Harry William Pye (born 31 August 1973) is a British

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, and

event organizer Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of small and/or large-scale personal or corporate events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, weddings, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. ...

Early life

Pye was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He completed a foundation course at

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgradu ...

in 1991. He then studied

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History The Winchester School of Art was founded in 187 ...

from 1992 to 1995. In his second year he stopped

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and printmaking and began making films. His first films were interviews with artist and tutor

Bruce McLean Bruce McLean (born 1944) is a Scottish sculptor, performance artist and painter. McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, from 1963 to 1966. At Saint Martin ...

, and he has since interviewed many other artists including

Humphrey Ocean Humphrey Ocean (born 22 June 1951) is a contemporary British painter. Early life Humphrey Ocean was born Humphrey Anthony Erdeswick Butler-Bowdon, on 22 June 1951 in Sussex, England. He went to Ampleforth College and in 1967 went to Tunbridge ...

Jake and Dinos Chapman Iakovos "Jake" Chapman (born 1966) and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman (born 1962) are British visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers. Their subject matter tries to be deliberately shocking, including, in 2008, a series of works that ...

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillmans was the first photog ...

, and

Keith Tyson Keith Tyson (born Keith Thomas Bower,Keith Tyson

for various publications including ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'', '' Turps Banana'', and ''Untitled''. He has also edited and published numerous art based fanzines of his own, such as "Harry Pye's FRANK Magazine", which ran from 1995 to 2000.

Art career

In May 2000 he was invited to curate an exhibition at Glassbox in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The name of this show was "It May Be Rubbish, But It's ''British'' Rubbish". In 2002 he curated a show at The Bart Wells Institute in

London Fields London Fields is a park in Hackney, London, although the name also refers to the immediate area in Hackney surrounding it and London Fields station. It is common land adjoining the Hackney Central area of the London Borough of Hackney. The p ...

, "Viva Pablo". A year later he organized a group show with 100 artists called, 100 MOTHERS which took place at The Oh Art Gallery in the

Oxford House The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction recovery, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 3,000 Oxford House ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

, and then toured to the North Edinburgh Art Centre in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. This exhibit was also included in The Other Art Fair in 2013. In November 2006 he curated a tribute to the DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

at the NOMOREGREY Gallery in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

entitled "For Peel", which consisted of more than 60 artists including

Jessica Voorsanger Jessica Voorsanger (born 1965) is an American artist and academic, living and working in London. She has worked on the "Mystery Train" project for the Institute of Contemporary Arts to make contemporary art more accessible to people with learnin ...

Sarah Doyle Sarah Elizabeth Doyle (March 22, 1830 – December 21, 1922) was an American educator and educational reformer, noted for her roles in founding the Rhode Island School of Design and establishing women's education at Brown University. Early life S ...

, and

Cathy Lomax Cathy Lomax (born 1963) is a London artist, curator and director of the Transition Gallery. She is mainly known for her figurative paintings which often focus on the female image and are inspired by 'the seductive imagery of film, fame and fa ...

, all of whom had made work relating to a band or singer that John Peel had discovered or championed. Pye did not contribute any artwork of his own to these exhibitions. According to press release material, he only began making paintings of his own in 2004, inspired by a

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

exhibition of

Philip Guston Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein, June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980), was a Canadian American painter, printmaker, muralist and draftsman. Early in his five decade career, muralist David Siquieros described him as one of "the most promising ...

and a show about

Mathias Kauage Mathias Kauage O.B.E. (1944 in Miugu, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea – May 2003Niugini Arts
) w ...

at the

Horniman Museum The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a museum in Forest Hill, London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Modern Style. It has displays of anthropology, natural history and musical ...

, which both took place in this same year. Pye's first solo show took place at Sartorial Contemporary Art in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

in February 2007. The name of his show was, "Me, Me, Me". As well as more than 20 paintings, the show featured a 30-minute video made in collaboration with artist Gordon Beswick and comedy writers and performers

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

and

Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career. Education After ...

. Pye's second solo show at Sartorial was called "Getting Better" and took place in March 2009. His third Sartorial show was called "Values" and took place in September 2010. Pye has made collaborative paintings with various other artists including Gordon Beswick, Rowland Smith, Marcus Cope, Kes Richardson, James Jessop,

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

Frank Sidebottom Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

, Sarah Sparkes,

Liz Murray Elizabeth "Liz" Murray (born ) is an American memoirist and inspirational speaker who is notable for having been accepted by Harvard University despite being homeless in her high school years. Her life story was chronicled in Lifetime (TV network ...

Geraldine Swayne Geraldine Swayne (born 1965) is an English painter, who works mainly in miniature in enamel on metal. She studied Fine Art at Newcastle University from 1985–89 and in 1990 she won a Northern Arts Travel award to paint and make super-8 films ...

, and Mat Humphrey. Almost half of the paintings in the "Me, Me, Me" show were collaborations with Rowland Smith, who Pye has known since his school days. In March 2007 Jessica Lack of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described him as "the master of lo-fi British art". In April 2007 Pye won first prize in a competition to paint a portrait of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, organised by the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

''. The judges were artists

Gilbert and George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art du ...

. In April 2008 Pye had several of his paintings featured in an exhibition called, "Everyday Life" at The Tom Christoffersen Gallery in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. In the same month he had a solo show at the Thomas Cohn Gallery – a space in

São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

. In June 2008 Pye curated a group exhibition called "Poetic Licence" at the Crimes Town Gallery in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

. The show featured drawings and paintings inspired by poems and visitors to the gallery could only gain entry if they brought with them a poem that had moved or inspired them. Artists taking part in the project included Lloyd Durling, Marenka Gabeler, Marisol Malatesta,

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th premier of Western Australia, and the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party. McGowan was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He attended t ...

