Adrian Searle (born 1953 in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

, Hertfordshire) is the chief art critic 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 ...

'' newspaper in Britain, and has been writing for the paper since 1996. Previously he was a painter.

Life and career

Searle studied at the St Albans School of Art (1971–72),

Trent Polytechnic Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

(1972–73) and the Winchester School of Art (1973–75). He has taught at Central St Martins College of Art (1981–94), Chelsea College of Art (1991–96) and

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the ...

(1993–96), De Ateliers, Amsterdam (2000–03). From 2007 to 2012 he was Visiting Professor 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 ...

, London. Searle has curated exhibitions internationally. These include: * ''Promises Promises'', a group exhibition at the

Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery ...

, London, 1989 * ''Unbound: Possibilities in Painting'', an international exhibition, co-curated with Greg Hilty, at the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the R ...

, London, 1994 * ''Glad That Things Don't Talk'',

Irish Museum of Modern Art The Irish Museum of Modern Art ( ga, Áras Nua-Ealaíne na hÉireann) also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. Located in Kilmainham, Dublin, the Museum pr ...

, Dublin, 2004 * ''Pepe Espaliú'' retrospective at Reina Sofia, Madrid, co-curated with Juan Vicente Aliaga, 2004 * '' Juan Muñoz'',

Marian Goodman Gallery Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensl ...

, New York, 2006 * ''

Julião Sarmento Julião Manuel Tavares Sena Sarmento (4 November 1948 – 4 May 2021) was a Portuguese multimedia artist and painter. Biography / Work Born in Lisbon in 1948, Sarmento studied painting and architecture at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts. He b ...

: Close Distance'', La Casa Encendida, Madrid, 2011 * '' Juan Muñoz: An inaccessible moment'',

Frith Street Frith Street is in the Soho area of London. To the north is Soho Square and to the south is Shaftesbury Avenue. The street crosses Old Compton Street, Bateman Street and Romilly Street. History Frith Street was laid out in the late 1670s an ...

Gallery, London, co-curated with

Jane Hamlyn Jane Hamlyn (born 1940) is an English studio potter known for her functional salt glaze pottery. Born in Whitechapel, London, Hamlyn initially trained as a nurse at University College Hospital London. She studied pottery part-time at Putney Ad ...

, 2012 Originally a painter, represented by Nigel Greenwood Gallery, London, and exhibiting widely, he stopped when he took up his newspaper job. He said, "I was always torn between making art and writing. Writing won." He also occasionally writes fiction.Buck, Louisa (2000). ''Moving Targets 2: A User's Guide to British Art Now''. London: Tate Gallery Publishing. Searle has been a juror for the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

, 2004, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, 1996, Andy Warhol Foundation/ Creative Capital, 2009, and Kurt Schwitters Prize, 2009–13. Before joining ''

'', he wrote for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' and contributed regularly to '' Artscribe'' magazine (1976–92), ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'', and '' frieze''. In 2007, he was decorated

Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is t ...

. In 2011, Searle received an Honorary degree for Doctor of Art from

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and in 2012 was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of the Arts London. Searle is divorced. He has a daughter and two grandsons.

Reviews

*'' Jim Shaw's ICA "Thrift Store Paintings" (2000):'' :1) The paintings are awful, indefensible, crapulous….these people can't draw, can't paint; these people should never be left alone with a paintbrush. :2) The Thrift Store Paintings are fascinating, alarming, troubled and funny. Scary too, just like America."What the Critics Say – Jim Shaw at the ICA"
, newsletter 2, artrumour.com, 23 October 2000. Retrieved 28 March 2006. *'' Chris Ofili's The Upper Room (2002)'': :Ofili says that he was trying to do something sincere – whatever sincerity means nowadays. It would be a great pity to split The Upper Room apart, to sell the paintings one by one. The Tate should buy it. The Upper Room is better than Ofili probably realises."Monkey Magic"
''The Guardian'', 25 June 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2006. *''

Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest ...

(2004)'': :Charles Saatchi had almost completed installing New Blood at his gallery at London's County Hall last week when we met by chance. "Let me write your review for you," he said, enraged. "I'm a cunt, this place is shit, and the artists I show are all fucked. Will that do for you?" I almost wish my views could be expressed with the same vigour, precision and exactitude. It would save a lot of time."Same Again Saatchi"
, ''The Guardian'', 23 March 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2006. *''The

Stuckists Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art."Scouse Stew"
, ''The Guardian'', 21 September 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2006. *'' Damien Hirst (2005)'': :The eye-candy dot paintings walked off the walls; the gore sells in buckets. But the spin paintings were always miserable and the big bronzes are boring. Nor has his art been particularly influential, or developed much. Hirst has lived his career backwards, doing his greatest work first, saving all the repetitive stuff and the juvenilia for later."Is Damien Hirst the Most Powerful Person in Art?"
, ''The Guardian'', 1 November 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2006. *'' Tracey Emin (2005)'': :We learn that she's "so tired and borred of masterbating". Why not just give it a break, Tray? ... This exhibition is an exhausting bender, careening from highs to lows. The lows are bad. Somehow Emin wouldn't be any good if they weren't."Tracey Emin"
''The Guardian'', 27 May 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2006.

References

External links

All ''Guardian'' features by Adrian SearleVarious articles by Adrian Searle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Searle, Adrian 1953 births Living people Academics of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Alumni of the University of Southampton British art critics British male journalists The Guardian journalists

Life and career

Reviews

See also

References

External links