Joseph Charles Tilson (24 August 1928 – 9 November 2023) was a British visual artist and

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

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

. He was involved in the Pop Art movement in the 1960s; he made paintings, prints and constructions.

Early life and education

Tilson was born in London on 24 August 1928. He was in the

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from 1946 to 1949. He studied at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, 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 beca ...

from 1949 until 1952, and then 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 ...

until 1955. In that year he received a Rome Prize to the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

, and went to Italy for two years. A still life from this period was included as one of the 'Young Artists of Promise' in Jack Beddington's book. He returned to London in 1957, and from 1958 to 1963 he taught at Central Saint Martin's, and subsequently taught at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, The

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in New York City and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg. In 1964 he exhibited at the 32nd Venice Biennale.

Career

During the 1960s Tilson became one of the leading figures associated with the British Pop Art movement. Making use of his previous experience as a carpenter and joiner, Tilson produced wooden reliefs and constructions as well as prints and paintings. As a student at the RCA Tilson he associated with

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R. B. Kitaj Ronald Brooks Kitaj (; October 29, 1932 – October 21, 2007) was an American artist who spent much of his life in England. Life He was born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, United States. His Hungarian father, Sigmund Benway, left his mother, Jeanne ...

, Peter Blake, Allen Jones,

Patrick Caulfield Patrick Joseph Caulfield, (29 January 1936 – 29 September 2005), was an English painter and printmaker known for his bold canvases, which often incorporated elements of photorealism within a pared-down scene. Examples of his work are ''Po ...

and

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

, among others. His first one-man show was held at the

Marlborough Gallery Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...

, London in 1962. In 1977 he joined the

Waddington Galleries Waddington Custot is a London-based art gallery specialising in modern and contemporary art. Formerly known as Waddington Galleries, it has been situated on Mayfair's Cork Street since 1958. History Waddington Galleries was founded in 1958 b ...

, and also exhibited at the Alan Cristea Gallery and the Giò Marconi Galleries in Milan. Tilson's work gained an international reputation when shown at the XXXII Venice Biennale in 1964, which led to a retrospective at the Boyman's Museum, Rotterdam in 1964. Further retrospective exhibitions followed at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1979 and the

Arnolfini Gallery Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...

, Bristol in 1984. Growing disillusionment with the consumer society led to a change in Tilson work in the 1970s. After moving to Wiltshire in 1972, Tilson began to use a wider variety of materials, including stone, straw and rope in an effort to transcend time and culture by drawing on the motifs of pre-Classical mythology. This body of work is called Alchera. Tilson's work was exhibited regularly in solo shows throughout the world: Cortona Centro Culturale Fontanella Borghese, Rome (1990), Plymouth City Museum (1991), Palazzo Pubblico, Siena (1995), Mestna Gallery, Ljubljana (1996) and Galleria Comunale d'Arte, Cesena (2000). In 2002, a major retrospective was held at the

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

, London. Among Tilson's awards were the Gulbenkian Foundation Prize (1960) and the Grand Prix d'Honneur, Biennale of Ljubljana (1996). He was a

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

and his career was celebrated with a retrospective exhibition in 2002 at the Royal Academy 'Joe Tilson: Pop to Present' (Sackler Galleries) from April 2002. He was also invited to paint the banner for the "Palio", Siena in 1996. In 2019, he was commissioned make an installation for the

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Pavilion at the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

inspired by his 'Stones of Venice' works. He also designed a limited-edition watch as part of the project. Tilson was elected an

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

(ARA) in 1985 and a full

(RA) in 1991.

Personal life and death

Tilson lived and worked in both London and Italy. He was married in Venice in 1956 to Joslyn Morton (b. 1934), and had three children:

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(b. 1958), Anna (b. 1959), and Sophy (b. 1965). Joe Tilson died on 9 November 2023, at the age of 95.

Exhibitions

Tilson's solo exhibitions include: * Marlborough Fine Art, London. Joe Tilson at 90 * Alan Cristea Gallery, London. Joe Tilson at 90 * Academician's Room, Royal Academy of Arts, London. Joe Tilson RA * 2016 Marlborough Fine Art, London. Tilson: The Stones of Venice, Marlborough Fine Art, London * 2016 Alan Cristea Gallery, London. Tilson, Words and Images: The Notebooks * 2013 Marlborough Fine Art, London. Joe Tilson : A Survey * 2012–13 University of Ljubljana * 2012 Bugno Art Gallery, Venice * 2009 Alan Cristea Gallery, London * 2008 Bugno Art Gallery, Venice * 2007 Waddington Galleries, London * 2006 Palazzo Doria, Loano (retrospective) * Menhir Arte Contemporanea, La Spezia * 2004 Beaux Arts Gallery, London * 2002 Royal Academy of Arts, London (retrospective) * Alan Cristea Gallery, London (prints) * Beaux Arts Gallery, London * 2001 Castelbasso, Abruzzo (retrospective) * Giò Marconi Gallery, Milan (retrospective) * 1999–2000 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, touring to Galleria Comunale d'Arte, Cesena and Pinacoteca Civica, Follonica * 1999 Peter Guyther Gallery, London * Theo Waddington, Boca Raton, Florida * Castello Doria, Porto Venere * 1998 Theo Waddington Fine Art, London * Marino alla Scala, Milan * 1997 Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana (prints retrospective) * 1996 Annandale Galleries, Sydney * Mestna Gallery, Ljubljana * 1995 Westend Galerie, Frankfurt * Palazzo Pubblico, Siena * Theo Waddington Fine Art, London * Alan Cristea Gallery, London * 1994 Pinacoteca, Macerata * Galleria Rotta, Genova * 1993 Multimedia, Brescia * Gio Marconi, Milan * Cooperativa Ceramica d'Imola * Heter A Hunermann Galerie GmbH, Düsseldorf * 1992 Extra Moemia, Todi * Waddington Graphics, London * Waddington Galleries, London * 1991 Plymouth City Museum * Tour Fromage, Aosta * Galerie Inge Baecker, Cologne * 1990 Centro Culturale Fontanella Borghese, Rome * Fortezza Medicea, Cortona * 1984 Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol (retrospective) * 1979 Vancouver Art Gallery (prints retrospective) * 1978 Tate Gallery, London (prints) * 1976 Marlborough Fine Art, Marlborough Graphics, London * 1971 Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (retrospective) touring to Belgium and Italy * Waddington Galleries, London * 1970 Marlborough New London Gallery, London * 1968 Galleria Ferrari, Verona * Galleria de'Foscherari, Bologna * Galerie Brusberg, Hanover * 1967 Galleria del Naviglio, Milan * Marlborough Galleria d'Arte, Rome * 1966 Marlborough New London Gallery, London * 1965 Kunstamt Renickendorf, Berlin * Stadt Museum, Recklinghausen * Kunstverein, Braunschweig * Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam * 1964 Marlborough New London Gallery, London * British Pavilion, XXXII Venice Biennale * Modern Galerija, Zagreb * 1963 Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne * Ferens Art Gallery, Hull * Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool * University Art Gallery, Nottingham * 1962 Marlborough New London Gallery

Collections

Tilson's art is held in public collections including the Tate Gallery, London; MoMA, New York and the Stedelijk, Amsterdam.

References

External links

Joe Tilson website – official
*

British Council, Venice Biennale participation 1964
* *
BBC 1969 Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilson, Joe 1928 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters English sculptors English male sculptors English contemporary artists British contemporary artists Royal Academicians 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists Painters from London