Gareth Lloyd

Gareth Lloyd is a British artist of Welsh origin, active since 1985. His work connects with a generation of British artists that had a critical relation to 1960s' Pop Art. In his works he dialogues with Stéphane Mallarmé's poetry, as well as with the ideas of the Mexican poet Octavio Paz.

After spending his youth near Reading, Gareth Lloyd studied technical and industrial drawing at Berkshire College of Art. He then did post-graduate art studies at St Martin's School of Art. His initial doctoral research ('Image Return Inquiry') at the University of London with Marian Hobson brought him into contact with the philosophical work of Jacques Derrida.

Lloyd spent part of the late 80s in New York where he developed relationships with Leo Castelli, with whom he conducted extensive documentary interviews, and fellow painter Julian Schnabel. He then lived in Central London for more than twenty years with non-tenure track lecturing appointments at North London University (Department of Architecture), University of East London (Department of Architecture and Visual Arts) and Kingston University (Inter-disciplinary M.A. program). In the past few years, Lloyd has commuted between London and Asia, where he is involved in a number of large-scale art projects.

Dialogue and the disjunction of images are among the key themes explored. Exhibitions include one man shows in London: Riverside Studios, Madrid: Calle Velasquez and New York: Empire State Building Lobby. Essays on his work include: "Leaving the 20th Century" by Jeremy Reed (writer), "Towards an Aesthetic of Dissent" by Professor María Esther Maciel and "Some thoughts on the paintings of Gareth Lloyd" by Paul Ryan.

A permanent display exploring the life of Buddha, seen as a series of disjunctions and dialogues, can be found at Wat Tham Krabok the Cave Of Learning monastery in central Thailand.

With 'Difference Exchange', Lloyd's current project aims to examine inter-faith visual narratives in association with artists’ international placements, in order to promote world peace. This project received financial support from Arts Council England in 2010, with additional in-kind support from the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Eastside Projects in Birmingham and the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art in London, UK.