Harry Pye
Encyclopedia
Harry Pye is an artist, writer and event organiser. He was born in London in 1973. He completed a foundation course at Camberwell
School of Art in 1991. He then studied printmaking at Winchester
School of Art from 1992 to 1995. In his second year he stopped painting and printmaking and began making films. His first films were interviews with artist and tutor Bruce McLean
. He has interviewed many other artists such as The Chapman Brothers, Wolfgang Tillmans
and Keith Tyson
for various publications including The Face (magazine)
and Untitled. He has also edited and published numerous art based fanzines of his own, most notably, "Harry Pye's FRANK Magazine" which ran from 1995 to 2000. Since 2005 Pye has written a column about the London art scene for the timeless Estonian newspaper, Epifanio (See: www.epifanio.eu)as well as being the editor of The Rebel magazine
.
which took place at The Oh Art Gallery in The Oxford House
of Bethnal Green
and then toured to the North Edinburgh Art Centre in Scotland. In November 2006 he put together, "For Peel" at the NOMOREGREY gallery in Shoreditch. This exhibition was a tribute to the D.J. John Peel
and consisted of more than 60 artists including Jessica Voorsanger
, Sarah Doyle and Cathy Lomax
all of whom had made work relating to a band or singer that John Peel had discovered or championed. Pye didn't contribute any artwork of his own to these exhibitions. According to press release material he only began making paintings of his own in 2004 having been inspired by a Royal Academy
exhibition of Philip Guston
and a show about Mathias Kauage at the Horniman Museum
which both took place in this same year.
Pye's first solo show took place at Sartorial Contemporary Art
in Notting Hill
in February 2007. The name of his show was, "Me, Me, Me". As well as more than twenty paintings the show featured a thirty minute video made in collaboration with artist Gordon Beswick and comedy writers and performers Richard Herring
and Robin Ince
. A review of the private view of "Me, Me, Me", together with images from the night can be found at www.russellherron.blogspot.com/2007/02/harry_pye.
Pye has made many collaborative paintings with other artists including Rowland Smith, Marcus Cope, Kes Richardson, James Jessop, Billy Childish
, Frank Sidebottom
, Sarah Sparkes, Liz Murray, Geraldine Swayne
, and Mat Humphrey. Almost half of the paintings in the "Me, Me, Me" show were collaborations with Rowland Smith who Pye has known since his school days.
In April 2007 Pye won first prize in a competition to paint a portrait of Tony Blair
. The competition was organised by The Daily Mirror. The judges were artists Gilbert and George
. (Daily Mirror, Thursday, April 26, 2007 pages 20 & 21)
In April 2008 Pye had several of his paintings featured in an exhibition called, "Everyday Life" at The Tom Christoffersen gallery in Denmark. In the same month he had a solo show at The Thomas Cohn Gallery - a 5500 square feet (511 m²) space in São Paulo, Brazil.
In June Pye curated a group exhibition called "Poetic Licence" at the Crimes Town Gallery
in Stoke Newington
. The show featured drawings and paintings inspired by poems and visitors to the gallery could only gain entry if they brought with them a poem that had moved or inspired them. Artists taking part in the project included Lloyd Durling, Marenka Gabeler, Marisol Malatesta Mark Mcgowan, John Moseley, and Edward Ward.
In September Pye and Rowland Smith exhibited several paintings they had made in collaboration in a show called Fresh Air Machine at a new Shoreditch art space called Calvert 22. The show was supported by the Outset organisation and was part of the Concrete and Glass festival.
In October Pye helped organise a Black History Month
exhibition at the Lime Light Gallery in Lewisham.
In December Pye helped organise Gretta Sarfaty Marchant's solo show: "Gretta's Progress" in Leeds University.
Pye's second solo show at Sartorial was called Getting Better and took place in March 2009. His third Sartorial show was called Values and took place in September 2010. Pye has recently been collaborating with artist Jasper Joffe
on projects such as Jasper & Harry's Tate Modern.
Peter Cook Appreciation Society (2006). How Very Interesting!: Peter Cook's Universe And All That Surrounds It. Snowbooks. ISBN 1-905005-23-7
Interview with Harry Pye by Alli Sharma of Articulated Artists
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
School of Art in 1991. He then studied printmaking at Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
School of Art from 1992 to 1995. In his second year he stopped painting and printmaking and began making films. His first films were interviews with artist and tutor Bruce McLean
Bruce McLean
Bruce McLean is a Scottish performance artist and painter.McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at St Martin's School of Art, London,from 1963 to 1966...
. He has interviewed many other artists such as The Chapman Brothers, Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German Fine-art photographer and artist. His comprehensive and diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and also the first...
and Keith Tyson
Keith Tyson
Keith Tyson is a British artist. In 2002, he was the winner of the Turner Prize. His work is concerned with an interest in generative systems, and an embrace of the complexity and interconnectedness of existence...
for various publications including The Face (magazine)
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
and Untitled. He has also edited and published numerous art based fanzines of his own, most notably, "Harry Pye's FRANK Magazine" which ran from 1995 to 2000. Since 2005 Pye has written a column about the London art scene for the timeless Estonian newspaper, Epifanio (See: www.epifanio.eu)as well as being the editor of The Rebel magazine
The Rebel magazine
The Rebel is an independent British art magazine established by artist Harry Pye in 1985. It features interviews, reviews with artists, and parodies of features from other publications. Often the cover of the magazine features an image of a famous rebel from history such as Jesus, Karl Marx,...
.
Overview
In May 2000 he was invited to curate an exhibition at Glassbox in Paris, France. The name of this show was, "It May Be Rubbish, But It's British Rubbish". In 2002 he curated a show at The Bart Wells Institute in London Fields called, "Viva Pablo". (Reviewed by Fisun Guner for the Metro Newspaper, Thursday, August 29, 2002.) A year later he organised a group show with 100 artists called, 100 MOTHERS100 Mothers
100 Mothers was an art exhibition curated by Harry Pye that originally took place at the "Oh Art" Gallery at The Oxford House, Bethnal Green in March 2004...
which took place at The Oh Art Gallery in The Oxford House
Oxford House (settlement)
Oxford House in Bethnal Green, London was established in September 1884 as one of the first "settlements" by Oxford University as a High-Anglican Church of England counterpart to Toynbee Hall, established around the same time at Whitechapel.- History :...
of Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
and then toured to the North Edinburgh Art Centre in Scotland. In November 2006 he put together, "For Peel" at the NOMOREGREY gallery in Shoreditch. This exhibition was a tribute to the D.J. John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
and consisted of more than 60 artists including Jessica Voorsanger
Jessica Voorsanger
Jessica Voorsanger, born in New York in 1965, is an American artist and academic, living and working in London. She studied Fine Art at Rhode Island School of Design in Rhode Island before gaining an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, London....
, Sarah Doyle and Cathy Lomax
Cathy Lomax
Cathy Lomax is a London artist, curator and director of the Transition Gallery.-Life and career:Cathy Lomax is an artist mainly known for her figurative paintings. She has a BA Fine Art from London Guildhall University , and an MA from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design...
all of whom had made work relating to a band or singer that John Peel had discovered or championed. Pye didn't contribute any artwork of his own to these exhibitions. According to press release material he only began making paintings of his own in 2004 having been inspired by a Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
exhibition of Philip Guston
Philip Guston
Philip Guston was a notable painter and printmaker in the New York School, which included many of the Abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem De Kooning...
and a show about Mathias Kauage at the Horniman Museum
Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum is a museum in Forest Hill, South London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style....
which both took place in this same year.
Pye's first solo show took place at Sartorial Contemporary Art
Sartorial Contemporary Art
Sartorial Contemporary Art is a contemporary art gallery in central London, England.- Overview :The gallery was founded in 2005 as a project-led space in an 18th century Georgian house on Kensington Church Street in London, England...
in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in February 2007. The name of his show was, "Me, Me, Me". As well as more than twenty paintings the show featured a thirty minute video made in collaboration with artist Gordon Beswick and comedy writers and performers Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
and Robin Ince
Robin Ince
Robin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...
. A review of the private view of "Me, Me, Me", together with images from the night can be found at www.russellherron.blogspot.com/2007/02/harry_pye.
Pye has made many collaborative paintings with other artists including Rowland Smith, Marcus Cope, Kes Richardson, James Jessop, Billy Childish
Billy Childish
Billy Childish is an English artist, painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist...
, Frank Sidebottom
Frank Sidebottom
Christopher Mark Sievey was an English musician and comedian known for fronting the band The Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards....
, Sarah Sparkes, Liz Murray, Geraldine Swayne
Geraldine Swayne
Geraldine Swayne is a London-based painter, musician, and filmmaker.She studied Fine Art at Newcastle University, graduating in 1989. She won a Northern Arts Travel award in 1990 to paint and make super-8 films about Voodoo in New Orleans and later moved to Languedoc in France...
, and Mat Humphrey. Almost half of the paintings in the "Me, Me, Me" show were collaborations with Rowland Smith who Pye has known since his school days.
In April 2007 Pye won first prize in a competition to paint a portrait of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. The competition was organised by The Daily Mirror. The judges were artists Gilbert and George
Gilbert and George
Gilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
. (Daily Mirror, Thursday, April 26, 2007 pages 20 & 21)
In April 2008 Pye had several of his paintings featured in an exhibition called, "Everyday Life" at The Tom Christoffersen gallery in Denmark. In the same month he had a solo show at The Thomas Cohn Gallery - a 5500 square feet (511 m²) space in São Paulo, Brazil.
In June Pye curated a group exhibition called "Poetic Licence" at the Crimes Town Gallery
Crimes Town Gallery
The Crimes Town Gallery in Stoke Newington has been operating since July 2007. The gallery is run by Gavin Toye and Ben Newton who are both artists. In May 2008 Toye and Newton staged, "Walpurgisnacht" at their gallery, a group show featuring artists such as Cathy Lomax, James Unsworth and Sarah...
in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
. The show featured drawings and paintings inspired by poems and visitors to the gallery could only gain entry if they brought with them a poem that had moved or inspired them. Artists taking part in the project included Lloyd Durling, Marenka Gabeler, Marisol Malatesta Mark Mcgowan, John Moseley, and Edward Ward.
In September Pye and Rowland Smith exhibited several paintings they had made in collaboration in a show called Fresh Air Machine at a new Shoreditch art space called Calvert 22. The show was supported by the Outset organisation and was part of the Concrete and Glass festival.
In October Pye helped organise a Black History Month
Black History Month
Black History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
exhibition at the Lime Light Gallery in Lewisham.
In December Pye helped organise Gretta Sarfaty Marchant's solo show: "Gretta's Progress" in Leeds University.
Pye's second solo show at Sartorial was called Getting Better and took place in March 2009. His third Sartorial show was called Values and took place in September 2010. Pye has recently been collaborating with artist Jasper Joffe
Jasper Joffe
Jasper Joffe is a British contemporary artist and novelist.-Life and work:Jasper Joffe was born in the United States in 1975 and moved to England when he was eight. He is the brother of artist Chantal Joffe. He studied Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford...
on projects such as Jasper & Harry's Tate Modern.
Further reading
Review in Frieze magazine (http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/bart_wells_gang/)Peter Cook Appreciation Society (2006). How Very Interesting!: Peter Cook's Universe And All That Surrounds It. Snowbooks. ISBN 1-905005-23-7
External links
- http://jasperandharry.blogspot.com/ Features press reactions to Jasper and Harry's Tate Modern project.
- http://therebelmagazine.blogspot.com/
- Harry Pye Myspace page
- Harry Pye's Postcard from Sao Paulo - an article written by Pye along with pictures of Pye's work.
- An interview with Harry Pye by 'Bodnotbod'
- Sartorial Contempoarary Art
- Review of Poetic Licence exhibition by Ana Finel Honigman
- Web feature on "For Peel" exhibition and web info on calvert 22 exhibition
- http://articulatedartists.blogspot.com/2009/04/harry-pye-talks-to-articulated-artists.html
Interview with Harry Pye by Alli Sharma of Articulated Artists