Derrick Greaves
Derrick Greaves 1927 – 2022
Derrick Greaves, a highly eminent figure in the British art scene, initially gained acclaim in the 1950s, when he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale along with the other ‘Kitchen-Sink’ painters: Bratby, Middleditch and Smith, his work swiftly developed into a more heraldic style that paralleled 1960s Pop Art.
Greaves was born in Sheffield in 1927, and first trained as a sign writer, from 1948-52 he studied at the Royal College of Art and went on to teach part-time at St Martins School of Art in London and the Royal…
Works
About
Derrick Greaves 1927 – 2022
Derrick Greaves, a highly eminent figure in the British art scene, initially gained acclaim in the 1950s, when he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale along with the other ‘Kitchen-Sink’ painters: Bratby, Middleditch and Smith, his work swiftly developed into a more heraldic style that paralleled 1960s Pop Art.
Greaves was born in Sheffield in 1927, and first trained as a sign writer, from 1948-52 he studied at the Royal College of Art and went on to teach part-time at St Martins School of Art in London and the Royal Academy Schools During this time he won the John Moores Painting prize, and exhibited internationally. In 1983 Greaves moved to Norwich to run the print department at Norwich School of Art he retired in 1991. He continued to live and work in Norfolk exhibiting regularly with James Hyman Gallery in London. Derrick Greaves passed away in 2022 at the age of 95.
We have been fortunate enough to host 4 exhibitions over recent years
Towards A Walled Garden 2022
Blossom 2020
Irises Etc… 2018
Derrick Greaves 2016
Derrick Greaves – Towards A Walled Garden
CLICK HERE to watch a video walkthrough of the exhibition
“This whole idea of an environment which was suddenly enclosed, gripped people with a new reality of what life really is – that it was individual freedom that counted. But for individual freedom to count it has to be defined by each individual. People started to find out that although they were enclosed in what might be a protective walled garden, nevertheless they didn’t have the capacity to be able to break out imaginatively from the feeling of being enclosed.”
“as I continued to work on the paintings I was really surprised and pleased to see the flowers appearing in the walls because that wasn’t my intention in the first place. The walled garden became symptomatic of something that could be threatening and enclosing but at the same time could be beautiful, floral and gorgeous.”
Derrick Greaves
Derrick Greaves Blossom 2020
Blossom was a special exhibition that was affected by the Covid lockdown in 2020. We managed to install the exhibition and film it to bring it to people in their homes before opening to visitors after restrictions were lifted later in 2020.
CLICK HERE to watch a video Walkthrough of the exhibition
In the time before the Covid pandemic, Derrick had been inspired by a particular blossom tree which he views daily from the studio observing it changing throughout the year inspired a collection, that ended up feeling so relevant to people as we were all put into restrictions and lockdown. We all seemed to experience and appreciate the beauty of the blossom that year. (2020).
Biography
Derrick Greaves CV
1927 Born in Sheffield
1943-48 Apprenticed as a sign-writer
1948-52 Studied at the Royal College of Art
1952-54 Abbey Major Scholarships to study in Italy
1954-64 Taught part-time at St Martin’s School of Art, London
1956 Represented Britain at the Venice Biennale (with John Bratby, Edward Middleditch and Jack Smith)
1957 Visited USSR. Awarded Gold Medal for painting at Moscow Youth Festival. Awarded prize at John Moore’s Exhibition, Liverpool
1960s Taught at Maidstone College of Art and Royal Academy Schools
1962 Awarded purchase prize in Belfast Open Painting Exhibition
1979 Visited Israel with nine other British artists to produce work for ‘Israel Observed’ project
1983-91 Head of Printmaking at Norwich School of Art. Lives and works in Norfolk
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018 Derrick Greaves. Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich
2016 Derrick Greaves. Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich
2015 Derrick Greaves. The Psychiatrist’s Cat and Other Recent Paintings, James Hyman Gallery, London
2013 Derrick Greaves. All Blues, James Hyman Gallery, London
2012 Derrick Greaves. Milestones, James Hyman Gallery, London
2011 Flatworld. Recent Prints and Drawings by Derrick Greaves, James Hyman Gallery, London. Derrick Greaves. Paintings and Prints, School House Gallery, Norfolk. Derrick Greaves. Painting Beyond the Millennium, Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury
2010 Derrick Greaves. Nightingale and Other Recent Pictures,
James Hyman Gallery, London
2008 Derrick Greaves: White Ground and Other Recent Paintings, James Hyman Gallery, London
2007 Derrick Greaves: From Kitchen-Sink to Shangri-La, James Hyman Gallery, London
2006 Pop Classical: Derrick Greaves Paintings from the 1970s, James Hyman Gallery, London
2005 Derrick Greaves: The Pleasures of Drawing, James Hyman Gallery, London
2003 Derrick Greaves: Paintings and Drawings 1952-2002, James Hyman Gallery, London. Derrick Greaves: New Prints, School House Gallery, Norfolk
2002 Derrick Greaves: Six Decades of Painting, Wingfield Arts Centre, Wingfield, Suffolk
2000 Derrick Greaves: Collage Drawings, Chappel Gallery, Essex
1999 Derrick Greaves: Drawing for Paintings, School House Gallery, Norfolk
1997 Derrick Greaves, King of Hearts Gallery, Norwich. Derrick Greaves, Hart Gallery, London
1996 Derrick Greaves, Galerie Daniel Wahrenberger, Zurich, Switzerland 1992 Derrick Greaves, King of Hearts Gallery, Norwich
1986 Derrick Greaves: Forty from Ten, Loughborough and tour
1980 Derrick Greaves: Retrospective Exhibition of Prints 1969-1980, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. Derrick Greaves, Fischer Fine Art, London. Derrick Greaves: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings 1953-1980, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
1978 Derrick Greaves, Monika Kinley, London Derrick Greaves, City Gallery, Milton Keynes. Derrick Greaves, Cranfield Institute of Technology
1977 Derrick Greaves, Monika Kinley, London. Derrick Greaves, City Gallery, Milton Keynes
1976 Derrick Greaves, Monika Kinley, London. Derrick Greaves, City Gallery, Milton Keynes
1975 Derrick Greaves, Monika Kinley, London. Derrick Greaves, City Gallery, Milton Keynes
1973 Derrick Greaves, Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford. Derrick Greaves, Whitechapel Gallery, London. Derrick Greaves, Monika Kinley, London 1972 Derrick Greaves, Arts Council Gallery, Belfast. Derrick Greaves, David Hendricks Gallery, Dublin. Derrick Greaves, Institute of Contemporary Art, London
1970 Derrick Greaves, Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford. Derrick Greaves, Galleria La Citta, Verona, Italy Derrick Greaves, Galleria La Citta, Padua, Italy
1969 Derrick Greaves, Institute of Contemporary Art, London
1963 Derrick Greaves, Zwemmer Gallery, London
1962 Derrick Greaves, Zwemmer Gallery, London
1960 Derrick Greaves, Zwemmer Gallery, London
1958 Derrick Greaves, Zwemmer Gallery, London
1955 Derrick Greaves, Beaux Arts Gallery, London
1953 Derrick Greaves, Beaux Arts Gallery, London