Paul McGowan (artist)

Last updated

Paul McGowan
Born1967 (age 5657)
Known for Contemporary art

Paul McGowan (born 1967 in Margate) is an artist, fashion designer and formerly the artist in residence at the Eden Project. [1] He is a former student of the Falmouth School of Art, and had his first exhibition in St Ives while still a student. [2]

Contents

Biography

McGowan established himself as a fashion designer at a young age, becoming the youngest designer to have ever sold a collection to fashion house Browns at the age of 20, and went on to work for a variety of well-known fashion industry names including Gianni Versace. [3] [4]

He won the Tate magazine award while still a student. [4]

Autism, Asperger's and Art

A meeting with Tim Smit at a charity auction led to McGowan becoming artist-in-residence at the Eden Project in Cornwall and the appearance of his paintings in the Mediterranean Biome under the title "Living on the Edge". [5]

Art and the Eden Project

A triptych from Paul McGowan, working with illustrators Mark Lascelles Thornton and Michael Cole, and artist Chris Stocker [6] was donated to the SpectrumArt 2009 Auction. The auction is to raise funds for the Cornish charity working with those affected by autistic spectrum disorders. The piece was inspired by a genuine Dartmoor Prison door which had been graffitied by prisoners and which McGowan had at his studio.

In June 2010 Police in riot gear were sent to raid central London gallery Mauger Modern Art after a fake bomb in the window which was part of Paul McGowan’s exhibition ‘Precipice’ had caused reports of a "suspicious” device.

During 2010 Paul McGowan opened three progressive bodies of work that follow on from the Eden Project's "Living on The Edge" Program. Each of the 3 shows have its own identity. These new works were produced on McGowan's Ark Studio that was given to him by Spectrum, a Cornish autism charity that is heading a pioneering study in the relationship between autism and art. A program that McGowan is participating in and helping Spectrum to develop. In each of the shows a selection of work from McGowan's experimental ‘Blockhead Project' will be exhibited. These works will include an audio piece made for the project by American guitar Legend Gary Lucas who has previously worked with Jeff Buckley and Captain Beefheart.

In 2010 Paul McGowan's 'Knuckle Buster' studio was raided by art thieves, causing him to lose the majority of his archived work spanning 2 decades. After this, McGowan cancelled all exhibitions and interviews while he produced a new catalogue of works. The new work included a series of artworks informed by children as victims of war that raised funds for the charity War Child. [7] The exhibition titled 'Trigger Finger' was launched at The Drang Gallery in Sept 2013. The work was subversive, consisting of bright coloured limited edition prints that depicted children, using biomorphic images constructed from weapons of violence.

McGowan also continued collaborating with American guitarist Gary Lucas who worked with Captain Beefheart and co-wrote Grace with Jeff Buckley. They released an audio visual collaboration that included a limited edition 7-inch single on green vinyl. McGowan also produced the artwork for the Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters Album The Ordeal Of Civility.

In December 2013 and December 2014, McGowan, Banksy, Ben Allen, Inkie and other artists collaborating with London West Bank Gallery were included in the event ‘Smile Britannia’ . 'Smile Britannia' is an annual charity art auction held at the Houses of Parliament. [8] The event was established in 2013 and benefits three organisations; the Smile Britannia Project - benefiting disadvantaged communities in London, The Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Foundation, and Temwa.

In 2014 McGowan was included in London Westbank Gallery’s annual Urban in Ibiza [9] exhibition that features artworks from the gallery’s international network of street, graffiti and contemporary artists.

Artwork

"The Divinity Of Monsters"

Triptych is an experimental artwork that took two years to complete. The work went through many stages and mediums and was produced for the Blockhead Project. The artists involved were Paul McGowan creative director, Chris Stocker, Mark Lascelles Thornton and Michael Cole. McGowan gave each artist an individual brief. Each artist interpreted the brief in their own way not knowing the others brief. Then the work was placed through various treatments by Chris Stocker and composed by Paul McGowan.

"Make Up"

This work is from McGowan's body of work that was produced for the Eden Projects "Living on the Edge Project". With this piece McGowan confronted how animals are used in the development of cosmetics for our superficial longing for a priceless vanity.

"Friday Night Saturday Morning"

This piece was created by filming McGowan drinking and smoking at the table. Examining the process involved in making art and questioning the social relevance and existence of art today. The next day the table was presented as the completed work. The T.V on the table shows a film that was shot during the making session. The piece was filmed in December 1996 and McGowan has refused to exhibit the final work due to one of the original cigarettes being removed from the piece the next day. Stating "The piece has been corrupted.The integrity of the work has to be maintained for it to operate with any real meaning".

"Worship Me"

This piece is from McGowan's new works examining the glorification of lifestyles and its effect and implications on our established belief systems.

"BlockHead - SexyBomb"

Paul McGowan is part of BlockHead, a collaboration of artists including Gary Lucas, Hin, Mark Lascelles, Chris Stocker and Samuel Webster.

Private life

Paul lives with professional musician Dominique Olliver. By his own admission Paul says he supports American President Donald Trump. He describes his twitter feed as, "I’m just a man ordained by god to search & destroy progressives commies Marxists socialists. Exposing religious degeneracy & defending women and children."

Videos

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey Emin</span> English artist

Tracey Karima Emin is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliqué. Once the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists in the 1980s, Tracey Emin is now a Royal Academician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Hirst</span> British artist (born 1965)

Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest living artist, with his wealth estimated at US$384 million in the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List. During the 1990s his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi, but increasing frictions came to a head in 2003 and the relationship ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banksy</span> Pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.

Momart is a British company specialising in the storage, transportation, and installation of works of art. A major proportion of their business is maintaining often delicate artworks in a secure, climate-controlled environment. The company maintains specialist warehouse facilities adapted for this task. Momart's clients include the Royal Academy of Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Buckingham Palace. The company received considerable media attention in 2004 when a fire spread to one of their warehouses from an adjacent unit, destroying the works in it, including works by Young British Artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, including Emin's 1995 piece Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995. On 5 March 2008 Momart was taken over by Falkland Islands Holdings for £10.3 million, of which £4.6 million was in cash, £2.5 million was in shares and £3.2 million was deferred consideration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takashi Murakami</span> Japanese artist

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts as well as commercial media and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts. His influential work draws from the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of postwar Japanese culture. He is credited for designing the album covers for Kanye West's third studio album Graduation and West and Kid Cudi’s collaborative studio album Kids See Ghosts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Jude Palencar</span> American artist

John Jude Palencar is an American illustrator and fine artist, who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award. His highly detailed work is described as containing a rich language of symbols and archetypes, which are left open to interpretation by the viewer.

Decima Gallery is a London-based arts projects organisation with a reputation for irreverent projects. It is owned and managed by David West, Alex Chappel, Larry McGinity and Mark Reeves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofia Minson</span>

Sofia Minson is a contemporary New Zealand oil painter of Māori, Swedish, English and Irish descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Koons</span> American sculptor and painter (born 1955)

Jeffrey Lynn Koons is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: US$58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013 and US$91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.

Christopher Wool is an American artist. Since the 1980s, Wool's art has incorporated issues surrounding post-conceptual ideas.

Liverpool and the Black Atlantic was a season of citywide series of exhibitions and events initiated by Tate Liverpool exploring connections between cultures and continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conor Mccreedy</span> South African artist

Conor Matthew Mccreedy is a contemporary artist, conservationist and collector based in Switzerland. In his work, his depiction of abstraction is linked to chaos theory. The colour blue is prominent in his works.

Shape Arts or Shape is a British arts charity, working across the UK and internationally, funded by Arts Council England. It provides opportunities for disabled individuals wanting to work in the arts and cultural sector. It trains participants and runs arts and development programmes across all of the creative arts: visual arts, music, dance, writing and acting.

Chris Levine is a light artist with a multi-disciplinary approach that harnesses a diverse array of technology with the intention of revealing the ways in which light is fundamental to human experience. Levine uses a cross-disciplinary approach working across many fields including music, performance, installation, fashion, and design in a multitude of collaborative projects. He has worked with a wide range of collaborators, including Antony and the Johnsons, Philip Treacy, Massive Attack, Grace Jones, Asprey Jewelers, BMW, Absolute Vodka, Mario Testino and has an ongoing relationship with The Eden Project. Levine is driven by a deep-rooted desire to expand perception and guide the viewer to a meditative engagement with the present moment. His portraits are internationally recognised but he is not a portrait artist in the traditional sense. Levine is known for creating the Lightness of Being and Equanimity, both portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. Equanimity was commissioned by the Jersey Heritage Trust in 2004 and on 1 June 2012, a £100 note was issued to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II based on the portrait. At the heart of Levine's practice are his immersive light Installation art projects in which he has endeavoured to take art out of the gallery environment into a real world, mass participatory experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Zorn (artist)</span> Dutch artist

Max Zorn is a Dutch-German artist who has been active in street art at night and urban art since May 2011. His style is notable for its use of brown packing tape as a medium and cutting on acrylic glass with a scalpel to create portraits that need lighting from behind to be seen.

Simon Dinnerstein is an American artist, best known for the painted work, The Fulbright Triptych (1971).

Olga Andrino Diego is a Spanish painter and sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Short</span>

Graham Short is a micro-artist, living and working in Birmingham, England.

Elmo Hood is a British contemporary artist. He works in abstraction, pop art and collage.

The Untitled Space gallery is an art gallery in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City founded by curator, photographer, magazine editor, and multidisciplinary artist Indira Cesarine in 2015. It exhibits the work of contemporary artists working in media including painting, sculpture, photography, video, printmaking, mixed media, and performance art.

References

  1. Eden Project website
  2. On the edge of creation Western Morning News
  3. "Artist Paul hangs high over Eden"
  4. 1 2 Living on the Edge Sustained Magazine
  5. Paul McGowan at home in the dome Metro
  6. Art beat: Paul McGowan's sinister triptych to Dartmoor Guardian.co.uk
  7. "Media centre". 26 January 2017.
  8. "Essential Ibiza".
  9. "Urban in Ibiza". Archived from the original on 23 March 2020.