Ingleby Gallery for the Edinburgh Art Festival
(2009). "At One Remove", featured at Sean Kelly Gallery New York (2010)
Callum Innes has participated in many group shows including The British Art Show 3 (1990), Wonderful Life, Lisson Gallery
, London (1993), From Here, Karsten Schubert Gallery and Waddington Galleries (1994), Abstractions Provisoires, Musee d'Art Moderne de St Etienne (1997), the touring exhibition About Vision - New British Paintings in the 1990s (1996-7) and Abstract Painting Once Removed at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
. The last decade has seen Innes continue to participate in international group exhibitions including "Six Degrees of Separation" Jensen Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (2001), "Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated): Art from 1951 to the Present", Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2004), "Three: 3 Artists in solo displays", Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (2007), "Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing", Ingleby Gallery,Edinburgh (2009), "What you see is where you're at", Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (2010), "Heaviness and Grace", Villa Medici, Rome, Italy (2010)
In 1995 he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize which was won by Damien Hirst
. In 1998 Innes won the NatWest Art Prize and in 2002 he won The Jerwood Painting Prize and the Artisti Invitati Al Premio Internazionale.
His work is represented in numerous collections, both private and public including The Irish Museum of Modern Art, The Tate London, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and Deutsche Bank.
He regularly exhibits internationally and lives in Inverleith, Edinburgh with his wife and three children.
has aptly been described as "unpainting", given that key compositional elements are generally produced, not by the application of paint, but through its removal by washes of turpentine
. Each finished painting thus suggests a freezing in time of the otherwise momentary arrest of an ongoing process.
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and former Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
nominee.
Life and work
Callum Innes was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He studied at Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art is an integral part of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen that is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland...
(1980–84) and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
in 1985.
Innes began exhibiting in the mid-to-late 1980s and in 1992 had two major exhibitions in public galleries, at the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, London, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Since then he has had numerous solo shows throughout Britain, Europe and North America, and more recently in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. A substantial selection of his best-known series, the "Exposed" paintings, was exhibited in 1998 at the Ikon Gallery
Ikon Gallery
The Ikon Gallery is an English gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Grade II listed, neo-gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1877. The gallery's current director is Jonathan Watkins.Ikon was set up to...
, Birmingham, England, and at the Kunsthalle Bern
Kunsthalle Bern
The Kunsthalle Bern is a Kunsthalle on the Helvetiaplatz in Berne, Switzerland.It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous expositions of contemporary art...
the following year. "From Memory", a major exhibition of Callum Innes' work over the past 15 years, was shown at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in 2006, and toured to Modern Art Oxford, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Innes had a substantial solo exhibition of new work at Ingleby Gallery for the Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Art Festival
The Edinburgh Art Festival is an annual visual arts festival, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during August to coincide with the Edinburgh Festival. The Art Festival was established in 2004, and receives public funding from the Scottish Arts Council. The current Festival Director is Joanne S...
(2009). "At One Remove", featured at Sean Kelly Gallery New York (2010)
Callum Innes has participated in many group shows including The British Art Show 3 (1990), Wonderful Life, Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery
The Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Bell Street, Lisson Grove, London, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents such artists as Ai Weiwei, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Jonathan Monk, Julian Opie, Richard Wentworth and Turner Prize winners Anish Kapoor...
, London (1993), From Here, Karsten Schubert Gallery and Waddington Galleries (1994), Abstractions Provisoires, Musee d'Art Moderne de St Etienne (1997), the touring exhibition About Vision - New British Paintings in the 1990s (1996-7) and Abstract Painting Once Removed at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
The Contemporary Arts Museum – Houston is a not-for-profit institution in Houston, Texas, dedicated to presenting the contemporary art of our time to the public....
. The last decade has seen Innes continue to participate in international group exhibitions including "Six Degrees of Separation" Jensen Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (2001), "Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated): Art from 1951 to the Present", Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2004), "Three: 3 Artists in solo displays", Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (2007), "Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing", Ingleby Gallery,Edinburgh (2009), "What you see is where you're at", Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (2010), "Heaviness and Grace", Villa Medici, Rome, Italy (2010)
In 1995 he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize which was won by Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
. In 1998 Innes won the NatWest Art Prize and in 2002 he won The Jerwood Painting Prize and the Artisti Invitati Al Premio Internazionale.
His work is represented in numerous collections, both private and public including The Irish Museum of Modern Art, The Tate London, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and Deutsche Bank.
He regularly exhibits internationally and lives in Inverleith, Edinburgh with his wife and three children.
Working process
Innes is an artist, who has tended to work alternately on a number of disparate series, each of which he repeatedly revisits. His characteristic form of coolly atmospheric abstractionAbstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
has aptly been described as "unpainting", given that key compositional elements are generally produced, not by the application of paint, but through its removal by washes of turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. Each finished painting thus suggests a freezing in time of the otherwise momentary arrest of an ongoing process.
External links
- Ingleby Gallery "Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh. Link to artists page, CV, biography and exhibition information"
- Kerlin Gallery Representative gallery. Link to images and biography
- Frith Street Gallery
- Callum Innes on artnet.com, including examples of work
- Callum Innes on Artcyclopedia