Chris Orr
Encyclopedia
Christopher Orr MBE
RA (born 8 April 1943) is an English artist and printmaker who has exhibited world wide and published over 400 limited edition prints in lithography
, etching
and silkscreen.
Orr was born in Islington
, London
. After studying at Ravensbourne
and Hornsey Schools of Art he graduated from the Royal College of Art
in 1967 with an MA in Printmaking. He was made a fellow of the Royal College of Art
in 1985, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers in 1988, elected Royal Academician in 1995 and appointed Professor of Printmaking at The Royal College of Art 1998. Combining his work as a full-time artist with teaching, he has also taught at Cardiff College of Art, Central St Martins, London and at the Royal College of Art, London.
His work is best described in his own words "During my thirty nine years as an artist I have been put in various pigeon-holes, such as 'quintessential English' or a 'latter-day Hogarth
'. But are these epithets reasonable? My pictures are composed of well-mixed metaphors, references, allusions jokes and descriptions. Does 'Chris Orr-like' refer to a typically English muddle? The tradition of graphic eccentricity (Heath Robinson
, Donald McGill
, Steve Bell
et al.) is fair enough, I am happy to acknowledge many influences in this area."
Chris Orr has had many one-man shows internationally, including Britain, France, America, Australia, Japan and China. He is represented by the Jill George Gallery, where he has been regularly exhibited since 1978.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
RA (born 8 April 1943) is an English artist and printmaker who has exhibited world wide and published over 400 limited edition prints in lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
, etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
and silkscreen.
Orr was born in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After studying at Ravensbourne
Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication
Ravensbourne is a university sector college innovating in digital media and design, with a vocationally focused portfolio of courses, spanning fashion, television and broadcasting, interactive product design, architecture and environment design, graphic design, animation, moving image, music...
and Hornsey Schools of Art he graduated from the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in 1967 with an MA in Printmaking. He was made a fellow of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in 1985, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers in 1988, elected Royal Academician in 1995 and appointed Professor of Printmaking at The Royal College of Art 1998. Combining his work as a full-time artist with teaching, he has also taught at Cardiff College of Art, Central St Martins, London and at the Royal College of Art, London.
His work is best described in his own words "During my thirty nine years as an artist I have been put in various pigeon-holes, such as 'quintessential English' or a 'latter-day Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
'. But are these epithets reasonable? My pictures are composed of well-mixed metaphors, references, allusions jokes and descriptions. Does 'Chris Orr-like' refer to a typically English muddle? The tradition of graphic eccentricity (Heath Robinson
W. Heath Robinson
William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator, best known for drawings of eccentric machines....
, Donald McGill
Donald McGill
Donald Fraser Gould McGill, was an English graphic artist whose name has become synonymous with a whole genre of saucy seaside postcards that were sold mostly in small shops in British coastal towns...
, Steve Bell
Steve Bell (cartoonist)
Steve Bell is an English political cartoonist, whose work appears in The Guardian and other publications. He is known for his left-wing views and distinctive caricatures.-Early life:...
et al.) is fair enough, I am happy to acknowledge many influences in this area."
Chris Orr has had many one-man shows internationally, including Britain, France, America, Australia, Japan and China. He is represented by the Jill George Gallery, where he has been regularly exhibited since 1978.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.
Selected exhibitions
- 1971 Serpentine GallerySerpentine GalleryThe Serpentine Gallery is an art gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, central London. It focuses on modern and contemporary art. The exhibitions, architecture, education and public programmes attract approximately 750,000 visitors a year...
, London - 1976 Whitechapel GalleryWhitechapel GalleryThe Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, it was founded in 1901 as one of the first publicly-funded galleries for temporary exhibitions in London, and it has a long...
and Museum of Modern Art Oxford - 1980 Galleria Grafica, Tokyo, Japan
- 1983 Jay Street Gallery, New York, USA
- 1987 Print Guild, Melbourne, Australia
- 1990 Royal Festival HallRoyal Festival HallThe Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
London - 1994 Jill George Gallery
- 1996 Jill George Gallery
- 1998 Royal College of ArtRoyal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
- 1999 Royal Academy of Arts (Friends Room)
- 2001 Lewis Elton Gallery, University of SurreyUniversity of SurreyThe University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, GuildfordGuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region... - 2003 Jill George Gallery
- 2004 Ruskin LibraryRuskin LibraryThe Ruskin Library is a library of the University of Lancaster which houses the Whitehouse Collection of material relating to the English poet, author and artist John Ruskin and his circle. This collection was formed by John Howard Whitehouse, Liberal Member of Parliament...
, Lancaster - 2005 Six Royal Academicians, Beijing and Shanghai
Public collections
- Arts Council of Great BritainArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
- Arts Council of WalesArts Council of WalesThe Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
- British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
- Royal Academy of Arts
- Museum of LondonMuseum of LondonThe Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Science MuseumScience museumA science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
- The British Museum
- Ulster Folk and Transport MuseumUlster Folk and Transport MuseumThe Ulster Folk and Transport Museum is situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. It comprises two separate museums, the Folk Museum and the Transport Museum...
- National Railway MuseumNational Railway MuseumThe National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
, YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence... - Government Art Collection
- Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
- The Ruskin LibraryRuskin LibraryThe Ruskin Library is a library of the University of Lancaster which houses the Whitehouse Collection of material relating to the English poet, author and artist John Ruskin and his circle. This collection was formed by John Howard Whitehouse, Liberal Member of Parliament...
Lancaster University
Publications
- Many Mansions, Chris Orr and Michael Palin, 1990
- The Small Titanic, Chris Orr and Kevin Whately
- Pinko Productions, 1994
- Happy Days, Chris Orr, 1999
- Semi-Antics, Chris Orr and Jill George, 2001
External links
- Chris Orr's Website
- Chris Orr's John Ruskin, and other stories Ruskin Library, Lancaster 2004
- Royal Academy - Chris Orr