Robin Klassnik

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 28 of January 1947 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

) is the founder and director of

Matt's Gallery Matt's Gallery is a contemporary art gallery currently located in Nine Elms at 6 Charles Clowes Walk, London, SW11 7AN. Its director, Robin Klassnik OBE, opened the gallery in 1979 on Martello Street, before moving premises to Copperfield Road, ...

Biography

Klassnik comes from a Jewish Lithuanian family that was forced to go into exile from South Africa. He moved to England in 1960, where he studied fine art at Hornsey College and Leicester College of Art. In 1968, he graduated and moved to London where he took up a Space studio at

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End of London, East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

. During this time, Klassnik’s practice moved from painting to sculpture, 8mm film and photography. Klassnik’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the ICA,

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

, and the

Paris Biennale The ''Biennale de Paris'' (English: Paris Biennale) is a noted French art festival, established in 1959. In 1983, the organization ceased functions, until its reestablishment in 2000 with the first exhibition of the new era occurring in 2004. T ...

. Notable projects of Klassnik’s include his collaboration ''Five Pheromones: The Incomplete Documentation'' with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Tom Clark.

Matt's Gallery

In 1971, Klassnik moved studios to Martello Street,

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 ...

, where he opened Matt’s Gallery, in 1979. Now located at Webster Road, Matt's Gallery has been described as ‘the most heroic art space in London’ and 'a little utopia'. The gallery represents twenty five artists, including

Susan Hiller Susan Hiller (March 7, 1940–January 28, 2019) was a US-born, British conceptual artist who lived in London, United Kingdom. Her practice spanned a broad range of media, including installation, video, photography, painting, sculpture, per ...

; Imogen Stidworthy, Nathaniel Mellors, Willie Doherty and Mike Nelson.

Teaching

Klassnik has taught at a variety of institutions throughout his career including at the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

;

Goldsmiths A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable ...

;

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

;

Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further education, further and higher educ ...

; 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 ...

;

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 of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

;

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

;

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

;

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

;

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

; Valands Konsthogskola, Sweden; and Statens Kunstakademi, Oslo. He was also a visiting professor at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Head of Complementary Studies at

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by Byam Shaw, John Liston Bya ...

Awards

In 1986, Klassnik was commended by 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). ...

for his contributions to contemporary art. In 1994, Klassnik was shortlisted for the Prudential/Arts Council Award for an individual contribution to innovation and creativity in the arts. In 2014, Klassnik was awarded an

for services to the visual arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klassnik, Robin 1947 births Living people Alumni of De Montfort University Alumni of Middlesex University Art gallery owners British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Directors of museums in the United Kingdom South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire