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Revision as of 05:09, 4 April 2011 by Selag (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Simon Gales is a contemporary representational artist and painter of limited output who destroys much of his work. He exhibits mainly in London and lives in France.
Biography
Simon Gales was born in Suffolk in 1964 and graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1988 achieving the joint highest 1st degree in a year that included most of the prominent YBAs including Gary Hume, Michael Landy and Ian Davenport. Six works from his degree show were selected along with 25 others across the nation to be auctioned at the Royal College of Art by Christies the following year. The first auction of new contemporaries by a major auction house attracted media attention and Gales's works were featured in the Telegraph Weekend Colour Supplement as well as the BBC 1 o'clock news; the auction surpassed expectations making an astonishing £1/4 million, Gales's selling for over 4 times the estimate. This led Gales to be commissioned by London Transport for whom he painted «Childhood» a painting London Underground used to publicise the V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green by making 6000 full sized posters of the image for underground stations with a further 3000 smaller ones for the escalators.
Despite being one of the few representational graduates from Goldsmiths, he was included in a number of largely conceptual exhibitions such as « A Spiritual Dimension » in 1989, a major touring exhibition organised by Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery along with Goldsmiths tutors Brian Falconbridge, Michael Kenny and Carl Plackman and including Craigie Aitcheson, Tess Jaray and Bob Law and supported by works from the Arts Council Collection as well as that of the Royal Academy. Due to the small scale of Gales’s works at this time, he was invited again from 1991-2 to join Craigie Aitcheson in another touring exhibition this time curated by Gillian Jason called « Cabinet Paintings » which also included Frank Auerbach, Howard Hodgekin, Euan Uglow and Sarah Raphael.
Gales had a series of solo exhibitions at The Bruton Street Gallery in Mayfair in 1999, 2001 which sold out and again in 2003 at which point the gallery closed down. He showed at The Albemarle Gallery in 2008 before moving to Jonathan Cooper in 2009 with whom he has remained.
Gales has often referred to himself as an image maker, his priority being the power of the single image presented as a frozen moment or simple statement. Latterly he has produced a series of works called Focus/Unfocus in which the varying focus within the images is aimed to alter their perception. The series was exhibited in London at Jonathan Cooper, Park Walk Gallery in February 2011.
Selected exhibitions
- Focus Unfocus - Jonathan Cooper – London 2011
- Art Chicago – Jonathan Cooper Fine Art – Chicago, USA 2010
- Albemarle Gallery - Simon Gales - Albemarle Gallery - London 2008
- 10th Anniversary Show - Albemarle Gallery - London 2006
- The Bruton Steet Gallery - Solo Exhibitions - London 1999 – 2001 - 2003
- Ten British Artists - Waterman Fine Art - London 1995
- Cabinet Paintings - Touring Exhibition - London 1991 - 92
- Christies - Modern Art Since 1945 - Auction- London 1991
- Los Angeles International Art Fair - Jill George Gallery - Los Angeles, USA 1990
- Suspending The Time - Simon Gales & Brian Falconbridge - Jill George Gallery, London 1990
- Christies - New Contemporaries - Auction - The Royal College Of Art, London 1989
- A Spiritual Dimension - Touring Show Of UK - Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery 1988 - 89
- New Realists - Berkeley Square Gallery - London 1988
References
- Charles Baile de Laperriere (2004). Who's Who in Art (31st ed.). Hilmarton Manor Press. ISBN 978-0-904722-39-0.
- Christies (1989). "Christies New Contemporaries" (Open Library,catalogue ed.). Christies.
- Burroughs, Andrew."New Art, Christies". BBC 1 O'Clock News, 1989, 9, 3.
- Cork, Richard. "Collecting : New Art Goes Under The Hammer". The Daily Telegraph Weekend Magazine,1989, 11, 3.
- Norman, Geraldine. "Art Market : An Experimental Sale.." The Independent,1989, 16, 3.
- Simon Gales (1990). "Childhood". London Transport Museum Collection.
- Italic textchive/level2/1990/a_spiritual_dimension.asp "A Spiritual Dimension". Wolsey Art Gallery Visualarts-Ipswich. January,1990.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|access date=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Simon Gales Focus/Unfocus" (Press release). Jonathan Cooper. 27,10,2010.
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