Biography
John graduated from Winchester School of Art with a 1st class degree in Fine Art, and continued his MA studies at the Royal College of Art followed by a British Scholarship to work and study in Rome for a further two years. Over the following years John has divided his professional time working as artist and educator at various British and international universities as well as regularly exhibiting and participating in a number of artist in residence programs which include Norway, Australia, India, Japan and the UK.
About the work
John’s work is inspired by art, architecture and location. The early period was particularly influenced by Medieval and Baroque Rome and later by the Alhambra palace in Granada Spain. Islamic art and architecture was a particularly important influence at this time. A significant change took place in the development of the work from 2000 onwards, no longer referencing the visible world the work explored ideas in a purely abstract way, relying on geometric pattern and design to structure the compositions and using colour to coax out pattern, repetition, rhythm and movement. Nature, both in its macroscopic and microscopic dimensions is a further interest to the artist's understanding of how pattern, symmetry, and light help to inform his work.
John is married to his Australian wife Jenni who is a midwife, he has two children Tom a musician and educator and Jess an artist and health care worker.
The artist is represented by Boecho Gallery, London Boecho www.boecho.com
Education
1953
1978-79
1979-82
1983-86
Born, Derby UK
Medway College of Design, Kent
Winchester School of Art - BA in Fine Art Painting (1st class)
Royal College of Art - MA in Painting
Awards
1982
1982
1992
1993
2003
2006
2011
Winchester School of Art Drawing Prize
South West Arts Project Award, Working in Norway
British Council Award
Malvern Open Drawing Award
Arts Council Award
Arts Council Award
Arts Council England/Lottery Grant Award
Fellowships and Scholarships
1986-88
1989-90
British School at Rome painting scholarship
Cheltenham School of Art
Residencies
1991-92
1992-93
1992
1997-2002
2003
2006
2014
Guest Artist, Vestlandets Kunstakademi, Bergen, Norway
Artist in residence, Axiom Arts Centre, Cheltenham
Artist in residence, Hovden, Norway
Artist in residence, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Artist in residence, Seian University of Art and Design, Japan
Artist in residence, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Artist in residence, University of Baroda, India
Work Related Experience
1990-93
2010
Visual arts officer, Axiom Arts Centre Cheltenham. Managing artists studios and exhibition program
Advisor and mentor to visual arts officer and gallery directors at Creative Hinkley gallery, Leicestershire
Solo Exhibitions
1989
1990
1994
1995
1995
1999
2000
2001
2003
2005
2019
Rome. Benjamin Rhodes Gallery, London
Works on paper. Vestlandets Kunstakademi, Bergen, Norway
Beyond the Surface. International Arts Festival, Melbu, Norway
Beyond the Surface. Brewery Arts, Cirencester
Heaven and Earth, Axiom Arts Centre, Cheltenham
Sacred Interiors (part one) Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery
Sacred Interiors (part two) Krefelder Kunstverein, Germany
Sacred Interiors, Dynamic Silence, DeMontfort University, Leicester
Sacred Interiors 1997-2003, APT Gallery, London
Hidden Geometry + Wave Motion, DeMontfort University, Leicester
Early Religious Interiors and Current Work Boecho Gallery, London
Selected Group Shows
1980
1981
1982
1985
1986
1987
1988
1990
1992
1993
1993
1995
1995
1995
1995
1996
1997
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2006
2007
2007
2007
2007
2011
2011
2014
2017
2021
Robert Colquoun Memorial, 369 Gallery, Edinburgh
Northern Young Contemporaries, Whitworth Gallery, Manchester
Stowell’s Trophy, Royal Academy, London
Riverside Open, Riverside Gallery, London
John Lancaster & Dennis De Caires, Winchester Gallery
Mostra ‘97, British School, Rome
Artisti dell’academia Britannica, Rome
‘Rome Scholars 1980-90’, Gulbenkian Gallery, London
South West Open, Plymouth Museum & Art Gallery
Drawing Open, Malvern Art Gallery
Artists in Residence Show, Axiom Art Gallery, Cheltenham
‘Artists at Work’, De Montfort University Exhibition Centre, Leicester
Axiom Artists and Associates, Axiom Art Centre, Cheltenham
‘Wild Places’, Corinium Museum, Cirencester
‘Affinities’, Kunstlerhaus Gottingen, Germany
Pittville Gallery, Cheltenham:Islington Arts Factory, London
‘Italian Connections’, Vicarage Gallery, Newcastle
‘Cheltenham fellows’, Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery
‘Histories’, Bonleiu Centre de Cultur, Annecy, France
Beatrice Royal Contemporary Gallery, Hampshire
‘Interiors’, Beatrice Royal Contemporary Gallery
Cheltenham Drawing Exhibition. Pittville Gallery and Kunsthalle, Sierre, Switzerland
‘Made in England’, Four British Artists, Maronie Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Recent works. John Lancaster and Ian Kirkwood Depot gallery, Sydney, Span gallery Melbourne, Australia.
‘Island of Treasures 1’, Cultural Exchanges Arts programme, Shree Arts Centre, Leicester
What do you think you are looking at, Two person show. Space 4 gallery, Peterborough museum
‘Island of Treasures 2’, Two person show. Richard Attenborough Centre, Leicester University
'Decor Art', Farnham Maltings, Surrey, Hampshire
‘Figuring Light 2: colour, shifting boundaries’ group show includes Barrie Cook, Oliver Barrett, Ruth Sumner, John Lancaster, Creative Hinckley Gallery, Leicestershire
Armonia. Two person show. John Lancaster and Paolo Mayol. Scuderie Aldobrandini Museo, Frascati, Rome.
Creative Hinckley Retrospective. Atkins Gallery, Leicestershire
Noir Sur Blanc. Boécho Gallery, London
Edificio Bella. Boécho Gallery, London
'Fully Awake', The Holden Gallery, Manchester.
Shows Curated by John Lancaster
2009
2010
2011
‘Past, Present and Future ’ selected graduates, post graduates and artists from the school of Fine and applied Art at DeMontfort University, Leicester. Ingenious Media, Golden Square, London
‘Promising Young Contemporaries’, Selected MA graduate show from De Montfort University, Creative Hinckley Gallery, Leicestershire
‘Figuring Light 2: colour, shifting boundaries. Co-curation with the writer Dr Richard Davey, includes Barrie Cook, Oliver Barrett, Ruth Sumner, John Lancaster, Creative Hinckley Gallery, Leicestershire
Work in Collections
Public Collections
University of Southampton
Royal College of Art
British School at Rome
Leicester University
University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia
Exhibition Catalogues
1994
1995
1996
1999
2000
2003
2007
2011
Beyond the Surface. Touring one person exhibition. Norway + Cirencester. ISBN 1 857210 30 1
Affinities (4 Artists) Touring exhibition, Cheltenham + Germany
ISBN 1 857210 85 9
Histories (4 Artists) France
Sacred Interiors Peterborough + Germany ISBN 1 857212 96 8
Sacred Interiors series 4. Leicester. ISBN 1 85721 38 6
Made in England. Japan
What do you think you are looking at. (2 Artists) Peterborough ISBN 0 905952 05 7
Figuring Light. Colour: Shifting Boundaries. (4 Artists)
ISBN 978 1 857214 10 9
Documentary/Film/Video - reviews/biographies
2000
2007
Beatrice Royal Contemporary Art and Craft gallery Biography. BBC production. Arts council lottery fund grant
What do you think you are looking at. Peterborough Museum funded DVD of the exhibition, artist’s conversation and studio working processes
Academic Papers
2010
‘Colour, In Pursuit of the Intangible’ 2500 word paper referee’d by Judith Mottram, Nottingham Trent University. One of 10 academic contributions to the colloquium on colour in Art and Design.
Reviews and Critical Writings
1986
1989
1989
1992
1994
1995
1997
2000
2007
Arts Review No23. 21November John Gillett p642g
Recent work. Benjamin Rhodes gallery. Guardian review
Beyond the Surface. Brewery Arts Cirencester
Arts review No13.30 June. Mary Rose Beamont pp511-512
Beyond the Surface. Fiskeindustrimuseet, Melbu, Norway
Andayposten. 11 June. Farrerikdommen er overveldende.
Bladet Vesteralen. 16 July. Marlekurs I Hovden.
Vesteralen Avis. 25 June. Vesteralen med nye oyne
L.P. 24 June British maler pa Melbu
Bladet Vesteralen 29 June Inspirert av vesteralen - under overflaten med John Lancaster
Vesteralen Avis. June. Udstilling ved Museet
Bladet Vesteralen. 18 June. Engelsk Bo-maler pa Neptun (review with Photo)
Gloucester Echo. 6 April
Artists handbooks:Investigating Galleries by Debbie Duffin.AN publication p73 illustrated
Histories. Bonlieu gallery, Annecy France
Le Dut Du. 10 September. Le peintres de Bayruth et Cheltenham exposent a Bonlieu
Affinities. Islington Arts factory + Kunstlerlhaus, Gottingham Germany
Islington Arts. 10 May. An affinity with the past and present
Sacred Interiors series 3. Krefelder Kunstverein Krefeld, Germany
Auszug aus der Rheinischen Post Krefeld. 11 March.Im Kunstverein Bilder von John Lancaster, Maurisches, Dekor
Auszug aus der Westdeutschen Zeitung. 11 March. Licht splitter zwischen maurischen saulen
Auszug aus der Rheinischen Post Krefeld. 11 March. Gelochtes blech und Alhambra
Auszug aus der Rheinischen Post Krefeld. 13 March. Kunstaustausch soll um Musik ergänzt werden
Auszug aus der Westdeutschen Zeitung. 13 March. Impulse fur die Partnerschaft
Affinities. Affinities by Michael Williams
From Art & Religion to Sacred Interiors. John Lancaster's Recent paintings by Dave Ryan
What do you think you are looking at. A dialogue between two contemporary painters. Conversation between John Lancaster and Ian Kirkwood
Figuring Light 2. Colour: Shifting Boundaries. by Dr Richard Davey.
Island of Treasures 2
`Metro. September 4. Showing the whole spectrum
Teaching Experience
1989- 93
1993-94
1991-93
1990-93
2002/3/6
2003
1994-2014
Cheltenham School of Art. (visiting lecturer)
University of Central England, Birmingham (visiting lecturer)
Northumbria University, Newcastle (visiting lecturer)
Vestlandets Kunstakademi, Bergen (Head of Fine Art 1990)
University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts, Australia (guest Artist)
Seian Japan. Guest Artist
DeMontfort University, Leicester, School of Fine Art.
(Principal Lecturer/BA Subject Leader)