number nine the gallery is honoured to present...
William Gear RA
Click here to see a few examples of their work.
Related articles (on this site)... : | (from 'William Gear RA at the Ikon Gallery', by Terry Grimley - art critic for the Birmingham Post)
William Gear RA was head of Fine Art at The Birmingham School of Art, (later part of the polytechnic), from 1964 to 1975, and still lives in the city. (until his death in 1997)
This exhibition first shown at The Talbot Rice Arts centre, Edinburgh, gives a rare opportunity to see the development of his work from the late 1940's. After Edinburgh College of Art, Gear studied in Paris in Leger, just before the outbreak of war and returned there to work from 1947 to 1950.
His early work reflects the fluid continental style of this period, drifting towards taschisme, or action painting, in some of the gouaches shown downstairs. 'Two Dancers' (1947) is unusual in immediately suggesting the influence of Klee. In general, there is more consistency of style, less chopping and changing than you might expect.
Quite early on Gear demonstrated a fondness for heavy black line, within which colour is sometimes locked. There are rarely concessions to taste in the grinding colour harmonies (of black and yellow in the 1950's 'Dead Tree'). In the mid-1950's Gear experimented with simple geometrical abstracts, but as early as 1951-52 he produced a series of paintings which recall cubism or futurism in their juxtaposition of diagonals and patches of colour. A similar juxtaposition has sustained Gear's work since the late 1960' s-angular, black lines around which bright coloured bubbles rise. Seeing the colour seems to be getting brighter and even extravagant-a reaction, perhaps, to the dourness of the earlier work.
William Gear RA (1915-97) is best known for his work with the Cobra Group with whom he exhibited in Amsterdam and Copenhagen in 1949. However, beyond this association Gear had a long and successful career in his own right.
Born in Fife, Scotland, William Gear RA studied at Edinburgh College of Art. His artistic apprenticeship was distinguished; it featured a travelling scholarship which included a period of study with Fernand Léger in Paris. After serving in the Second World War, Gear pursued his career in earnest and was soon exhibiting his work within the international arena.
Alongside his connections with Cobra, Gear enjoyed domestic accolades which included a Festival of Britain Purchase Prize (1951), membership of the London Group (1952) and the title of Senior Royal Academician (1995). William Gear RA is essential viewing for all those interested in twentieth-century British art.
Biography :
1915
- Born, Methil, Fife, Scotland
1932-36
- Edinburgh College of Art
1936-37
- Post-graduate Scholarship
- Studied History of Art at Edinburgh University
1937-38
- Travelling Scholarship
- Studied with Fernand Leger in Paris
1938-39
- Moray House Training College, Edinburgh
1940-45
- Royal Corps of Signals
- Middle East, Italy, Germany
- Exhibited in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Florence
1946-47
- In Germany with Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of Control Commission
- One-man exhibition in Celle and Hamburg
1947-50
- Living and working in Paris
1948
- One-man exhibitions: Galerie Arc en Ciel, Paris;
- Gimpel Fils, London; Salon des Surindependents;
- Salon des Realites Nouvelles.
1949
- One-man exhibition Gimpel Fils, London
- One-man exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery, New York
- Exhibited with 'Cobra' group in Amsterdam and Copenhagen
1950
- Returned to England
1951
- One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils
- Awarded Festival of Britain Purchase Prize
1952
- 'Seventeen Collectors', Tate Gallery
- First International Art Exhibition, Japan
- 'Three British Painters', Passedoit Gallery, New York
- Elected member of the London Group
- One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils
- International Watercolour Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, New York
- Biennale, Sao Paulo
1954
- Retrospective Exhibition, South London Gallery. British Paintings and Sculpture, Whitechapel Art Gallery
- Venice Biennale
1955
- 'Seven Scottish Painters', Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh
- 'Ten Years of English Landscape Painting 1945-55', at the ICA
- Third International Art Exhibition, Japan
1956
- One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils
- Contemporary British Art, Silberman Galleries, New York
- 'The Seasons' Tate Gallery
1957
- One-man exhibition, Saidenberg Gallery, New York
- 'Metavisual, Tachiste, Abstract' Exhibition, Redfern Gallery
1958
- One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils
- John Moores Liverpool Exhibition
- 'Six British Painters', Galerie 22, Dusseldorf
- Appointed Curator of Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, Sussex
1959
- Visited New York
- John Moores Liverpool Exhibition
1960
- One-man exhibition, The Stone Gallery, Newcastle
- Guggenheim Award Exhibition, R W S Gallery
1961
- Retrospective Exhibition, Gimpel Fils
1962
- 'British Art Today', San Francisco, Dallas, USA
1963
- One-man exhibition, Douglas and Foulis Gallery
- British Painters and Sculptors, Gimpel-Hanover Gallery, Zurich
1964
- One-man exhibition, Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford
- London Group Jubilee Exhibition, Tate Gallery
- Appointed Head of The Faculty of Fine Art, Birmingham College of Art
1965
- One-man exhibitions; Birmingham University and Midland Group, Nottingham.
1966
- Guest Lecturer at National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and University of Western Australia, Perth
- Joint exhibition with Alan Davie, Edinburgh Festival
1967
- One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London and Bonython Galleries, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney
- John Moores Liverpool Exhibition
- David Cargill Award, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
1968
- Scottish Painting '68, Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
1969
- 'Paintings 1948-68', Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Scottish Arts Council Belfast, Londonderry and Glasgow
- John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool
1970
- Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, 'Prints and Gouaches'
- '20th Century Artists', Gimpel Fils
1971
- Exhibition, Gardner Art Centre, University of Sussex
1972
- 'The Non-Objective World 1939-1955', Annely Juda Gallery, London, Galerie Liatowitsch, Basel and Galleria Milana, Milan
1973
- 'Decade 1940-49', Arts Council Tour, Whitechapel Gallery, London
1974
- 'Midland Art Now', Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
- 'Ten Years of Collecting', Dundee Art Gallery
- '100 Years of Scottish Painting', Fine Art Society, Edinburgh
1975
- Awarded Lorne Fellowship
- 'Modern British Watercolours', Victoria and Albert Museum
- Retired from post as Head of Department of Fine Art, Birmingham College of Art
1976
- Retrospective Exhibition, R B S A Galleries, Birmingham
1977
- 'British Painting 1952-77', Royal Academy
1978
- 'The Pier Gallery Collection', Tate Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
1979
- 'British Drawings since 1945', Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
1980
- One-man exhibition, North Staffs Polytechnic, Stoke
1981
- John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool
1982
- 'British Watercolours', British Council Tour of China and Hong Kong
- International Cobra Exhibition, Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris
- Retrospective Exhibition, Talbot Rice Art Centre, University of Edinburgh and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
- 'British Watercolours and Drawings', Edinburgh Festival
1983
- 'CoBrA 1948-1951', Maison de la Culture, Chalons-sur-Saone and Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rennes
- One-man exhibition 'Painting into Landscape', Spacex Gallery, Exeter
1984
- 'CoBrA', Museum of Contemporary Art, Caracas, Venezuela
- 'British Art and Design', Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1985
- Retrospective Exhibition, Kircaldy Art Gallery, Fife and Netherbow Art Centre, Edinburgh
- Biennal, Sao Paulo, 'CoBrA'
- 'Contemporary Scottish Art', National Museum of Fine Art, Rio de Janeiro
1986
- 'CoBrA', Works on Paper, Stuijvenberg Collection, Caracas
- 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Malmo and Taiwan
- 'British Prints 1945-1960', Redfern Gallery, London and 'Design' Exhibition, Redfern Gallery, London
- 'The Modern Spirit in Scottish Painting', The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
- Royal Scottish Academy
1987
- 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Stockholm
- One-man exhibition 'The CoBrA Years 1948-1951', Redfern Gallery, London
1988
- One-man exhibition 'Cobrabstractions 1946-1949', Galerie 1900-2000, Paris
1988-89
- One-man exhibition. Karl & Faber, Munich
1989
- Scottish Painting Since 1900. Group exhibition
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Barbican Gallery, London
- One-man exhibition. Galerie Gabriele Von Loeper. Hamburg
- 4 Abstract Artists, Redfern Gallery, London
- Zellermayer Galerie, Berlin
1990
- Kunsthandel Leeman Amsterdam
- 'Scottish Art 1900-1990', Scottish Gallery, London
- 'Contemporary Scottish Artists', Cormund Gallery, Glasgow
- 'From Prism to Paintbox' Welsh Arts Council Tour
- L'Hotel de Bacholtz, Liege
- La Galerie la Cite, Luxembourg
- Galerie Carintiha, Vienna
- 'The Compass Contribution', Glasgow
- 'The 20th Century Scottish Print', Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow
- '75th Birthday Exhibition, Paintings and Works on Paper, Cobra and After', Redfern Gallery, London
- 'Avant-Garde Printmaking in Britain 1914-1960', British Museum, London
1991
- 'The Birmingham Seven', Murray Feely Fine Art
- The European Fine Art Fair, Exhibition and Congress Centre, Maastricht
1992
- 'British Abstract Art of the 50s and 60s', Belgrave Gallery
- 'William Gear, Paintings 1955-56', Redfern Gallery, London
- 'William Gear CoBrA and After', Galerie Doris Wullkopf, Darmstadt
- 'William Gear', Galerie Gabriele von Loeper, Hamburg
- 'William Gear 1950-70', Leeman Art Gallery, Amsterdam
1993
- 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Liège
- CoBrA Exhibition, Gemeente Galerie, Amstelveen
- '10 Jahre', Galerie Doris Wullkopf, Darmstadt
- 'The Line of Tradition', Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
- 'The Edinburgh School', The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
- 'The Sussex Scene', Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne (and Hove)
1994
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Central England, Birmingham
- 'CoBrA', Stuijvenberg Collection, Santiago and Buenos Aires
- Awarded Sir Howard Barker Scholarship from Royal Academy of Arts
- Retrospective Exhibition, Emscote Lawn, Warwick
- 'Out of Print, British Printmaking 1946-76', The British Council
1995
- Elected Senior Royal Academician
- Awarded Honorary Doctorate, University of Central England
- Helios Gallery, Birmingham
- 'Gear and Heron', Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh International Festival
- 'William Gear - Past and Present Friends', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- CoBrA Museum of Modern Art, Amstelveen
- 'CoBrA 1948-51', Kunstverein Grafschaft, Bentheim
- CoBrA Exhibition, Galerie Gabriele von Loeper, Hamburg
1996
- 'Paintings from the Royal Academy of Arts and Modern Master Prints, World
- Trade Centre, Dubai
1997
- 'William Gear', Sprengel Museum, Hanover
- Died, Birmingham
- 'William Gear Golden Jubilee Exhibition', Redfern Gallery, London
- Awarded The Leporello Prize by Regional Government of Lower Saxony
Collections :
- Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen
- Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast
- City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham
- Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton
- Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
- The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- Karel van Stuijvenberg Collection, Caracas, Venezuela
- Art Museum (Print Collection) Cincinatti, Ohio
- City Art Gallery, Dundee
- Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne
- Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh
- Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
- City Art Centre, Edinburgh
- Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- City Art Gallery, Glasgow
- Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow
- Museum and Art Gallery, Kirkcaldy
- Musee des Beaux Arts, Liege
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Lima, Peru
- The Tate Gallery, London
- Arts Council of Great Britain, London
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
- City Art Gallery, Manchester
- Bishop Suter Art Galleries, Nelson, New Zealand
- Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle
- Museum of Modern Art (Print Collection), New York
- National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
- Art Gallery, Southampton
- National Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Pier Gallery, Stromness, Orkney
- Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
- City Art Gallery, Toledo, Ohio
- The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
- Liege (Luttich) Musee d'Art Moderne
- Strathclyde Regional Council |
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