Marc Vaux

Last updated

Marc Vaux
Born (1932-11-29) 29 November 1932 (age 89)
Swindon, UK
Nationality British
Education Slade School of Fine Art, 1957-1960
Known for Painting, Printmaking
Movement Abstract Art

Marc Vaux (born 29 November 1932, Swindon) is a British artist who rose to prominence in the 1960s. His work was included in the seminal Situation exhibition of 1960 alongside Robyn Denny, William Turnbull and Bernard Cohen among others. [1] This exhibition was a direct reaction by British abstract artists to the recent exhibitions in London of the American Abstract Expressionists in particular the Tate's 1959 exhibition The New American Painting. Although originally headed for a career in Chemistry, Vaux eventually studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1957 to 1960 where he was awarded a Boise traveling scholarship which allowed him to travel in Italy, and later to work at the Jean Ponsa lithographic printing studio in Paris.

Contents

In 1986, after a long teaching career he was appointed Head of Painting at the Central/St Martins College of Art and Design in London where he stayed until he retired in 1989 to concentrate full-time on painting.

Vaux's work has variously been described as minimalist and constructivist although since his primary interest is in colour and light he has more in common with the American west coast artists than the New York minimalists.

Marc Vaux said: It [colour] is known to have a direct effect upon the central nervous system/human sensibility, arguably the most effective modifiers of human response, over sound and touch. It is dynamic - dependent on degree of colour, light, surrounding colours. Given the facts it is surprising it has taken so long to come to the position of recognising the effective power of colour alone – the endless potential of colour alone to communicate, affect and modify response.. it can be a pure visual experience equivalent to any other (experience). The nearest equivalent would be the sound of music. I see no reason why colour can't equate with melody and be as memorable. After all Albers wrote poems to equate with his paintings. [2]

A monograph Marc Vaux was written by Vaux's long term supporter Norbert Lynton and published by 21 Publishing in 2005 ( ISBN   1872784313).

The Tate Gallery holds a good collection of Vaux's work from 1959 to the present day. [3]

Vaux's first commercial gallery exhibition was at the Grabowski Gallery in London with his then wife Tess Jaray. He was subsequently represented by the Axiom Gallery, Anderson O'Day and then the Redfern Gallery, since 1998 Marc Vaux has been represented by the London art dealer Bernard Jacobson and has had regular exhibitions there.

Exhibition History

YearSelected Solo ExhibitionsGallery/Museum
2014Marc Vaux: New Ovals, 2 may – 31 May 2014Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2012Full House: Paintings from 1964Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2011Featured WorksTate Britain
1998, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010Solo ShowsBernard Jacobson Gallery, London
1994, 1996Featured WorksRedfern Gallery, London
1993Works on Paper from the SixtiesRedfern Gallery, London
1991Featured WorksAnderson O’Day Gallery, London
1990Featured WorksCentre for International Contemporary Art, New York
1989Featured WorksPark Gallery, College of St Paul and St Mary, Cheltenham
1973Featured Works (Two-person show with Tess Jaray)Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1969Featured WorksGalerie Wilbrand, Cologne, Germany
1970Featured WorksAxiom Gallery, London
1967Featured WorksAxiom Gallery, London
1965Featured WorksHamilton Galleries, London
1963Featured Works (Two-person show with Tess Jaray)Grabowski Gallery, London
YearSelected Group ExhibitionsGallery/Museum
2017Gallery ArtistsBernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2013Moving - Norman Foster On ArtCarré d´art - Musée d´art contemporain de Nîmes, Nîmes, France
2012Summer Group Show'Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2012Coherent Surface, Radiant LightBernard Jacobson Gallery, New York
2011How to carry the World On One's Back?Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
2011How to carry the World On One's Back?Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
2011Double ExhibitionBroadbent, London
2011Gallery Group ShowBernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2010'Exhibitions Round-up: lifting the heartFlowers Gallery, London
2009The Louvre during the War - Photographs 1938 - 1947'Musée du Louvre, Paris
2006Definite ArticleToomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco
2006Caro, Denny, Smith and Vaux, The ‘60sBernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2005'Paintings 1959 – 2005Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London
2005Definite ArticleVertigo Gallery, London
2004White120 Gallery, London
2004The Discerning EyeMall Galleries, London
2003London GroupGallery 27, London
2003Jerwood Prize ExhibitionJerwood Space, London
2002'Space VehiclesMcClain Gallery, Houston, Texas
1998The Discerning EyeMall Galleries, London
1997LightMixed exhibition, Richard Salmon Gallery
1997LightMixed exhibition, Spacex Gallery, Exeter
1996DrawingsSpring Mixed Exhibition, Redfern Gallery
1996Cheltenham Open Drawing ExhibitionCheltenham
1996British Abstract ArtDrawings, Flowers East, London
1994London GroupBarbican Gallery, London
1994British Abstract ArtFlowers East, London
1994TensionsCurwen Gallery, London
1993Mixed ShowRedfern Gallery, London
1993The Sixties Scene in LondonBarbican Gallery, London
1993Mixed Spring ShowRedfern Gallery, London
1993London GroupBarbican Gallery, London
1992ConcentrazioneTorino, Italy
1992Mixed Summer ShowRedfern Gallery, London
1991Small is BeautifulAbstract, Flowers East, London
1989London GroupGulbenkian Hall, Royal College of Art, London
1989The Exhibition of New Art in East LondonWhitechapel Art Gallery, London
1988London GroupGulbenkian Hall, Royal College of Art, London
1985John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 14Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1985Thirty London PaintersRoyal Academy, London
1984London GroupGulbenkian Hall, Royal College of Art, London
1981Contemporary Artists in CamdenCamden Arts Centre, London
1979The Whitechapel Summer Show ’79Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1976Deck of CardsJPL Fine Art, London
1976AIR Exhibition 6AIR Gallery, London
1975Mai Külföldt Graphika Magyar Gyüjtemenyekben IEgyetem Galélia, Debrecen, Hungary
1974-5'Artistas Graphicos Britanicos de la Década del 60/Gravures de Artistas Britanicos na Década dos 60British Council touring exhibition in South America
1974British Painting ‘74Hayward Gallery, London
1974Künstler Machen Gahnen für RottweilStadtfest Rottwed 74, Federal Republic of Germany
1972Grabados Ingleses Contemporaneous 60-70Museo Español de Arte Contemporaneous, Madrid (British Council touring exhibition)
19703rd Salon International de Galeries Pilotes: Artistes et Découvreurs de Notre TempsMusée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
1970The Captain Cook Bicentenary: Colour and Structure - Recent British and Australian PaintingsFarmers Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1970Some Recent Art in BritainLeeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, England
1969Konzeptionelle BilderWestfälisher Kunsteverein, Münster, Federal Republic of Germany
1969Recent British PrintsIBM Gallery, New York
1969Fine Art for IndustryRCA Gallery, London
1969Contemporary British GraphicsBritish Council touring exhibition in the US
1968100th ExhibitionGrabowski Gallery, London
1968British Painting: Collection of Leicestershire Education AuthorityWhitechapel Art Gallery, London
1968Grabados de Artistas Britanicos Nuevas Tendencias 1968Galeria de Exposiciones Temporales, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City
1968Twenty-five Camden ArtistsCentral Library, Swiss Cottage, London
1967The Ninth International Art Exhibition of Japanthe Mainighi Newspaper and the Japan International Art Promotion Association, Tokyo
1967Brittiska Gouacher och FärggragikSundsvalls Konstförening Sundsvall, Sweden

VI John Moores Liverpool Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

1967Transatlantic GraphicsCamden Arts Centre, London
1967Six Artists: Denny, Hoyland, Vaux, Lancaster, Boshier, EvansVictoria and Albert Museum, London
1967Society of Scottish Artists 73rd Exhibition of Painting Sculpture, Drawings, Applied Art and ArchitectureRoyal Scottish Academy Galleries, Edinburgh, Scotland
1967Junge EngländerGalerie Heide Hildebrand, Klangenfurt, Austria
1967Graphick Junger EngländerGlaerie Alice Pauli, Lausanne, Switzerland
1967Spring Exhibition 1967Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
1966London Under FortyGalleria Milano, Milan, Italy
1966Vormen van de KleurStedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Württembergischer Kunstvetein, Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany; and Kunsthalle, Bern, Switzerland
1966Form and ImageLeeds Institute Gallery, Leeds, England
1966Spring Exhibition 1966Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
1966Hamilton ArtistsHamilton Galleries, London
1965-68Recent Prints by Some British Painters and SculptorsBritish Council touring exhibition in India
1965John Moores Liverpool ExhibitionWalker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1965SynGalerie Vaier, Mainz and Galerie Margarete Lauter, Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany
1965Premio Internazionale Biella Per l’IncisioneCircolo degli Artisti di Biella, Biella, Italy
1965Spring Exhibition 1965Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
1965Second Commonwealth Biennial of Abstract ArtCommonwealth Institute, London
1964About Round: London GalleriesLeeds University, Leeds, England
1964Spring Exhibition 1964Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
1963V Mednarodna Graficna Rozstava/V Exposition Internationale de GravureModerna Galerija, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
1962-3Situation: An Exhibition of Recent British Abstract ArtBritish Arts Council touring exhibition in England
19629 Painters from EnglandGalleria Trastevere, Rome
1961Neu Malerei in EnglandStädtisches Museum, Leverkusen, Germany
19612nd Biennale de ParisMusee d’Art Moderne, Paris
1961New London Situation: And Exhibition of British Abstract ArtNew London Gallery, London
1960London GroupR.B.A. Galleries, London
1960Situation: British Abstract ArtR.B.A. Galleries, London
1959-60Young ContemporariesR.B.A. Galleries, London

Related Research Articles

Abstract impressionism

Abstract Impressionism is an art movement that originated in New York City, in the 1940s. It involves the painting of a subject such as real-life scenes, objects, or people (portraits) in an Impressionist-style, but with an emphasis on varying measures of abstraction. The paintings are often painted en plein air, an artistic style involving painting outside with the landscape directly in front of the artist. The movement works delicately between the lines of pure abstraction and the allowance of an impression of reality in the painting.

Vorticism British modernist art movement formed in 1914

Vorticism was a London-based modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist manifesto in Blast magazine. Familiar forms of representational art were rejected in favour of a geometric style that tended towards a hard-edged abstraction. Lewis proved unable to harness the talents of his disparate group of avant-garde artists; however, for a brief period Vorticism proved to be an exciting intervention and an artistic riposte to Marinetti's Futurism and the post-impressionism of Roger Fry's Omega Workshops.

Bridget Riley British painter

Bridget Louise Riley is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France.

Marc Quinn is a British contemporary visual artist whose work includes sculpture, installation, and painting. Quinn explores "what it is to be human in the world today" through subjects including the body, genetics, identity, environment, and the media. His work has used materials that vary widely, from blood, bread and flowers, to marble and stainless steel. Quinn has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Sir John Soane's Museum, the Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Fondation Beyeler, Fondazione Prada, and South London Gallery. The artist was a notable member of the Young British Artists movement.

Monochrome painting

Monochromatic painting has been an important component of avant-garde visual art throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. Painters have created the exploration of one color, examining values changing across a surface, texture, and nuance, expressing a wide variety of emotions, intentions, and meanings in many different forms. From geometric precision to expressionism, the monochrome has proved to be a durable idiom in Contemporary art.

William Tillyer is a British artist working within painting, watercolour and the printmaking tradition. His approach is constantly evolving; redefining and reinterpreting classic subject matter, such as landscapes, still lifes and portraits, in methods that challenge historical traditions and vary between bodies of work. Since the 1950s, Tillyer has exhibited internationally, and his work can be found in the collections of major institutions including the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Brooklyn Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum. There are at least 15 works by Tillyer in the Tate collection, including High Force (1974).

Sandra Blow English abstract painter

Sandra Betty Blow was an English abstract painter and one of the pioneers of the British abstract movement of the 1950s. Blow's works are characteristically large scale, colourful abstract collages made from discarded materials.

Patrick Heron English artist

Patrick Heron was a British abstract and figurative artist, critic, writer, and polemicist, who lived in Zennor, Cornwall.

Bernard Cohen is a British painter. He is regarded as one of the leading British abstract artists of his time.

William Crozier was an Irish-Scots still-life and landscape artist based in Hampshire, England and West Cork in Ireland. He was a member of Aosdána.

Ivon Hitchens was an English painter who started exhibiting during the 1920s. He became part of the 'London Group' of artists and exhibited with them during the 1930s. His house was bombed in 1940 during World War II, at which point he moved to a caravan on a patch of woodland near Petworth in West Sussex. He worked there for the next forty years, gradually augmenting his caravan with a series of buildings. He is particularly well known for panoramic landscape paintings created from blocks of colour. There is a huge mural by him in the main hall of Cecil Sharp House. His work was exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1956.

Lyrical abstraction Art movement

Lyrical abstraction is either of two related but distinct trends in Post-war Modernist painting:

Sir Richard Sheridan Franklin Bowling, known as Frank Bowling, is a Guyana-born British artist. His paintings relate to Abstract expressionism, Color Field painting, and Lyrical Abstraction.

Ronald Davis American painter

Ronald "Ron" Davis is an American painter whose work is associated with geometric abstraction, abstract illusionism, lyrical abstraction, hard-edge painting, shaped canvas painting, color field painting, and 3D computer graphics. He is a veteran of nearly seventy solo exhibitions and hundreds of group exhibitions.

Richard Allen (abstract artist) English painter

Richard Allen was a British Minimalist, Abstract, Systems, Fundamental, and Geometric painter and printmaker. Allen worked prolifically from 1960 until his death, in 1999, from motor neurone disease.

Jo Baer American minimalist artist

Josephine Gail Baer is an American painter associated with minimalist art. She began exhibiting her work at the Fischbach Gallery, New York, and other venues for contemporary art in the mid-1960s. In the mid-1970s, she turned away from non-objective painting. Since then, Baer has fused images, symbols, words, and phrases in a non-narrative manner, a mode of expression she once termed "radical figuration." She currently lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Victor Arthur James Willing was a British painter, noted for his original nude studies. He was a friend and colleague of many notable artists, including Elisabeth Frink, Michael Andrews and Francis Bacon. He was married to Portuguese feminist artist Paula Rego.

20th-century Western painting Art in the Western world during the 20th century

20th-century Western painting begins with the heritage of late-19th-century painters Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and others who were essential for the development of modern art. At the beginning of the 20th century, Henri Matisse and several other young artists including the pre-cubist Georges Braque, André Derain, Raoul Dufy and Maurice de Vlaminck, revolutionized the Paris art world with "wild", multi-colored, expressive landscapes and figure paintings that the critics called Fauvism. Matisse's second version of The Dance signified a key point in his career and in the development of modern painting. It reflected Matisse's incipient fascination with primitive art: the intense warm color of the figures against the cool blue-green background and the rhythmical succession of the dancing nudes convey the feelings of emotional liberation and hedonism.

Mary Potter (painter) (1900 - 1981) English artist

Mary Potter, OBE was an English painter whose best-known work uses a restrained palette of subtle colours.

Alfred Cohen (1920-2001) was an American artist whose art was firmly rooted in the European tradition; he was inspired in particular by the commedia dell'arte; and by the colour and handling of the Post-Impressionists and Expressionists.

References

  1. "Full House: Paintings from 1964 by Marc Vaux". Abstract Critical. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. Wiedel-Kaufmann, Ben (2011). Marc Vaux, New Paintings: Triptychs and Ovals. Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
  3. "Marc Vaux born 1932". TATE. Retrieved 28 August 2017.