Jake Tilson (born 1958 in London) is an English artist, graphic designer, writer and publisher. Author and designer of ''A Tale of 12 Kitchens'' (2006), he published the arts magazines ''Cipher'' (1979–1981) and ''Atlas'' (1985–1993), taught in the Communication Design department at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

(1987–1999) and also works as a journalist. A retrospective exhibition of his art work was held at the Museo Internacional de Electrografia in

Cuenca, Spain Cuenca () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca. Etymology Its name may derive from the Latin ''conca'' meaning "river basin", referring t ...

(1997), part funded by

The British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

. He was an early adopter of the World Wide Web as a medium for art, using his website ''TheCooker'' (1994). As a graphic designer he has produced work for companies such as Paul Smith,

Haworth Tompkins Haworth Tompkins is a British architecture studio, formed in 1991 by architects Graham Haworth (b. 1960) and Steve Tompkins (b. 1959). Based in London, the studio works throughout the public, private and subsidised sectors at a wide spectrum, f ...

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

and Warehouse plc. He is a trustee of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery. "Rooted in everyday culture and a pervading sense of place, Tilson’s practice spans publishing, cultural commentary, photography and audio work and often focuses on the unremarkable and the everyday whilst purposefully avoiding any sense of spectacle." "Jake Tilson has always been one of the more original voices in graphic design, his playful, multilayered work defying both convention and easy description."

Early life and education

Jake Tilson was born in London, the son of

Joe Tilson Joseph Charles Tilson (born 24 August 1928) is a British artist and fellow of the Royal Academy. He was involved in the Pop Art movement in the 1960s; he has made paintings, prints and constructions. Early life and education Tilson was bo ...

and Joslyn Tilson (née Morton). His grandfather was Alastair Morton, who ran his father's business the Edinburgh Weavers, commissioning artists such as

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, Order of Merit, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract art, abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscape and still-life. Background and training Nicholson was ...

and

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

. Jake studied painting at Chelsea School of Art from 1976–79, and at the

from 1980–83. He won the Royal of Art Major Travelling scholarship and spent a year working in Paris, where he had his first one-person exhibition at Galerie J et J Donguy.

Work

In 1979 he set up the small independent press, The Woolley Dale Press, which enabled him to publish limited edition book works and the arts/literary magazine ''Cipher'', helped by a grant from the Greater London Arts Association. After leaving college in 1983 he continued publishing, including the trilingual arts magazine, ''Atlas'', which sold in 15 countries. Atlas became the name of his next independent press in 1993 which published his audio works and books such as ''3 Found Fonts'' (2003). Throughout the 1990s Tilson exhibited widely and had a commercial dealer, the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in London. During this time his work was primarily collage based wall pieces and sculptural dioramas. He was Erna Plachte artist in residence at the

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

, Oxford University (1994–95) where he developed his website ''TheCooker'' (1994) as well as designing websites for the Laboratory at the Ruskin (1994) he designed websites for the

Royal Institute of International Affairs Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

(1995) and the

(1996). His most recent exhibition was at the

Venice Architecture Biennale Venice Biennale of Architecture (in Italian Mostra di Architettura di Venezia) is an international exhibition of architecture from nations around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. It was held on even years until 2018, but 202 ...

2012, commissioned by

Architects as part of the Common Ground exhibition. Exhibition, Jake Tilson and Kyoichi Tsuzuki, A Net of Eels

Selected bibliography

No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism, Rick Poynor, 2013, Laurence King, . How To Survive Modern Art, Susie Hodge, Tate Publishing, 2009, . The Fundamentals of Graphic Design, Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris, AVA Publishing, 2008, . The Designer and the Grid, Lucienne Roberts, Rotovision, 2005, . Influences: a Lexicon of Contemporary Graphic Design, Anna Gerber and Amy Lutz, Gestalten Verlag, 2006, . New Media Design, Tricia Austin and Richard Doust, Laurence King Publishers, 2005, . Elizabeth David – Her Life, Work and Influence, Eddie Cass, Portico Library Gallery, 2007, OCLC 747321710. All Messed Up – Unpredictable Graphics, Anna Gerber, Laurence King, 2004, . Restart: New Systems in Graphic Design, Christian Küsters and Emily King, Thames & Hudson, 2001, . Vision: 50 Years of British Creativity, a Celebration of Art, Architecture and Design (Cutting Edge), Melvyn Bragg, Thames & Hudson, 1999, . New Media in Late 20th-century Art (World of Art), Michael Rush, Thames & Hudson World Art series, 1999, .

Selected bookworks

''Light & Dark'', Woolley Dale Press, 1979, . ''Exposure'', Woolley Dale Press, 1980, . ''8 Views of Paris'', Woolley Dale Press, 1980, . ''The V Agents'', Woolley Dale Press, 1981, . ''Excavator-Barcelona-Excavador'', Woolley Dale Press, 1986, . ''One World – A Guide'', Warehouse PLC, 1987, ASIN: B001OQ29O4. ''Breakfast Special'', 5 books, Woolley Dale Press, 1989, , , , , . ''The Terminator Line'', Woolley Dale Press, 1991, . ''3 Found Fonts'', Atlas, 2003, . ''A Tale of 12 Kitchens'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Artisan, 2006, , . ''In At The Deep End'' – cooking fish Tokyo to Venice, Quadrille, .

Selected audioworks

''City Sounds of the Everyday'', podcasts, Atlas, 2012 ''City Picture Fiction'', audio CD, Atlas, 1996 ''Hungerford Bridge'', tide and trains, audio cassette, Atlas, 1998 ''Hannahsleeps'', audio cassette, Atlas 1998 ''Gate 23'', audio cassette, Atlas, 1993 ''Foundsounds'', audio CD, Atlas, 1993

Public collections

Tate Gallery Collection. Chase Manhattan Bank. Arthur Andersen & Co. BBC World Service. The Principal Financial Group, USA.

References

External links

*http://www.jaketilson.com/ *http://www.areaatlas.com/ *http://www.thecooker.com/ *
Tate Gallery Collection

Jake's Sustainable Fish BBC Radio 4

Paul Levy: Marinated well, and served with new fonts

iTunes

Debrett's
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilson, Jake English artists 1958 births Living people