PRESS RELEASE

JOHN B ANDERSON
Born Henry John Keir Cross
May 1945 – January 1997

EXHIBITION OF ABSTRACT PAINTINGS
AUG 27TH to SEPT 10TH 2010.
PENZANCE ARTS CLUB
CHAPEL HOUSE
CHAPEL STREET
PENZANCE TR18 4AQ
Phone 01736 363761 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              01736 363761      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
www.penzanceartsclub.co.uk

Admission free. Open 9am to midnight (including Saturday and Sunday)

Biography
John was born in Glasgow, the middle of three children. Within a year his family moved to London, where they welcomed into their home many of the literary and artistic figures of the time including Graham Greene and T S Eliot. Arthur C Clarke, a frequent visitor, installed a telescope in the garden and fired John’s imagination with stories of voyages to the moon.

After attending Foxhole School in Dartington, John had a short, turbulent time at Exeter College of Art. He was manifesting major symptoms of depression, which were finally alleviated by the prescription given by an eminent psychiatrist: “Put a roof over his head, supply him with art materials, give him a small allowance and he will cure himself”, which he did.

John spent some time at Heatherleys in Chelsea studying portraiture and the figure, and a course at St Martin’s College of Art, where he studied under Maggi Hambling.

In 1976 John moved to Lincolnshire to paint the landscape. In this same year, he was represented in the Royal West of England Academy. Due to family connections, he frequently visited Cornwall [St Ives’ Bathers series].

Over a period of time, John worked in oils, water colours, tempera and printmaking, but towards the end of his life he worked largely in acrylic, which he felt gave him the clarity of colour he had always sought.

“The paintings of the years 1987-1997 are the work of a very different man. He dares edges, acknowledges the reality of the picture plane, takes the eye on diagonal journeys where things are balanced precariously, sees red and uses it in surprising ways and then perversely, introduces faces that question the abstract nature of the compositions. These are the emotive works of a man who had finally embarked on his own journey. They deserve time and will reward study.”
Bob Devereux critique 10/10/2009

In the Spring of 1995 a London gallery (Zella Nine) began selling his prints and drawings. John B Anderson’s work is represented in collections in Australia, Canada, USA, Europe and the UK. His work has also been sold through W H Lane and Sons, Fine Art Auctioneers

Solo Exhibitions Mixed Exhibitions
Boston Arts Centre, 1979 Royal West of England Academy, 1976
Salem Arts Centre, 1990 Usher Gallery, 1976/7/8/9
Trereife Gallery, 2009 Dartington Hall Gallery, 1985
Trereife Gallery, 2010 Int. Exhibition of Interior Design, 1989
Penzance Arts Club 2010 Sidmouth Arts Festival, 1995
Whiteley’s Summer Exhibition, 1996
Penzance Arts Club, 2009

PLEASE NOTE: High quality JPEG files of the above images for publication may be obtained from grahamh.newlyn@talktalk.net