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Biography

Art practice

After many years teaching, writing and curating contemporary art, Jon Bird returned to art making via the one-year programme at the Royal Drawing School. Since 2007, he has combined drawing, painting, photography and object-making with curatorial and writing projects. Subject matter derives from a focus upon landscape as a mental and material cartography of the forms, patterns and textures of the natural world, particularly mountains, rocks, trees, water and, currently, notions of ‘deep time’ and extra-terrestrial objects: meteors and asteroids. Drawing predominates: charcoal, graphite, pen and inks, collage, on a range of surfaces – paper, card, vellum, khadi paper. Paintings are oil on canvas or gesso board.

Jon Bird lives and works in London.

Education/Teaching

Graduated in Sculpture, Central School of Art & Design (1967); MA Sculpture, Chelsea School of Art (1968); PhD research, University College, London (1975-78); Royal Drawing School, London (2006-07).

Taught at Middlesex University, London (1982-2017), Emeritus Professor of Art and Critical Theory; Royal College of Art, London (1993-99); Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht (1997-2001).

Selected exhibitions (since 2007)

2021      The Drawing Biennial, The Drawing Room, London
2020 Royal Academy Summer/Winter Exhibition
2019 ‘Art on a Postcard’, WeWork, London
  Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
  The Drawing Works, London Art Fair
2018 The Drawing Works, London Art Fair
2016 ‘Land-Marks’, Ply Gallery, Hornsey Town Hall, London (solo)
  ‘The Drawing Works’, Camden Image Gallery, London (group)
2013 Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, New York (solo)
2011 ‘Refractions’, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, New York (2-person)
2010 ‘Water’, C2 Gallery, Milton Keynes (group)
2007 Royal Drawing School/Tea Building, London (group)
Biography