Gerard Hemsworth (27 December 1945 – 15 February 2021) was a British

contemporary artist Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

and painter known for his contributions to British

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

. In 2000, he was the winner of the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

Charles Wollaston Prize with his work 'Between Heaven and Hell'.

Early life

Hemsworth was born in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

, south London, son of Ernest Hemsworth, an electrical engineer, and his wife Mary (née Corbett). He attended St Gerard’s secondary school in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

before studying at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...

from 1963 to 1968.

Career

After graduating from St Martin's in 1967, Hemsworth, along with David Evison, Peter Hide and other graduates from St Martin's sculpture department, set up a studio space in a disused warehouse near Stockwell Underground Station. This came to be known as ''Stockwell Depot'', and Hemsworth showed at the yearly exhibitions until 1969, when his work moved further into conceptualism, deviating from the work done by other artists at the Depot at the time. Initially his work was associated with the

practices of the late 1960s/1970s. His early works included sculpture and text-based wall pieces, and by the early 1980s it had expanded to include painting and print-making. His recent work shows the development of his distinct style of painting, utilising simple lines and shapes often showing whimsical characters and scenes. In the early 80s, Hemsworth began teaching at

Goldsmiths A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold. In German, the Goldsmith family name is written Goldschmidt. Goldsmith may also refer to: Places * Goldsmith, Indiana, United States * Goldsmith, New York, United States, a h ...

and ran the MFA and MA Fine Art Program. That the name Goldsmiths was to become synonymous with a new kind of British art was in large part owing to his teaching. In 2004, Hemsworth was appointed

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He was made

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Professor on his retirement in 2011. Hemsworth was also an advisor at the

Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports ...

between 1990 and 1995.

Exhibitions

In 1967, he was selected to participate in one of the annual

New Contemporaries New Contemporaries is an organisation in the UK that works to support emerging artists at the beginning of their careers by introducing them to the visual arts sector and to the public through a variety of platforms, including an annual exhibition ...

exhibitions, started with the goal of highlighting and supporting emerging artists. Hemsworth had his first solo exhibition at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in London in 1970. Since the 70s he has continued to exhibit his work both in the UK and internationally. The first of his text-based wall pieces appeared in the Wall Show at the

Lisson Gallery Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with locations in London and New York, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents over 50 artists such as Art & Language, Ryan Gander, Carmen Herrera, Richard Long, John Latham, Sol ...

in 1970 and in 1972 Hemsworth showed in ''Survey of the Avant-Garde in Britain'' at

Gallery House, London Gallery House, London was a nonprofit art space founded in 1972 by Sigi Krauss, which was open for sixteen months until its abrupt closure in 1973. Gallery House hosted exhibitions, residencies, performances, "happenings", and events. History Gal ...

. In 1995 he exhibited with the BANK art collective in the show titled ''Cocaine Orgasm''. In 2019 a retrospective of Hemsworth's early text works was shown at Palfrey Gallery in London. The exhibition showed 9 text works by the artist from 1973. Another retrospective of Hemsworth's early works and involvement within Gallery House in 1972 was shown at

Raven Row A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

in London in 2017.

Personal life

Hemsworth married firstly May Davidson in 1964. They had a son and a daughter, Matthew and Jane, before divorcing in 1973. He was married secondly to Susan Ormerod, a photographic artist, in 1981. They had three children; Ruby, Jack and Frankie.

Death

Hemsworth died on 15 February 2021, at the age of 75. He was survived by his second wife and his five children.

References

External links

Gerard Hemsworth
on ArtFacts.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemsworth, Gerard 1945 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London Artists from London English contemporary artists People from Tooting People from Robertsbridge