Derrick Greaves - A Celebration

DERRICK GREAVES A CELEBRATION

DERRICK GREAVES

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DERRICK GREAVES

A CELEBRATION

Mandell’s Gallery

In assocation with James Hyman Gallery

DERRICK GREAVES. A PERSONAL TRIBUTE

Derrick was both a great friend and a major artist who I was privileged to represent at our gallery in London for twenty years. He had a thirst for life and was always looking forward, and, as an artist, was always obsessing about his next painting. He was someone who always seemed young and was always interested in others. A caring person. Someone with a real gift for friendship and that rare combination of being a great talker but also a great listener. Derrick had a wide range of interests, was endlessly creative and was painting almost until the very end. This celebratory exhibition includes a painting that he only finished last year and the paint was still wet when we collected it. His productivity was incredible and I remember Derrick telling me that his younger son Daniel called him “Mr Prolific”.

Derrick was also someone who always kept me on my toes. I remember on one studio visit admiring a big new maroon-coloured still-life painting. Remembering that at the gallery we had shown a similar dark green still-life, I asked if he was doing a series of them. Derrick and his wife, Sally, exchanged looks. I think Sally may even have rolled her eyes. It turned out that it was the very same canvas but Derrick had totally repainted it! Over the years Sally and I got used to re-cataloguing works that would be repainted and even cut down. I was always a bit concerned that if I returned an unsold work to the studio, I might never see it again.

In 2007 when I wrote the major monograph on Derrick, Derrick Greaves. From Kitchen-Sink to Shangri-La, published by the prestigious art book publishers, Lund Humphries, Derrick had one reservation, that by writing the book it would neatly tidy up his life and career and

somehow suggest that his creativity had stopped. I reassured him that we would keep presenting shows of his new work. Derrick in turn surprised me every single time I visited his studio. Always there were new and invigorating pictures and so each show that we did was distinct and different and fresh.

To celebrate the publication of the book we did a series of three exhibitions in a row of paintings by Derrick. It was an unheard of thing for a gallery to do and not something we’ve done for any other artist. The three exhibitions presented a journey from the kitchen-sink paintings of the 1950s through to recent work. The first part showed the early pictures that established Derrick’s fame when they were championed by John Berger, shown at the Venice Biennale in 1956 and were collected by museums. The second part presented works whose language, if not imagery, paralleled the Pop Art of the sixties, and was referred to at that time by the art critic Mark Glazebrook as “Pop Classical”. And the third part showed Derrick’s exciting recent paintings, which I described as “heraldic” or “emblematic” in their boldly economic presentation of forms – echoes, perhaps, of his first career as a sign painter. I think that freed from his teaching commitments as Head of Print Making at Norwich School of Art his work reached new levels.

I had first studied Derrick’s early works as a PhD student, but what was so exciting for me – and I know really pleased Derrick – was my genuine delight at seeing his latest paintings. I loved their imagery – even the ones we called “the mad ones” - their colour and wit and humour.

My studio visits, often with my wife Claire, were always a highlight of the year. And not just to the studio, but also to the kitchen… and good conversation over Sally’s wonderful lunches. We would arrive late morning and

over champagne, or wine, or coffee, or all three, we would go into the studio and see some of Derrick’s latest works. Then we would continue the conversation over a leisurely and memorable lunch, often with vegetables from the garden (including a memorable sorrel soup), and afterwards we would go to look at more paintings in what Derrick called “the shed” but is, in fact, a beautiful viewing room with wonderful light and kilims on the floor.

Derrick’s interests and knowledge were wide-ranging. We would talk about art, exhibitions, music, friends, family, and of course politics. World affairs increasingly depressed Derrick. However, despite that, I think my deepest memory will be what Milan Kundera called the “lightness of being”. For to visit Derrick was always uplifting. He told me more than once he admired my optimism, but I think it was Derrick who brought out the positive side of people.

I remember during one of these lunches the doorbell rang and in walked a film crew from Holland. It was a total surprise yet Derrick behaved as though this was a regular occurrence. With a large movie-camera inches from his face he gave a spontaneous and spirited rendition of one of his party pieces, his music-hall favourite, The Winkle Song. There were roars of laughter all round. The film crew had got more than they had bargained for.

I once recounted a story to Derrick, which he loved. It took place almost exactly a century ago but has parallels with our own times. During the First World War, Henri Matisse was in a state. He was upset that he was too old to serve in the army and expressed this to one of France’s leading politicians. The politician’s reply was, unusually, helpful. “Go back to your studio, Monsieur

Matisse, and continue to paint. That is how you can best serve your country.” Derrick did something similar. He did occasionally make overt political statements, as with a powerful triptych called War, but memorably he painted some of his most vibrant and affirmative paintings in the face of world affairs: one series on the theme of Shangri-La, was made during the first Gulf War, and his last shows of Blossom in 2020 and Towards a Walled Garden in 2022 – both of them at Mandell’s Gallery in Norwich as well as at our gallery in London – were given added resonance due to the Covid pandemic with echoes of the amazing blossom of the early weeks of the first lock-down and the stony walls suggesting the ways that we were both protected and imprisoned. Each series is an assertion - in dark times - of the joy of living. Indeed, whatever their circumstances, for the most part Derrick’s paintings are a beautiful and affirmative celebration of life.

Every year or so our gallery would hold an exhibition of new works by Derrick and every time he would ask me to write the catalogue essay. I was always pleased to be asked but each time I would joke with him that I had already said everything that I had to say about his work! But every time his paintings were new and fresh and so each time I found that there was something new to write. I will miss my annual writing challenge - I really cannot believe that there will be no new paintings to write about. I really did think Derrick would continue to paint forever.

I am honoured to have had Derrick as a friend and to have represented him at the gallery for two decades. I know that the paintings will live on and only grow in importance and power, and I am convinced that the pictures will continue to surprise and inspire and delight for generations to come.

JAMES HYMAN

Men and Dogs in Landscape 1953 Oil on canvas 164.1 x 194.3 cm (64.6 x 76.5ins)

Castor Oil Plant 1967 Oil on canvas 160 x 160 cms (63 x 63 ins)

Ship 1975 Acrylic on canvas 71 x 71 cms (28 x 28 ins)

Departure 2018 Acrylic on canvas 120.7 x 119.4 cms (47.5 x 47 ins)

Bread 1990 Acrylic, collage, conté and crayon on canvas 91.5 x 122 cms (36 x 48 ins)

Rage 1995 Oil on canvas 40.6 x 40.6 cms (16 x 16 ins)

Girl with Shaved Head 2005 Acrylic on canvas 52 x 52 cms (20.5 x 20.5 ins)

Shangri La - Sliced Fruit 2003 Oil on canvas 40.6 x 40.6 cms (16 x 16 ins)

Formal Garden with Sphinx and Temple 2014 Acrylic on canvas 101.6 x 152.4 cms (40 x 60 ins)

Elephants (The Herd Moves On) 2001 Oil on canvas 122.5 x 183.5 cms (48.2 x 72.2 ins)

Two Doves 2009 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 76.2 x 139.7 cms (30 x 55 ins)

Wall Drawings 2 2003/4 Acrylic on canvas 101.6 x 127 cms (40 x 50 ins)

Sally Butler 1994 Acrylic on canvas 128.3 x 104.8 cms (50.5 x 41.25 ins)

Ivy House Farm, The Dining Room 2015 Acrylic collage on canvas 102 x 127 cms (40 x 50 ins)

Pollen, 2022 Oil on canvas 90.8 x 76.2 cms (35.7 x 30 ins)

Sunflower and Shadow I 1993/4 Acrylic on canvas 120 x 120 cms (47.2 x 47.2 ins)

Skull 1976 Acrylic on canvas 66 x 61 cms (26 x 24 ins)

The Green Room (study) 1982/4 Acrylic, collage, conté and crayon on canvas 101.6 x 88.9 cms (40 x 35 ins)

The Sea The Sea, 2013 Acrylic on Canvas 101.5 x 127 cms (40 x 50 ins)

Lobster 2019 Acrylic collage on paper 77 x 87 cm (30.25 x 34.5ins)

Still Life 2015 Acrylic on canvas 70.5 x 92.5 cms (27.7 x 36.4 ins)

Blossom VII 2020 Acrylic on canvas 100 x 61 cms (39.3 x 24 ins)

Thorn and Moon 2009

Charcoal and acrylic on canvas

40.6 x 40.6 cm (16 x 16ins)

Trophy 2009

Charcoal and acrylic on canvas

40.6 x 40.6 cm (16 x 16ins)

Sunflowers 2021 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 99.1 x 77.5 cms (39 x 30.5 ins)

Simon Martin Greaves and Bedspread 1958 Oil on canvas 76.5 x 115 cms (30.1 x 45.2 ins)

Mother and Baby (Julia) 1958 Oil on canvas 67 x 76 cms (26.2 x 30 ins)

Bird 1960

Ink brush drawing on paper 55.9x76.2cm

Sheep 1968

Watercolour and mixed media 14x14cm

Nude 1980

Charcoal 37x27cm

Torcello 1954

Charcoal on Paper 48.5x54.6cm

Donkey 1953

Charcoal on Paper 36.8x34.9cm

Two Dogs

1973 Charcoal 41x28cm

Goat 1954

Charcoal on Paper 33x47cm

Melon 2013 Acrylic on canvas 101.6 x 127 cms (40 x 50 ins)

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

2022 Derrick Greaves. Towards a Walled Garden, Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich

2020 Derrick Greaves. Blossom, Mandell’s Gallery, Norwich

2019 Derrick Greaves. Irises, Etc, 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, Switzerlan d 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

Top Left: Derrick Greaves - Studio in Woburn 1970s

Bottom Left: Derrick Greaves in Pembroke Road Studio circa 1950 (Photo of Picasso’s right hand pinned up over mantlepiece)

Middle: Derrick Greaves with Provence-inspired diptych, c1968

Top Right: Derrick Greaves 1957 -

Photo by David Mindline

Bottom Right: Derrick Greaves Catalogue May - June 63 Paintings and Wash Drawings at Zwemmer Gallery, Charing Cross Road London

Towards a Walled Garden 4 2021 Acrylic, collage on canvas 76.2 x 139.7 cms (30 x 55 ins)

Derrick Greaves Studio 2005, photo by James Hyman