James Hyman Gallery is proud to stage one of the largest and most extraordinary exhibitions ever held in London, a presentation of one thousand sketches by celebrated Pop artist, Colin Self.
One of Britain's greatest Pop artists, Colin Self is especially acclaimed for his drawings, as Richard Hamilton's praise makes clear: 'He's the best draughtsman in England since William Blake; he uses the pencil in such an individual way.' (Richard Hamilton). Widely respected by his peers (among them Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Peter Blake, William Coldstream, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney and Allen Jones), Self's first exhibition, at the Piccadilly Gallery forty five years ago this November, included loans from Andrews, Blake and David Hockney.
Self. One Thousand Sketches presents unseen works spanning fifty years to provide an unprecedented overview of Self's achievements, an exhilarating insight into his working practice and an exciting exploration of his wide-ranging preoccupations.
This is Self's first major show since his retrospective at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, in 2008.
Colin Self (b.1941) is a significant figure in British art history. Self studied at Norwich School of Art before attending the Slade in London during the early 1960s. There he met fellow artists David Hockney and Peter Blake, who greatly admired his paintings. Born during World War II, his earlier work demonstrated a sensibility to political issues and nuclear paranoia, making him the only British Pop artist to refer explicitly to the Cold War. After his trip to the United States in 1965, Self returned permanently to Norwich. Both his subject matter and his repertoire of techniques continued to expand, taking in atmospheric Norfolk landscapes, still-lifes and interesting studies of human behaviour. A draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor and painter, Colin Self's work has been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions in galleries such as the Tate and Pallant House Gallery, and can also been found in significant private collections.
