Biography Chris Gollon
Chris Gollon
Chris Gollon is an established name in British painting. Born London, 1953, Gollon first came to the attention of the art world as a finalist in The Spectator Prize in 1989. He has since exhibited widely in Europe and the USA. He exhibited at ART'97 Chicago, and has had six solo museum shows in the UK. In 1998, he exhibited with Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Gavin Turk in 'ROOT', a crossover exhibition of contemporary music and art created by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, at the Chisenhale Gallery, London.
In 2000, Chris Gollon accepted a major commission from the Church of England to paint 14 Stations of the Cross for a grade-one listed church in London designed in 1826 by Sir John Soane. After 8 years in the making and widely featured in the national press and media, the commissioned paintings were finally installed permanently in 2009, blessed by the Bishop of London and used a first time in the Good Friday service. Award-winning novelist Sara Maitland also published her book Stations of the Cross (Continuum, London & New York, 2009), entirely inspired by Gollon’s paintings. St John on Bethnal Green is located next to the Museum of Childhood and Gollon’s dramatic, colourful Stations of the Cross have transformed this historic church into an important visitor attraction in East London.
In 2001, the award winning River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames (with the aid of the Victoria & Albert Museum) purchased Gollon's hinged triptych Big Fish Eat Little Fish, which now forms part of the permanent collection alongside works by Frink and Dufy. In 2004, Chris Gollon was invited to show in St Paul's Cathedral with Bill Viola, Craigie Aitchison and Tracey Emin in the exhibition Presence: Images of Christ for the Third Millennium.
In 2005, the Huddersfield Art Gallery purchased a major work by Chris Gollon entitled Einstein & The Jealous Monk, which now hangs in the permanent collection alongside works by Sir Jacob Epstein, Walter Sickert and Francis Bacon. In 2007, he accepted a commission from the River & Rowing Museum to paint the Henley Royal Regatta. Unveiled in June 2008, his painting entitled Gollon At Henley hangs permanently in the museum's collection in juxtaposition with Raoul Dufy's ‘Regatta at Henley’.
A chance meeting in 2005 between Chris Gollon and film makers JABOD began a creative journey, leading to the creation of a neologism, and a new cinematic art work: Kaleidomorphism One. Fifteen years of Gollon’s paintings and imagery, music he has selected, combine with JABOD’s design, rhythm and effects to create a unique film installation (18 mins). Kaleidomorphism One was successfully premiered on the opening night of the East End Film Festival, London, 2008.
In 2007, Gollon’s work came to the attention of the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University. An exhibition at the IAS was arranged and very well received in November of the same year. The IAS then invited Chris Gollon to take part in Being Human as a Fellow & First Artist in Residence (Jan – Mar 2009). During his Fellowship & Residency, resulting from his interaction with some of the world's leading thinkers, Chris produced 16 new works. These are shown a first time in the exhibition Being Human which is accompanied by a 52-page colour catalogue with texts by art historian Tamsin Pickeral and the Directors and Fellows of the IAS.
For further information, and an archive of his work, please click here: Chris Gollon website.
