GORDON HOUSE
Gordon House was one of the bright young talents at the centre of London’s artistic and cultural scene during the Swinging Sixties. Not only was he considered a pioneering British artist at the forefront of British printmaking and abstract art, but he was also the go-to graphic designer for the emerging movers and shakers of London’s contemporary galleries, such as John Kasmin and the Robert (‘Groovy Bob’) Fraser. Chosen by The Beatles to design their record labels and collaborating with pop artists like Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton, House was a pivotal figure within a seismic shake-up in the art world.
House’s oil paintings from this period, with their unique abstract language informed by a background in graphic design, situated him at the forefront of post-war British abstraction. Along with fellow pioneers of abstraction, including Richard Smith and Robin Denny, he organised, and was exhibited in, what is now considered the seminal abstract exhibition of the 1960s: ‘Situation’. An innovative master of the print medium, he created the first ‘art’ screen-print at Kelpra Studio and later established the ‘White Ink’ print studio used by ground-breaking printmakers of the day, from Eduardo Paolozzi to R. B. Kitaj.
House has been exhibited worldwide. His work has been featured in major touring shows, but the focus has tended to be on his paintings from the 1960s and 1970s. Prints, watercolours and paintings from the latter half of his career have remained, until now, relatively unseen by the wider public. This exhibition aims to redress this by offering an insight into his continued artistic experimentation throughout the later stage of his career. Iconic works from the 1960s are presented alongside rarely seen watercolours. Set against the harder edged oils, these works show House’s sensitive handling of soft washes and layered transparencies as he experiments with interactions between light and colour. The exhibition will also highlight paintings from 1999 to 2001 which have never seen the light of day. These mature works present subtle tonal variations and intricate arrangements of organic shapes.
House is a celebrated printmaker and in this exhibition his prints are seen alongside his oils and watercolours. These include his earliest lithograph of 1957, sensitively executed woodcuts from the 1970s, and rarely seen experimental screen-prints from the 1980s which reflect his lifelong fascination and excitement with emerging techniques in this field.
38 × 56 cm / 15 × 22 in
Deltic, 1959
signed, titled and dated verso oil on canvas
91 × 91 cm / 35⅞ × 35⅞ in Exhibitions
London, New Vision Centre Gallery, ‘Gordon House Paintings and Gouaches’, July-August 1959, cat. no.4
Square Maze Border Red/Green, 1960-1961
signed, titled and dated verso; signed again on the stretcher
casein and oil on canvas
122 × 91.5 cm / 48 × 36 in
Exhibitions
London, New London Gallery, ‘New London Situation: An Exhibition of British Abstract Art’, New London Gallery, August - December 1961, illustrated p.4
Red Form with Small Green Segment, 1966 signed and titled verso oil on board
35 × 35 cm / 13¾ × 13¾ in
Quarter Black Quarter, 1966
signed and dated verso oil on canvas
122 × 122 cm / 48 × 48 in Exhibitions
New York, Marlborough-Gerson, ‘Four London Artists’, February 1968, cat. no.3
Ornament Frieze II, 1976-1977
Red/Green Ornament Frieze I, 1976-1977
signed and dated on the canvas overlap acrylic on canvas
91 × 91 cm / 35⅞ × 35⅞ in
Exhibitions
London, Waddington Galleries, ‘Gordon House: Paintings, Lithographs, Etchings’, October 1979
Grid Arc, 1970
signed, titled and dated verso oil on board
10
19.1 × 26 cm / 7½ × 10¼ in 11
Inner and Outer Arc, 1970
signed, titled and dated verso oil on board
19.7 × 28.6 cm / 7¾ × 11¼ in
Arc in Register, 1970
signed, titled and dated verso oil on board
19.1 × 26 cm / 7½ × 10¼ in
I, from Tri Motifs, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 39.4 cm / 30 × 15½ in
II, from Tri Motifs, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 39.4 cm / 30 × 15½ in
III, from Tri Motifs, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
Single Direction I, 1978 signed, titled and dated gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 21½ in
17
Single Direction II, 1978, circa signed, titled and dated verso gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
18
Grey, from Study for Larger Tri Motif Series, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
19
Grey/Pink, from Study for Larger Tri Motif Series, 1977 signed, titled and dated gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
20
Ochre, from Study for Larger Tri Motif Series, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
21
Red/Green, from Study for Larger Tri Motif Series, 1977, circa gouache, watercolour and ink
76.2 × 57.1 cm / 30 × 22½ in
22
Series Tri (F) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
23
Series Tri (K) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
24
Series Tri (D) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
25
Series Tri (S) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
Series Tri (E) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
27
Series Tri (U) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
28
Series Tri (H) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil woodcut
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in 29
Series Tri (G) Small Wood, 1976-1977
signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil
35.5 × 22.8 cm / 14 × 9 in
White Horse (Large Plate), 1984
signed, dated and titled in pencil etching and aquatint
38 × 56 cm / 15 × 22 in 31
White Horse (Three colour etching), 1984
signed, dated and titled in pencil etching and aquatint
38 × 56 cm / 15 × 22 in
Still Working from the FLW/Highbury Portfolio Suite, 1987
homemade print from an office copy machine
42 × 29.7 cm / 16½ × 11¾ in 33
The Idea from the FLW/Highbury Portfolio Suite, 1987
homemade print from an office copy machine
42 × 29.7 cm / 16½ × 11¾ in
Architecture from the FLW/Highbury Portfolio Suite, 1987
homemade print from an office copy machine
42 × 29.7 cm / 16½ × 11¾ in
35
Red Tracery, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled and dated in pencil screenprint
101.6 × 71.1 cm / 40 × 28 in
36
Multiple Mantle in Red, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
37
After Powhatan, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
38
Ritual Red, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
39
Curiosities, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
40
Highbury Herald, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
41
Blue Buckler, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
42
Early Style, from the After Powhatan Suite, 1992 signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil screenprint
121 × 80.6 cm / 47⅝ × 31¾ in
45
Highway, 1999 signed, titled and dated on the canvas overlap; signed and dated again on the stretcher oil on canvas
40.5 × 40.7 cm / 16 × 16 in
46
Untitled, 1998-1999, circa oil on canvas
40.5 × 40.7 cm / 16 × 16 in
47
The Dragon’s Wing, 1990 signed, inscribed and dated on the stretcher oil on canvas
30.5 × 61 cm / 20 × 20 in
Untitled, 2002, circa oil on canvas
120 × 130 cm / 47¼ × 51⅛ in
Quarry, 2001
signed, titled and dated verso oil on board
Aberfan, 2001 signed, titled and dated verso oil on board
30.1 × 30.2 cm / 11⅞ × 11⅞ in
30.2 × 30.1 cm / 11⅞ × 11⅞ in
Untitled, 2001, circa oil on board
30.2 × 30.3 cm / 11⅞ × 11⅞ in