, John Moseley, and Edward Ward. In September 2008 Pye and Rowland Smith exhibited several paintings they had made in collaboration in a show called Fresh Air Machine at a new Shoreditch art space called Calvert 22. The show was supported by the Outset organization and was part of the Concrete and Glass festival. In October 2008 Pye helped organize a

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

exhibition at the Lime Light Gallery in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

. In December 2008 Pye helped organize Gretta Sarfaty Marchant's solo show "Gretta's Progress" at

Leeds Arts University Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Schoo ...

. Pye has recently been collaborating with artist

Jasper Joffe Jasper Joffe (born 1975) is a British publisher at Joffe Books contemporary artist and novelist who lives and works in London. Life and work Joffe is the brother of artist Chantal Joffe. He studied Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and ...

on projects and exhibitions such as Jasper & Harry's Tate Modern, Matisse at Christmas, and the 99p Art Shop. On 6 August 2011 critic

Ekow Eshun Ekow Eshun (born 27 May 1968) is a British writer, journalist, broadcaster, and curator. He is the editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine ''Tank'', a former editor of ''Arena'' magazine, and the former director of the Institute of Contempor ...

was asked to review the exhibition "Joffe et Pye" for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Saturday Review'', and wrote that: "Intense feelings about love, loneliness and fear, anxiety, desire and hope, and ambition all come into play into these paintings. Very powerful I thought. What could have been fey, arch, or game playing was actually very warm." In November 2012 six paintings by Harry Pye were featured in the Discerning Eye exhibition at The Mall Gallery in London. Pye's work in this show was praised by Naomi Mdudu of

City AM ''City A.M.'' is a free business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London, England, with an accompanying website. Its certified distribution was 85,738 copies a day in February 2020, according to statistics compiled by the ABC, and ha ...

. In January 2013 it was announced on Resonance FM that Pye and

Francis Macdonald Francis Macdonald (born 11 September 1970) drums with Teenage Fanclub. He makes music for filmmakers and TV and manages Camera Obscura and The Vaselines. On 30 March 2015, he released ''Music For String Quartet, Piano And Celeste'', described b ...

were working on a music project together and had collaborated on ten new songs. Pye's artwork has been displayed on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

in conjunction with the arts company

Art Below Ben Moore (born 25 May 1978)Nick Curtis''London Evening Standard'', 25 May 2010. is a British art curator, entrepreneur and artist. He is the founder and curator of Art Below, a contemporary art organisation that places art in public spaces and ...

. Ben Moore of Art Below featured Pye's works along with

Peter Kennard Peter Kennard (born 17 February 1949) is a London-born and based photomontage artist and Professor of Political Art at the Royal College of Art. Seeking to reflect his involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement, he turned from painting to photo ...

Nasser Azam Nasser Azam (born 1963, in Jhelum, Pakistan) is a British contemporary artist, living and working in London. Biography Nasser Azam was born in Jhelum, Pakistan in 1963, and moved to London with his parents when he was 7 years old (1970). He be ...

, Moore, and six other artists as part of ''Thatcheristic''. In 2013 Harry Pye curated his own South London Salon which was part of the

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

X festival. In October 2014 Harry Pye selected 17 artists for a show at Hotel Elephant for an exhibition called Jolie Laide. The exhibition was part of Elefest, the

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

. On 7 April 2018 Pye's art work featured in a group exhibition at the Tate Modern called "Inside Job". The exhibition was previewed by John Hind in ''The Guardian'' on 31 March. Since 2005 Pye has written a column about the London art scene for

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n newspaper '' Epifanio'', as well as being the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of '' The Rebel''. In June 2022 it was announced on art rabbit.com and a-n The Artists Information Company that Harry Pye would be organising an exhibition in Fitzrovia Gallery called 'Always On My Mind.' The exhibition would feature work by; Magda Archer, Gordon Beswick, Sasha Bowles,

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

Matthew Collings Matthew Collings (born 1955) is a British art critic, writer, broadcaster, and artist. He is married to Emma Biggs, with whom he collaborates on art works. Education Born in London in 1955, Collings studied at Byam Shaw School of Art, and Goldsmi ...

, Alice Herrick, Corin Johnson, James Johnston, Francis Macdonald, Kate Murdoch, Carson Parkin-Fairley, Elena-Andreea Teleaga, Twinkle Troughton and Tracey Williams. The exhibition aimed to raise money and awareness of The National Brain Appeal.

References

* https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/mar/31/tate-modern-gallery-staff-art-exhibition-london * http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/inside-job * http://www.cityam.com/lifestyle/reviews/i-spy-my-discerning-eye-some-hot-new-talent * http://www.art-themagazine.com/pages/london11.htm * http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/john_peel/news/9027 * https://web.archive.org/web/20080922143154/http://www.kopenhagen.dk/interviews/interviews/interview_harry_pye/ * http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/article/?id=2118 * https://web.archive.org/web/20090206203101/http://www.leedsguide.co.uk/reviewsfull.php?id=9571 * * Peter Cook Appreciation Society (2006). How Very Interesting!: Peter Cook's Universe And All That Surrounds It. Snowbooks.
Review in Frieze magazine

An interview with Harry Pye by 'Bodnotbod'

External links

HarryPye.com

The Rebel magazine

Harry Pye Myspace page

Harry Pye Le Document page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pye, Harry 1973 births English artists Living people Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts