Andrew Litten Explained

Andrew Litten
Education:Self-taught
Occupation:Artist
Birth Date:1970 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Aylesbury, England
Website:Andrew Litten Official

Andrew Litten is a Cornwall-based English artist born in 1970 in Aylesbury, UK.[1] [2] [3] His paintings have been exhibited in the United Kingdom, including the Tate Modern in London, China, USA, Germany, Australia,[4] Mexico,[5] Poland[6] and Italy.

Litten attended Amersham College of Art (now Amersham & Wycombe College) in his teens but found it claustrophobic and restricting so did not continue with higher art education. He is a self-taught painter and sculptor.[7]

He moved to Cornwall in 2001 and chose to begin exhibiting.[8] Early success came in 2003 when his work was included in an exhibition titled 'Nudes' in New York City, (along with Jacob Epstein and Pierre-Auguste Renoir) with a review in the New York Times.[9] [10] [11] In 2007 Litten had his first major London exhibition with "Dog Breeder" created as an anti-art statement on the absurdity of the contemporary art world and its hierarchies.[12] [13]

Recent work (since 2014) deals with humanistic themes such as social alienation, love, sensuality, fear, anger, loss, ageing, addiction, paranoia and other identity disturbance.[14] [15] His dynamic and gestural figurative paintings express a strong interest in the universal complexity of everyday existence.[16]

Early life

At the age of sixteen Litten began taking evening classes in life drawing, with an early interest in expressionist art.[17] [18] He then attended art college as a teenager but found it "restricting and claustrophobic" so left college with the intention of finding inspiration within commonplace life.[19] From 1990 to 1999, he created figurative representations of the ordinary and the everyday that often conveyed emotive poignancy.[20] Litten's paintings and assemblages at this time often referenced song titles, including 'Stepping Out' by The Fall, 'You Always Hurt The One You Love' by The Mills Brothers and 'Kitchen Person' by The Associates.[21]

His use of wit is a striking factor in his work at this time and is manifest in his choice of materials and their appropriateness to his subjects.[20] Joseph Clarke wrote "in Litten's past work, the addition of hair, stuffed creatures, staples, screws, the scraps of paper or board that the work was made on, often created formal as well as emotional shift; important vehicles for helping the strange message within to reveal itself and go to work on the viewer".[22] Often using humble domestic or found materials (including envelopes and assembled furniture parts) the work made at this time deliberately challenged ideas of art elitism and art as commodity.[23]

Retrospective exhibitions of Litten's early work have taken place at Royal Cornwall Museum and the Australia National University.[24] [25]

Litten lived in London in the 1990s and later moved to Oxford where he worked as a photographic assistant and visits to the studio of Richard Hamilton encouraged a renewed interest in painting.[26]

2000 to 2014

Litten moved to Cornwall in 2001 and began exhibiting with Dick The Dog and then Goldfish, along with other independent art spaces in Bristol.[27] His work at this time is considered to be highly emotional, subversive and haunting with subject matter that hints at both our animal impulses and spiritual yearnings.[22] [28] His figurative representations often appear ambiguously expressive and indefinite in sex.[29] During these years, Litten's subject matter deals with issues of voyeurism, dysfunctional sexual attachments and behaviors.[30] Litten's visual narratives at this time are questioning and considered to defy rather than define, with a likeness to the unpunctuated texts of Jack Kerouac.[31]

Dog Breeder

Dog Breeder (which incorporates paint with human hair) uses a subverted sexual subtext to convey a twisted anti-art statement that comments on the absurdity of the contemporary art world and its hierarchies.[32] [33] The subject refers to the control of the art dealer over artists, and this is represented by the depiction of four sexualised dog-like figures that are on heat and clustering around one large dominant dog human.[34] [35] Dog Breeder was first exhibited in London, Vyner Street during Frieze art week 2007 and then in Cornwall the following year where it was described as sick and depraved.[34] [36]

Recent Work

Litten's dynamic and gestural figurative paintings express interest in a wide range of humanistic themes such as love, sensuality, fear, anger, loss, addiction and personal growth.[37] [38] His large scale gestural and impasto paintings are raw and emotive with introspective tensions that expose the visceral identity of the human subconscious.[39] [40] In 2018 Litten's solo exhibition was developed with support by Arts Council England.[39] Litten's "Concerning the Fragile" works (2019 - 2020) deal with human fragility, beareavment and addiction intensified by the death of his wife, Emma, in 2019.[41]

Selected solo exhibitions

2023 - Connect, JD Malat Gallery, London, UK[42] [43] [44]

2021 - Fragile Together, JD Malat Gallery, London, UK[45]

2020 - Concerning the Fragile, Anima Mundi, St Ives UK[46]

2018 - Ordinary Bodies, Ordinary Bones, Anima Mundi, St Ives, UK[47]

2018 - Archive (selected works 1990-99), Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, UK[48] [49]

2018 - Impromptu, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, Australia[50]

2016 - Need, Patrick Davies Contemporary Art, Hertfordshire, UK[51]

2014 - I Wish You Ill And Hope You Suffer As Much As I Have, Spike Island, Bristol, UK[52] [53]

2013 - ID Smear, Motorcade / FlashParade, Bristol, UK[54]

2012 - Guest, L-13 Light Industrial Workshop, London[55]

2012 - ID Smear, Millennium Gallery St. Ives, UK[56]

2011 - This Is Real, Oo Gallery, New York, USA[57]

2008 - Paintings, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance, UK[58]

2007 - Connect ? Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance, UK[59]

2007 - Dog Breeder, Lime Wharf Space, London

Selected group exhibitions

2023 - X, Newcastle Contemporary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK[60]

2022 - Summer Exhibition, JD Malat Gallery, London, UK[61]

2022 - Vitalistic Fantasies, Elysium Gallery, Swansea, UK[62] [63]

2020 - Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, The Gallery, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK[64]

2017/18 - Contemporary Masters from Britain: 80 British Painters of the 21st Century, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts Museum, China,[65] [66] Jiangsu Art Gallery, Nanjing, China,[67] [68] Jiangsu Museum of Arts and Crafts (Artall), Nanjing, China, Yantai Art Museum, China.[69]

2017 - Anything Goes, Art Bermondsey Project Space, London.[70]

2016 - Sixty, Lubomirov / Angus Hughes Gallery, London.[71]

2013 - This Me Of Mine, Ipswich Art School Gallery, Suffolk Museums, Ipswich, UK.[72] [73] [74]

2012 - Kunstfaktor, Marzia Frozen, Berlin, Germany.[75]

2012 - Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection, Milwaukee Art Museum, USA.[76]

2011 - Afternoon Tea: Works On Paper, WW Gallery at the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy.[77]

2011 - Concrete Skin, BHVU Gallery, London.[78]

2010 - No Soul For Sale / Exhibition #2, Museum of Everything at the Tate Modern, London.[79]

2009 - The Figure Show, Jill George Gallery, London.[80]

2008 - Mixed / No Theme, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance, UK.[81]

2007 - Art Now Cornwall ? Goldfish fine Art, Penzance, UK.[82]

2003 - Nudes, Galerie Pelar, New York City, USA.[83]

2002 - Entry, Dick The Dog, Penzance, UK.[84]

Selected publications

The main publications of Litten's work are: ID Smear,[85] Paintings (edited by Joseph Clarke)Connect? [86] Free Range (edited by Joseph Clarke)[87] Ordinary Bodies[88] Everyday Means.[89] His artwork has been used for cover images by publishers Faber and Faber (Plays by David Farr)[90] Bloodaxe Books (Poems by Jane Griffiths)[91] and also within various art publications.[92] [93] L-13 Light Industrial Workshop produced a limited edition hand printed book with Litten in 2012.[94]

Collections

Milwaukee Art Museum, USA

The Priseman Seabrook Collection, UK[95]

Museum of Everything Exhibition #2

Falmouth Art Gallery Collection[96]

Personal Information

Litten has lived in Fowey, Cornwall UK since 2001, he was married to Emma Neame from the four generations of the Neame family in the film business, Emma died in 2019.[97] [98] He is a nominated member of the Newlyn Society of Artists and Contemporary British Painting group.[99]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andrew Litten Milwaukee Art Museum. collection.mam.org. 2017-09-22.
  2. Book: Accidental genius: art from the Anthony Petullo collection. 2012. Milwaukee Art Museum . Andera, Margaret . Stone, Lisa . 978-3-7913-5200-8. 1st. Milwaukee, WI. 756180953.
  3. News: Penzance turns regeneration into a fine art. Wade. Alex. 2008-04-13. The Observer. 2017-09-29. en-GB. 0029-7712.
  4. Web site: Impromptu. ANU Drill Hall Gallery. 2018. 2018-05-24.
  5. Web site: Zona Maco. Artland. 2020-03-12.
  6. Jia. Huiming. 2017. Contemporary Masters from Britain. World Art 世界美术. 2017/4. 1000-8683.
  7. Web site: Andrew Litten. Newlyn Society Of Artists. 2020-03-12.
  8. Web site: Andrew Litten. Newlyn Society Of Artists. 2020-03-12.
  9. News: The Timeless Beauty Of The Human Body. New York Times. 2020-03-12.
  10. Web site: The Universal Complexity Of Everyday Existence. 18 May 2018. On Art And Aesthetics. 2020-03-12.
  11. Web site: Andrew Litten. Cornwall Artists Index. 2020-03-12.
  12. Web site: Andrew Litten Newlyn Society of Artists. www.nsanewlyn.com. en. 2017-09-29.
  13. Web site: Andrew Litten. ArtSlant. 2017-09-29.
  14. Web site: Anything Goes. Art Bermondsey. 27 July 2017. 29 September 2017.
  15. Web site: Raw Paintings By Andrew Litten. 2018. 2018-06-15.
  16. Web site: The Universal Complexity of Everyday Existence. On Art And Aesthetics. 2018. 2018-06-15.
  17. Web site: Andrew Litten. Cornwall Artists Index . 2018-03-01.
  18. Web site: Collection . Milwaukee Art Museum . 2012 . 2018-03-01.
  19. Web site: Everyday Means-Artists Notes. Royal Cornwall Museum . 2018 . 2018-03-01.
  20. Web site: Everyday Means-Jane Griffiths. Royal Cornwall Museum . 2018 . 2018-03-01.
  21. Web site: Archive. Royal Cornwall Museum. 2018. 2018-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054337/https://www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk/exhibition/archive-selected-works-1990-99-andrew-litten. 2018-05-18.
  22. Web site: Paintings . Goldfish Fine Art . 2018 . 2018-03-08.
  23. Web site: Andrew Litten . Anima Mundi . 2018 . 2018-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322204739/https://www.anima-mundi.co.uk/andrewlitten . 22 March 2018 .
  24. Web site: Archive Selected Works 1990-99 . Royal Cornwall Museum . 2018 . 2018-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054337/https://www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk/exhibition/archive-selected-works-1990-99-andrew-litten . 2018-05-18 .
  25. Web site: Impromptu. ANU Drill Hall Gallery. 2018. 2018-05-17.
  26. Book: ID Smear. Millennium . 978-1-905772-50-6 . 2012 . 2020-01-02.
  27. Web site: Collection . Milwaukee Art Museum . 2012 . 2018-03-08.
  28. Web site: Andrew Litten . Artlyst . 2014 . 2018-03-08.
  29. Web site: Nudes . https://archive.today/20130216150627/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/13/nyregion/art-reviews-the-timeless-beauty-of-the-human-body.html . 2013-02-16 . New York Times . 2003 . 2018-03-08.
  30. Web site: Andrew Litten . NSA . 2008 . 2018-03-22.
  31. Web site: Paintings . Art Cornwall . 2008 . 2018-03-08.
