Adrian Hall (born 29 August 1943 in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

) is a conceptual and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist, educator, and activist. He is renowned for his pioneering contributions to post-object art and

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

practices, as well as his stoic activism, teaching at top academic art institutions worldwide, and his writings. Over a career spanning several decades, Hall has taught at prestigious institutions and his work has influenced art movements internationally, particularly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Early life

Hall was born on 29 August 1943 in

, England. He attended the

Plymouth College of Art Arts University Plymouth is a public university located in Plymouth in South West England. The former Plymouth College of Art was officially granted university status in 2022. In April 2019 the specialist college was awarded taught degree a ...

before studying at the

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

in London between 1964 and 1967. During this time, he worked as an artist assistant to

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

, featuring in several of her performances, including ''Film No. 4 ottoms' (1966). While at the Royal College, he studied philosophy with

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

, who introduced him to the works of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

. In 1968, Hall moved to the United States to pursue a Master of Fine Arts at the Yale School of Art and Architecture. During his time at Yale, he worked as a fabricator for the renowned sculptor

Naum Gabo Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...

and formed a close friendship with minimalist sculptor Fred Sandback, whose focused and consistent artistic approach contrasted with Hall's more experimental and multifaceted style.

Career

After completing his studies at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, Adrian Hall began teaching at the

UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts) is a professional school at the University of California, Los Angeles. Through its four degree-granting departments, it provides a range of course offerings and programs. Additionally, the ...

. Following his time in the United States, Hall taught at art schools and exhibited internationally, living and working in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and the

. In the 1970s, Hall exhibited regularly with the David Hendriks Gallery in Dublin and was awarded the prestigious *P.J. Carrolls Prize for Sculpture* at the

Irish Exhibition of Living Art The Irish Exhibition of Living Art (IELA; ) was a yearly exhibition of Irish abstract expressionism and avant-garde Irish art that was started in 1943 by Mainie Jellett. Background World War II Ireland During World War II, Ireland maintai ...

in 1975. During his time in Australia, Hall served as the head of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

at the

Sydney College of the Arts The Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) is a contemporary art school that was a faculty of the University of Sydney from 1990 until 2017, when it became a school of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Until the end of 2019, the campus was locat ...

(SCA) from 1979 to 1984. He was instrumental in establishing the postgraduate programme for the School of Media Art at

COFA The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

(College of Fine Arts,

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

) and served as its head during the early 1990s. Since 2011, Hall has been an adjunct artist at the Dunedin School of Art in New Zealand.

Personal life

Adrian Hall currently resides in

Aramoana Aramoana is a small coastal settlement north of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in the 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy Bach (New Zealand), ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

. His life and work reflect his strong commitment to activism and community engagement, as seen in his collaborations with artists and organisations across the globe. Hall often draws on his working-class background, incorporating his artisan skills and a sense of precision into his sculptures and installations.

Public collections

Adrian Hall's works are held in the following public collections around the world: * Arts Council of Great Britain, UK * Bathurst Regional Gallery, Australia * Contemporary Irish Art Society, Ireland * Derry City Council Collection, Northern Ireland * Hocken Library, University of Otago, New Zealand * Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, Ireland * National Art Gallery, New Zealand * New University of Coleraine, Northern Ireland * Northern Ireland Arts Council Collection, Northern Ireland * Tolly Cobbold Collection, UK * Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland * University of Auckland, New Zealand * University Collection, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland * University of Sydney, Australia * University of Western Australia, Australia * Seoul International Fine Arts Centre, Korea * National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, Limerick, Ireland * Auckland City Art Gallery, New ZealandAuckland Art Gallery
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Adrian 1943 births Living people British contemporary artists British conceptual artists British performance artists Art Students League of New York alumni Yale School of Art alumni British political artists 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors