Richard Barnbrook - Art History

Art History

In 1971 Barnbrook had his first exhibition of landscape watercolours at the age of ten. He went on to attend an art foundation course for a year at Grimsby College of Technology in 1981. Then from 1982-85, he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts, during that time he attended Limoges College of Art and Craft on a minor scholarship and while there gained his first lecturing position (1984). In 1985 Barnbrook won a research and lecturing UNESCO scholarship to Silpakorn University, Thailand. He then went on to lecture in Thailand, Europe and across the USA. In 1989 Barnbrook was awarded an EC Film Award (fellowship) from Braunschweig University of Art, Germany.

Barnbrook's major painting and installation exhibitions between 1971-2009 include:

• 2009 Landscape in Light, Germany; A collection of 6 sky-scape watercolours, on stretched framed paper; mixed media of watercolours, watercolour-pencils,charcoal and B pencils shown at Buro 34, Gestaltung Beratung, Haspelmath Strasse 12, Hannover.
• 2004 Head to Head, Germany; Landscape installation in mixed media of papier mache, wood and black and white boulders, shown at Ralph Kull Galerie, Bremen.
• 1999 The Untitled, USA; Installation of electric lights, glass, steel and ground cobalt pigment shown at Munster Gallery, New Jersey.
• 1997 Shadows of the Past, UK; Installation and paintings, stretched photographic paper, black ink and pencil with 3 dimensional objects made from corrugated cardboard, plywood, with black, white and blue acrylic paint shown at Hercules Fisherman Studios, Coin Street, Waterloo, London.
• 1996 English Gardens, USA; Collection of 12 close-up landscape paintings,oil on canvass, shown at Munster Gallery, New Jersey.
• 1996 Victorian Views, Germany; Collection of paintings, acrylic on canvass, shown at Galerie Gruppe Grun, Fedelhoren 32, 28 Bremen.
• 1995 The Heart of the Past, USA; Wall installations, wax and pins shown at Calarts Gallery, Valencia, California.
• 1994 Genesis, Greece; Sculptures in white marble shown at Montgommery Sculpture Trust, Makry Gialos, Crete.
• 1994 Without Title, USA; Collection of six 1m watercolours of skyscapes in blues, shown at Richard Bernstein Studios, Chelsea Hotel, New York.
• 1993 Blue Art 2, France; Circular floor installation of cobalt blue pigment, Limoges College of Art and Crafts, Limoges.
• 1993 Cone Tree, Germany; Sculptures, copper and fibreglass, shown at Galerie Kornbrennerei, Bertramstrasse,4A, 3000, Hannover.
• 1992 Blue Art, USA; Sculpture installation, cobalt blue glass, copper and polished stone, Dr Stuck Gallery, Chelsea, New York.
• 1991 Wall House, Germany; Light installation with wood and glass, Ralph Kull Studios, Hannover.
• 1990 Subculture, Germany; Installations of wood and plastics with framed sketches of landscapes, Galerie Gruppe Grun, Fedelhoren 32, 28 Bremen.
• 1990 Exile And The Kingdom, Germany; Collection of A3 framed mixed media sketches and paintings in black and white, shown at Kampnagel Centre for International Contemporary Art, Hamburg.
• 1987 Lying Truth, UK; Land installation in mixed media, paper, wood and bricks, Hercules Fisherman Studio, Coin Street, Waterloo, London.
• 1987 Brass Woods, UK; Collection of six 2m woodland lansdcape scenes, etchings on brass, Goldsmith's Gallery, London.
• 1986 Neither Fish Nor Flesh, Thailand; Collection of landscape diptychs, acrylic on Thai paper glued to stretched canvass, Visual Dhamma Gallery, Bangkok.
• 1985 Moving Out (The Fallen Angel), UK; Paintings, ink on photographic paper, in collaboration with Bruce McLean in his studios, Coin Street, Waterloo, London.
• 1985 Final Year Show, UK; 6 large landscape paintings in oils, Royal Academy of Arts Galleries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London.
• 1983 Landscapes, France; 4 scholarship pieces in oils on canvass, Limoges College of Art and Crafts, Limoges.
• 1980 Interiors, UK; 3 landcape paintings, oil on canvass, York Art Gallery, York.
• 1971 British Landscapes, UK. Collection of landscape scenes in watercolours, shown at Roper Gallery, Immingham, Lincolnshire.

Film, theatre and video installations between 1993-1988 include:

• 1993 Proposed letter to my father, Germany; short video, first shown at Ralph Kull Galerie, Bremen.
• 1990 Passage of Love, Germany; 93 minute film in 35mm, first shown as part of the German Film Festival at Buro 34 Gestaltung Beratung, Haspelmath, Strasse 12, Hannover.
• 1989 HMS Discovery, UK; 57 minute film in 8mm and 16mm, first shown at London Institute of Film, Camden.
• 1988 Human Soup, UK. Theatre production with paintings, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London.

Designs for shows and spectaculars:

• 2002 52 designs for the Jubilee Woods Trust, UK;
• 2000 Meridian Beam, UK;
• 2000 Millennium Spectacular, UK;
• 1997 Phoenix, USA;
• 1996 Tower, UK.

The majority of Barnbrook's art work focuses on the theme of landscape, either by representation or choreography and cinemagraphics and much of his output has been characterised by his particular penchant for the environment and his interpretive response to the natural world. This is particularly evident in his large scale water-colours, which together with sculpture, are his favoured media.