  32. Web site: Andrew Litten . Anima Mundi . 2018 . 2018-03-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322204739/https://www.anima-mundi.co.uk/andrewlitten . 22 March 2018 .
  33. Web site: Andrew Litten . Newlyn Society Of Artists . 2018 . 2018-03-30.
  34. Web site: Directory . Cornwall Artists Index . 2012 . 2018-03-30.
  35. Web site: Andrew Litten Dog Breeder . Art Wall . 2013 . 2018-03-30.
  36. Web site: Mixed/No Theme . Art Cornwall . 2008 . 2018-03-30.
  37. Web site: Anything Goes. Bermonsdey Arts Project . 2017 . 2018-05-04.
  38. Web site: Andrew Litten . Anima Mundi . 2018 . 2018-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322204739/https://www.anima-mundi.co.uk/andrewlitten . 22 March 2018 .
  39. Web site: Ordinary Bodies Ordinary Bones. Art Rabbit . 2018 . 2018-05-04.
  40. Web site: Andrew Litten. Patrick Davies CA . 2016 . 2018-05-04.
  41. Web site: McNay . Anna . Andrew Litten – interview: 'I like the feeling that my work is emotionally varied and full of raw nerves' . 2023-05-27 . www.studiointernational.com . en.
  42. Web site: Andrew Litten: Connect 9 March - 8 April 2023 . 2023-05-27 . JD Malat Gallery . en.
  43. Web site: Andrew Litten: Connect . 2023-05-27 . www.newexhibitions.com.
  44. Book: JD Malat . Andrew Litten: Connect . JD Malat . 2023 . London.
  45. Web site: Hastings . Sophie . 2021-06-03 . Fragile Together: Andrew Litten's first London solo show is worth the wait . 2023-05-27 . British GQ . en-GB.
  46. Web site: Exhibition - Andrew Litten 'Concerning the Fragile' . 2023-05-27 . ANIMA MUNDI . en-GB.
  47. Web site: Exhibition - Andrew Litten 'Ordinary Bodies, Ordinary Bones' . 2023-05-27 . ANIMA MUNDI . en-GB.
  48. Web site: ArtFacts . Archive (selected works 1990-99) Exhibition . 2023-05-27 . ArtFacts . en.
  49. Web site: Archive (selected works 1990-99) by Andrew Litten - Exhibition at Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro . 2023-05-27 . ArtRabbit . en.
  50. Web site: 2018-05-01 . Andrew Litten Public Exhibition opens at Drill Hall Gallery, Australia . 2023-05-27 . ANIMA MUNDI . en-GB.
  51. Web site: Exhibitions Detail . Patrick Davies Contemporary Art. www.patrickdaviesca.com. en. 2017-09-30.
  52. Web site: I WISH YOU ILL AND HOPE YOU SUFFER AS MUCH AS I HAVE - Andrew Litten. oneartyminute.com. fr. 2017-09-22. 22 August 2014.
  53. Web site: I Wish You Ill, Spike Island. Spike Island. 22 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170929183843/http://www.spikeisland.org.uk/blogs/2014/08/27/andrew-litten/. 29 September 2017.
  54. Web site: I D SMEAR. www.motorcadeflashparade.com. 2017-09-22.
  55. Web site: Guest, L13 Light Industrial Workshop. Patrick Davies Contemporary Art. 22 September 2017.
  56. Web site: ID Smear, Millenium Gallery. Abstract Artists Group. 22 September 2017.
  57. Web site: Andrew Litten. Art Facts . 2018 . 2018-05-24.
  58. Book: Andrew Litton paintings.. 2008. Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art . 978-1-905772-17-9. Penzance. 258889217.
  59. Web site: Connect ? exhibition . Art Rabit . 2007 . 2018-02-22.
  60. Web site: X . 2023-05-27 . Newcastle Contemporary Art . en-GB.
  61. Web site: Summer Exhibition 2022 25 July - 3 September 2022 . 2023-05-27 . JD Malat Gallery . en.
  62. Web site: Vitalistic Fantasies Exhibitions MutualArt . 2023-05-27 . www.elysiumgallery.com . en.
  63. Web site: 2022-06-04 . Vitalistic Fantasies . 2023-05-27 . Elysium Gallery . en-US.
  64. Web site: Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing... Exhibitions MutualArt . 2023-05-27 . thegallery.dmu.ac.uk . en.
  65. News: Exhibitions - Priseman Seabrook Collections. Priseman Seabrook Collections. 2017-07-27. en-GB.
  66. Web site: 展览-天津美术学院. www.tjarts.edu.cn. 2017-07-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728161904/http://www.tjarts.edu.cn/index/zljz/zl.htm. 2017-07-28.
  67. Web site: Contemporary Masters from Britain Ehryn Torrell Axisweb. Axisweb. 2017-07-27.
  68. Web site: 江苏省美术馆. www.jsmsg.com. 2017-07-27.
  69. Web site: Yantai Art Museum, Contemporary British Masters. 27 July 2017. 27 Jul 2017.
  70. News: Anything Goes? Contemporary British Painting - Art Bermondsey Project Space. Art Bermondsey Project Space. 2017-09-29. en-US.
  71. Web site: SIXTY - www.lubomirov-angus-hughes.com. www.lubomirov-angus-hughes.com. 2017-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20161101112219/http://lubomirov-angus-hughes.com/SIXTY. 2016-11-01.
  72. News: THIS ME OF MINE Goes to Ipswich. 2017-09-22.
  73. Web site: This 'Me' of Mine: Self, Time and Context in the Digital Age BlueInk Review. www.blueinkreview.com. en-US. 2017-09-29.
  74. Web site: ThisMeofMine. YouTube. en. 2017-09-29.
  75. Web site: Silvia Canton peinture et art. silviacanton.it. en. 2017-09-28.
  76. Web site: Accidental Genius Milwaukee Art Museum. mam.org. en. 2017-09-28.
  77. Web site: Afternoon Tea at WW Gallery, Venice Biennale. WW Contemporary Art. 2017-09-22.
  78. Web site: Concrete Skin Exhibition. BHVU Gallery . 2011 . 2018-02-19.
  79. Web site: The Museum of Everything. www.musevery.com. 2017-09-29.
  80. Web site: The Figure Show. 2017-10-04.
  81. Web site: Art Cornwall. 2008. 2017-10-04.
  82. Web site: Art Cornwall. 2007. 2018-02-22.
  83. News: New York Times, Art Review. July 2003. 2017-10-04. The New York Times. Harrison. Helen A..
  84. Web site: ArtFacts. 2018-02-22.
  85. Book: Andrew Litten: ID smear . Millennium. St Ives . 2012 . 777403150.
  86. Book: Litten, Andrew. Connect?. Goldfish Fine Art. 2007. 978-1-905772-09-4.
  87. Book: Litten, Andrew. [Free range]. 2006. Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art. Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art.. 978-0-9548460-8-4. Penzance. 137307869.
  88. Book: Litten, Andrew. Andrew Litten: Ordinary Bodies. Goldfish Contemporary Fine Art. 2005. 0-9548460-3-6.
  89. Book: Everyday Means. Royal Cornwall Museum . 978-1-5272-1994-6 . 2018 . 2018-02-19.
  90. Book: Farr, David. Plays One. 2005. Faber and Faber. 978-0-571-22898-0. London. 59877295.
  91. Book: Silent in Finisterre. 2017. Bloodaxe Books. 978-1-78037-356-0.
  92. Web site: International Painting Annual. Manifest Ohio . 2016 . 2017-10-27.
  93. Web site: The Musings Of Creatures Imagined In A Barren Land. Falmouth Art Gallery . 2016 . 2017-10-27.
  94. Web site: Guest . L-13 London . 2012 . 2017-10-27.
  95. Web site: Priseman Seabrook Collection of 21st century British Painting. 2016-07-13.
  96. Web site: FAMAG 2016.5 Litten, Andrew: widow, signed and dated 1990, mixed media on board, 40 x 44cms [sic]. The Permanent Collection Falmouth Art Gallery]. www.falmouthartgallery.com. en. 2017-09-30.
  97. Web site: Christopher Neame Biography. . 2018-05-17.
  98. Web site: Gareth Neame Biography. . 2018-05-17.
  99. Web site: Andrew Litten. Newlyn Society of artists. 2018-05-17.

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