John Hoyland
Encyclopedia
John Hoyland RA was a London
-based British
artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters.
, Yorkshire
, and educated at Leighton Park School
, before going onto study at Sheffield School of Art, Psalter Lane
, and the Royal Academy Schools. He was elected to the Royal Academy
in 1991 and was appointed Professor of the Royal Academy Schools in 1999. The National Portrait Gallery holds portraits of the artist in its collection.
with the Robert Elkon Gallery and the André Emmerich
Gallery. His paintings are closely aligned with Post-Painterly Abstraction
, Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction
.
Retrospectives of his paintings have been held at the Serpentine Gallery
(1979), the Royal Academy
(1999) and Tate St Ives
(2006). He won the 1982 John Moores Painting Prize.
His works are held in many public and private collections including the Tate
. In September 2010, Hoyland and five other British artists including Howard Hodgkin
, John Walker
, Ian Stephenson
, Patrick Caulfield
and R.B. Kitaj were included in an exhibition entitled The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art From the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, at the Yale Center for British Art
.
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...
-based British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters.
Life
Hoyland was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and educated at Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the large town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England...
, before going onto study at Sheffield School of Art, Psalter Lane
Psalter Lane
Psalter Lane was one of three campuses that made up Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. The campus officially closed on 31 August 2008 and work to demolish all but the old Bluecoat School building began in March 2010. Demolition work is scheduled to be completed by September 2010...
, and the Royal Academy Schools. He was elected to the 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...
in 1991 and was appointed Professor of the Royal Academy Schools in 1999. The National Portrait Gallery holds portraits of the artist in its collection.
Work
Hoyland's first solo exhibition was held at the Marlborough New London Gallery in 1964 and he had a solo show at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1967. In the 1960s, Hoyland's work was characterised by simple shapes, high-key colour and a flat picture surface. In the 1970s his paintings became more textured. He exhibited at the Waddington Galleries, London throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1960s and 1970s, he showed his paintings in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with the Robert Elkon Gallery and the André Emmerich
André Emmerich
André Emmerich was an influential German born American gallerist who specialized in the color field school and pre-Columbian art while also taking on artists such as David Hockney and Al Held....
Gallery. His paintings are closely aligned with Post-Painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly abstraction is a term created by art critic Clement Greenberg as the title for an exhibit he curated for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964, which subsequently travelled to the Walker Art Center and the Art Gallery of Toronto....
, Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction is either of two related but distinctly separate trends in Post-war Modernist painting, and a third definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s...
.
Retrospectives of his paintings have been held at the Serpentine Gallery
Serpentine Gallery
The 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...
(1979), the 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...
(1999) and Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists, including work of the St Ives School. The three storey building, designed by architects Evans and Shalev, lies on the site of an old gas works, overlooking Porthmeor Beach. It was opened in...
(2006). He won the 1982 John Moores Painting Prize.
His works are held in many public and private collections including the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
. In September 2010, Hoyland and five other British artists including Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin CH, CBE is a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.-Early life:...
, John Walker
John Walker (painter)
John Walker is an English painter and printmaker.Walker studied in Birmingham. Some of his early work was inspired by abstract expressionism and post-painterly abstraction, and often combined apparently three-dimensional shapes with "flatter" elements...
, Ian Stephenson
Ian Stephenson
Ian Stephenson was an English abstract artist. Stephenson trained at King's College, Durham along with Noel Forster and had his first solo show in London at the New Vision Centre in 1958...
, Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Joseph Caulfield, CBE, RA was an English painter and printmaker known for his bold canvases, which often incorporated elements of Photorealism within a pared down scene.-Life and work:...
and R.B. Kitaj were included in an exhibition entitled The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art From the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, at the Yale Center for British Art
Yale Center for British Art
The Yale Center for British Art is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University which houses the most comprehensive collection of British Art outside the United Kingdom...
.
External links
- Obituary in The Independent by Marcus Williamson
- Feature article in The Independent
- John Hoyland - Beaux Arts, exhibitions, essays, biography
- Works by John Hoyland at Alan Wheatley Art