Chris Gollon Artist Portfolio

28th Feb – 12th May 2013

Having been his gallery and agent for 20 years, IAP Fine Art  has only exhibited very few self portraits in all that time. Chris Gollon turns 60 this year, and to celebrate the event he thought he would do a series of paintings of his favourite subject: himself. Right, you will see the very striking ‘Second Self Portrait Age 60′ (40″ x 14.5″, 101 x 36cms acrylic on canvas). Chris has taken a look back again at Expressionism, the subject of which is the Self, or oneself. All Expressionist art is subjective, in which is shown the inner self of the artist. As you can see this is not a photographic likeness, but simply Gollon working with himself, his own ego and a mirror. This is not an exercise in vanity either; but along with artists of varying styles such as Max Beckmann and Rembrandt, it is an interest in and an attempt to see one’s own Self or soul. Moreover, as Sister Wendy Beckett notes (in her excellent book on Beckmann), when great artists do penetrate to see their souls, it helps us see our own too.

Many of Chris’s recent self portaits are quite startling, giving the sense of the artist suddenly walking into the room, and are full of life and tension. Because Chris is currently embarking on a major new work (not a portrait), which will be over 50ft (15m) long (more on that later in the year), he has had to clear his studio considerably. This clear out lead to a wonderful discovery of some self portraits he’d held back for himself, but since forgotten. Therefore, we are delighted that this exhibition will show self portraits from age 20 through to age 60, along with other figurative works. Not only will the spectator be able to see the ageing process in action, but also the changes in style and technique by this extraordinary artistic talent over a long span of time. In the 1970s, for example, Gollon decided against taking the road of Freud and Auerbach in oil; but instead used acrylic mixed with detergent on unprimed duck canvas, following the American painters of the 1950, since this technique has a matt beauty and expresses colour and form so well, and seeps unevenly into the canvas. In these early works the painter began the underpainting in yellow ochre, working from light to dark. However, in recent years has has opted to start with black gesso on acrylic primed canvases and work from dark to light, as you can see in films of him painting here: Films. This exhibition shows the development of an artist in acrylic painting over 40 years, and to the very height of his powers, where he has totally mastered the medium and innovated it considerably, with glazing and even importing printmaking techniques. More on Gollon’s techniques can be learned from the new app for iPads: The Art of Chris Gollon. To see some of the paintings in the exhibition, click: Self Portraits. For more information, please call 0844 561 1833 or contact us.

7th January – 25th Feb 2013

IAP Fine Art, 23A St James’s St, London SW1A 1HA

IAP Fine Art is  delighted to present this new exhibition of the very latest still life works from Chris Gollon’s studio. In her recent book Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art art historian Tamsin Pickeral devotes a chapter to his still life, pointing out that Gollon’s “still life convey a heightened sense of animation, of perceptible drama and emotional consequences more familiarly seen in figurative works.” She also goes on to point out that this crossing the boundaries of genre, or indeed blurring the lines between genres, is a great strength in the artist’s work. “Gollon’s unique redefinition of painting genres to suit his own end is achieved with striking simplicity through his application of a consistent and unifying ideology. This singular approach, which underpins all his work is based on his perception of emotive forces in all aspects of his world. As such the artist sees individual identities and dramas in inanimate objects such as pots, wine glasses, flowers or musical instruments….”.

This exhibition will feature mainly new still life, but also one or two new figurative works. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us or call 0844 561 1833.

IAP Fine Art @ Horne & Harvey

21st June –  13th Aug  2012

23a, St James’s St, London SW1A 1HA (Corner of St James’s St and Ryder St)

Open: Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm or by appointment

For further details, please contact us or to view more paintings click: here.

A new exhibition of some of the latest paintings by Chris Gollon, including large figurative works, heads, still life and drawings.

“The title of the exhibition is taken from a recent painting by Chris Gollon, which is a homage to Goya. This  Gollonesque take on Goya’s etching of the same title (from Los Caprichos series), has the Devil smoking a Havanna cigar and an angel, powerless and looking on, accompanying the condemned to the end. I think it was Leonard Cohen who described life as a “beautiful tragedy” in a recent interview, and this painting seems to take us in a very poetic way into that area. Chris Gollon’s work has fascinated me for over 25 years, since he seems to find beauty in areas of life many of us prefer not to look at or shrink from. His empathetic yet unblinking stare at existence and the independent dignity all his characters retain, combined with beauty and colour in his technical brilliance, make Gollon a unique modern master with an unquenchable imagination.” David Tregunna, Curator & Director, IAP Fine Art, London.

30th March – 19th April 2012

The Gallery @ The Studio Building,                                 21 Evesham Street, London W11 4AJ

Open: Mon – Friday  2pm – 5pm or by appt

For location map, click: MAP

Curated by IAP Fine Art,  30 of the latest works will be shown in one of the newest and most exciting exhibition spaces to open in London in 2012. It is located at the new UK headquarters of Liquitex, the leading manufacturer of fine art acrylic paints and mediums. Having first seen Chris Gollon painting when he was featured on Alan Yentob’s BBC1 programme Imagine, Liquitex became interested in his innovative techniques and practices.

This exciting new exhibition of paintings, monotypes and drawings will also launch the brand new application for iPads, entitled The Art of Chris Gollon. Supported by Liquitex, this innovative new app, in which Chris Gollon reveals both his creative processes and technical secrets,  is supported by Liquitex and can be downloaded from Apple to iPads here: The Art of Chris Gollon.

This exhibition, which is co-curated by IAP Fine Art, will display a great range of Gollon’s major works, including Girl By The Shore (pictured). Via iPads on stands, the exhibition will also show films of Chris Gollon in the process of painting, so visitors can actually watch the artist creating a painting that is also in the exhibition. The app, in which Gollon reveals his thought processes,  techniques and even materials used,  will also be available to view on iPads withing this interactive exhibition.

For further information on the exhibition or works available, please contact IAP Fine Art on 0844 561 1833, or email by clicking: contact us.

4th Apr – 5th May 2012

23a, St James’s St, London SW1A 1HA (Corner of St James’s St and Ryder St)

Open: Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm or by appointment

For further details, please contact us or to view more paintings click: here.

For Chris Gollon this is an important moment artistically, since for the first time in 20 years he has returned to oil painting. He has already innovated acrylic painting by bringing in subtle old master techniques of delicate washes and glazes, and then adding in printmaking techniques, to the point where even the acrylic paint manufacturers are now asking his advice and supporting his work. Oil paint cannot quite achieve the intensity and vibrancy of colour that acrylic has. On the other hand, oil painting offers a body and presence, a natural volume. So Gollon has decided to enter an experimental period, producing some pure oil paintings, some pure acrylic like ‘Still Life With Wine & Cheese (I)‘, and some where he has painted oil over acrylic gesso, or acrylic paint—just as the old masters up to and including Rubens would very successfully paint oil over water-based media such as tempera or gouache . ‘The Model 3/4 Length Version’ (pictured) is an example of an almost exclusive use of oil, painted over a small amount of black acrylic gesso. In this experimental period, Chris is re-looking at some of his previous imagery and in some cases doing new versions with oil.  The oil certainly makes the face and hands exquisitely beautiful, and lends great presence to the singer as she fixes our regard. ‘The Model 3/4 Length Version’ has tremendous presence and life when viewed in the flesh, and also an innate mystery that is hypnotic. Location and opening hours are here: Location.

24 Oct – 30 Nov 2011

23a, St James’s St, London SW1A 1HA (Corner of St James’s St and Ryder St)

Open: Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm or by appointment

For further details, please contact us or view more paintings here.

Exhibition includes figurative works, still life  and small heads. Pictured here is The Party (48″ x 36″, 122 x 91cms, acrylic on canvas 2011).

30th Sept – 2nd Oct 2011

IAP Fine Art (Stand P15)@ The Sage Gateshead

St Mary’s Square, Gateshead Quays, Tyne and Wear, NE8 2JR

Open Friday 11-6, Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5.

We are delighted to be participating once more at the excellent Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair, which we cannot recommend enough to art collectors. As last year, it will again be held in the beautiful Norman Foster-designed Sage Centre, adjacent to The Baltic art gallery and overlooking the Tyne, the Millennium Bridge and the beautifully redeveloped Quayside, the iconic Tyne Bridge and grandeur of the old city centre.  We will be exhibiting the latest paintings by Chris Gollon, many painted while Chris was Artist in Residence at St Mary’s College, Durham University (summer term 2011) and exclusively shown here for a first time. Our exhibition stand is part-sponsored by the luxurious Malmaison Newcastle, which we highly recommend as the ideal hotel and/or fine dining restaurant if you are visiting the Fair. For further information on the works by Chris Gollon or Maggi Hambling that we will exhibit, please call us on 0844 561 1833 or by email contact us.

20 Oct – 23 Dec 2011

50, Greek St, (Soho), London W1

Selected recent paintings by Chris Gollon exhibited at the exclusive members’ club The Union in Soho. Viewing is by appointment only by first contacting IAP Fine Art.

IAP FINE ART
21 Jan 2011 – 12 Feb

This exhibition shows some of Chris Gollon’s latest still life paintings, small heads, six larger figurative works, some fabulous new drawings and selected prints. For more information, please email david@iapfineart.com or call 0844 561 1833 or visit www.iapfineart.com. Please note: IAP Fine Art is part of the Arts Council of England’s OWN ART scheme, allowing UK residents the opportunity (up to a total of £2,000) to pay or part pay for works of art on interest-free instalments over 10 months. Simply call or email for more details.

Following the publication earlier this year of art historian Tamsin Pickeral’s latest book,
Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art, (Hyde & Hughes, 2010), Chris Gollon has reflected on Tamsin’s insights into the last 20 years of his work. Pickeral’s illuminating appraisal inspired the artist to pull everything together from the past, while embarking on what is arguably his most experimental period to date. Gollon’s expressly unique and imaginative approach to painting both still life and the human form is still present in these latest works. The use of very deep, soft, matt blacks, and the combination of realism and abstraction, bring a poetic beauty to the new work.

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