Stephen Snoddy (born 1959) is a British artist and gallery director.

Career

Snoddy trained as a painter at Belfast College of Art where he graduated in 1983 with an MA in fine art. Snoddy moved to Manchester in 1986 and graduated with a

Postgraduate Diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

in Art Gallery & Museum Studies from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1987 and then moved to Bristol to become Exhibitions Organiser at

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 ...

. He worked from 1987 to 1991 on an exhibition programme that included solo exhibitions by Richard Long, Giuseppe Penone,

Gillian Ayres Gillian Ayres (3 February 1930 – 11 April 2018) was an English painter. She is best known for abstract painting and printmaking using vibrant colours, which earned her a Turner Prize nomination. Early life and education Gillian Ayres was bo ...

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British ...

, Vong Phaophanit,

Jannis Kounellis Jannis Kounellis (; 23 March 1936 – 16 February 2017) was a Greek Italian artist based in Rome. A key figure associated with Arte Povera, he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Life and work Kounellis was born in Piraeus, Greece i ...

: ''Drawings'', Jack B. Yeats: ''The Late Works'' (which toured to the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Haags Gemeentemuseum) and the first solo exhibition of Juan Muñoz in the UK. In 1991, Snoddy became Exhibitions Director of Cornerhouse, Manchester, where he and other city curators established the Manchester Gallery Consortium when 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 Royal ...

brought the

British Art Show The British Art Show (BAS) is a major survey exhibition organised every five years to showcase contemporary British Art. Each time it is organised, the show tours to four UK cities. It usually requires a number of venues in each city to accommo ...

4 to the city in 1995. He also organised such shows as the first

John Baldessari John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a paint ...

European Retrospective toured to the Serpentine Gallery, London and onwards onto a European tour; a

Bruce McLean Bruce McLean (born 1944) is a Scottish sculptor, performance artist and painter. McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, from 1963 to 1966. At Saint Martin ...

film commission; ''Sublime: Manchester Music and Design'';

Edward Allington Edward Thomas Allington (24 June 1951 – 21 September 2017) was a British artist and sculptor, best known for his part in the 1980s New British Sculpture movement. Born at Troutbeck Bridge, Westmorland, to Ralph Allington and his wife, Evely ...

;

Jochen Gerz Jochen Gerz (born 4 April 1940) is a German conceptual artist who lived in France from 1966 to 2007. His work involves the relationship between art and life, history and memory, and deals with concepts such as culture, society, public space, parti ...

;

Annette Messager Annette Messager (born 30 November 1943) is a French visual artist. She is known for championing the techniques and materials of outsider art. In 2005, she won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale for her artwork at the French pavilion, F ...

: Telling Tales'; Rita Donagh Retrospective; Paul Seawright: ''Sectarian Murder'' and ''Unveiled: Possibilities in Abstract Painting'' exhibitions. In 1996, he moved to become Director of

Southampton City Art Gallery The Southampton City Art Gallery is an art gallery in Southampton, southern England. It is located in the Civic Centre on Commercial Road. The gallery opened in 1939 with much of the initial funding from the gallery coming from two bequests, o ...

, where he and later

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore, and to promote the public appreciation of sculpt ...

director Godfrey Worsdale organised the 1998

Chris Ofili Christopher Ofili, (born 10 October 1968) is a British painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was Turner Prize-winner and one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in ...

solo exhibition, which helped secure Ofili the 1998

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). ...

, and an exchange of collections with the Bilbao Museum of Fine Art, to coincide with the opening of the new

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

-designed

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish a ...

. He made acquisitions for the collection included works by

John Hoyland John Hoyland RA (12 October 1934 – 31 July 2011) was a London-based British artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters. Early life John Hoyland was born on 12 October 1934, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, to a working-class fami ...

Fiona Rae Fiona Rae (born 10 October 1963) is a Hong Kong-born British artist. She is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who rose to prominence in the 1990s. Throughout her career, she has been known for having a portfolio of work that includes ele ...

, Chris Ofili,

Douglas Gordon Douglas Gordon (born 20 September 1966) is a Scottish artist. He won the Turner Prize in 1996, the Premio 2000 at the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the Hugo Boss Prize in 1998. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Work Much of Gordon's ...

and Julian Opie. In the spring of 1998, he moved to Milton Keynes as founder-director during the construction of a brand new gallery as part of the £30 million Milton Keynes Theatre and Gallery complex.

Milton Keynes Gallery Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in ...

(then MK G, now MK Gallery) opened on 8 October 1999 with 'The Rudimentary Pictures', an exhibition of 33 new works by Gilbert & George. There were also exhibitions of Richard Hamilton,

Sigmar Polke Sigmar Polke (13 February 1941 – 10 June 2010) was a German painter and photographer. Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matters and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s, ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Juergen Teller Juergen Teller (born 28 January 1964) is a German fine-art and fashion photographer. He was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and received the Special Presentation International Center of Photography Infinity Award in 2018. M ...

Tim Noble and Sue Webster Timothy Noble (born 1966) and Susan Webster (born 1967), are British artists who work as a collaborative duo. They are associated with the Post-YBAs, post-YBA generation of artists. Early lives and careers Noble and Webster attended fine art ...

, Richard Wright,

Abigail Lane Abigail Lane (born 1967) is an English artist who works in photography, wax casting, printing and sound. Lane was one of the exhibitors in the 1988 Damien Hirst-led Freeze exhibition—a mixed show of art which was significant in the development ...

, ''Air Guitar: Contemporary Art and Rock Music'' and ''The Temple of Bacchus'', (

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged in 1988. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, sculpture, collage and found object ...

with Colin Lowe and Roddy Thompson). In October 2003 at the inaugural Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park, London MK G had a stand which remains the only time a publicly funded art gallery in the UK has had a stand at the FAF. In December 2003, Snoddy became Director of the BALTIC where he made organisational and structural changes, refreshed the programme and engaged with artists of the region. He was responsible for commissioning Bob and Roberta Smith to create an exhibition in response to the Labour Party Spring Conference of 2004 at the neighbouring the Sage, Gateshead, as well as programming an

Edward Kienholz Edward Ralph Kienholz (October 23, 1927 – June 10, 1994) was an American Installation art, installation artist and assemblage (art), assemblage sculptor whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled ...

retrospective and the first exhibition of the Italian artist

Carol Rama Carol Rama (born Olga Carolina Rama; 17 April 1918 – 25 September 2015) was an Italian self-taught artist. Her painting encompassed an erotic, and sexual identity with specific references to female sensuality. She began to paint around the m ...

in the UK. In January 2005, he began to work on freelance projects, acted as consultant to various organisations, lectured at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

and continued to be on the VAGA Executive Board. Snoddy was also appointed in February 2005 as Director of the inaugural Contemporary Art Norwich (CAN05), a multi venued exhibition project, (incorporating the open exhibition EAST) in the city of Norwich during the Summer of 2005. In May 2005, Snoddy was appointed as Director of The New Art Gallery, Walsall, where he has reviewed policies, restructured the organisation, enabled an acquisitions budget for contemporary art, opened a new 4th floor gallery, expanded the Library & Archive, developed a new sculpture terrace and increased visitor figures annually since 2005 when they were 120,000: in 2010 they reached 201,000. Exhibitions have included 'Starstruck: Contemporary Art and Celebrity'; Christopher Le Brun retrospective; Stuart Whipps - Longbridge Project; Richard Billingham: The Black Country; Jane & Louise Wilson; John Davies: A British Landscape; 'Reimagining Asia', John M. Pickering, Antoinette Haechler, Frank Sidney Smith and 'The Life of the Mind', curated by Bob and Roberta Smith and

Zarina Bhimji Zarina Bhimji (born 1963) is a Ugandan Indian photographer, based in London. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2007, exhibited at Documenta 11 in 2002, and is represented in the public collections of Tate, the Museum of Contemporary Ar ...

. The New Art Gallery was also one of the 12 launch venues for Artists' Rooms, (Anthony d'Offay's gift/sale of contemporary art to the nation) and exhibited 52 early

drawings. From 6 October 2012 the NAG exhibited Damien Hirst, for a year-long display. The gallery attracted 236,000 visitors during the year, almost equalling the record set in its opening year. In 2006, Snoddy was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Previously he has been a Director of The

New Contemporaries New Contemporaries is an organisation in the UK that works to support emerging artists at the beginning of their careers by introducing them to the visual arts sector and to the public through a variety of platforms, including an annual exhibit ...

and was on the Visual Arts Committee of 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 lang ...

for 10 years, taught at numerous art colleges as a visiting lecturer and was on the working committee for the National Policy for Collecting Contemporary Art and Turning Point ACE West Midlands area group. In 2007, along with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and

Ikon Gallery The Ikon Gallery () is an England, English art gallery, gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Listed building, Grade II listed, neo-Gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henr ...

, Birmingham who joined to become the West Midlands Consortium they are one of 5 consortium's in the UK to be awarded the £1 million Art Fund International award to purchase international contemporary art over the following 5 years, under the theme of the Metropolis - an interim exhibition ''Metropolis'' of acquisitions was launched in the Autumn of 2010. In 2009 he was a judge for the National Portrait Gallery, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize which subsequently toured the UK. In 2009, Snoddy was the Curator for the ''Art of Ideas'' in Birmingham. He is a Patron of Walsall College, a former Board member of Lichfield Festival, ' Pestival' and 'The Campaign for Drawing', and was on the Selection Committee for 'Artists Taking the Lead' in the North West of England and was a curatorial advisor working on Anthony McCall's ''Column'' for Wirral Waters, intended to be a part of the

2012 Cultural Olympiad The 2012 Cultural Olympiad was a programme of cultural events across the United Kingdom that accompanied the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics. It included 500 events nationwide throughout the UK, spread over four years and culmina ...

, but which was the only 'Artists Taking the Lead' project which was not realised. He was Director of Look11, the Liverpool International Festival of Photography and Photography, the first photography festival to be staged in Liverpool, during Liverpool's Year of Social Justice and City of Radicals in 2011. In 2011, at the invitation of the British Council, Snoddy visited Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories to advise on the development of a potential new Palestinian Museum of Art and on a future collections policy and exhibitions strategy. Snoddy curated a 2012 exhibition, ''Wandering Rocks'', selected from the Leytonstone Art Trail at The Stone Space, Leytonstone. ''Wandering Rocks'' is episode ten of James Joyce's ''Ulysses'', and consists of nineteen short views of characters as they make their way round Dublin in the afternoon. He was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Ulster Academy at the opening of the RUA Annual Exhibition at the Ulster Museum in Oct 2018 and in 2019 was appointed as a visiting professor at

Manchester School of Art Manchester School of Art on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second-oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded ...

Work as an artist

Snoddy appeared on

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...

's, One & Other project at Trafalgar Square in August 2009 where he collaborated with

Bob and Roberta Smith Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

on realising an art work for the fourth plinth. In addition to his career as a museum director, Snoddy has made abstract paintings. He is a member of the artist collective Contemporary British Painting and has received solo exhibitions of his work at The Roberto Polo Gallery, Brussels, 2016, The Artist Workhouse, 2016 The Rabley Drawing Centre, 2016 and Southampton City Art Gallery, 2017

Collections

Paintings by Snoddy are held by the following collections: *Southampton City Art Gallery *CORPO, Spain *Frank Cohen Collection *Hertfordshire Education Authority *Lisburn Borough Council *

The Priseman Seabrook Collection The Priseman Seabrook Collection is a British-based private collection founded by the artist Robert Priseman and his wife Ally Seabrook. It is composed of three distinct categories: 21st Century British Painting, 20th and 21st Century British Work ...

References

General references

* Interview in ''Museums Journal,'' January 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Snoddy, Stephen 1959 births Living people People from County Antrim Alumni of Ulster University Alumni of the University of Manchester British curators Directors of museums in the United Kingdom Academics of Manchester Metropolitan University Date of birth missing (living people)