Ged Quinn
Encyclopedia
Ged Quinn is an English
artist. He studied at the Ruskin
in Oxford
, the Slade School of Art in London
, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
, and the Rijksakademie
in Amsterdam
.
He specialises in allegorical
paintings that include contemporary images (generally on controversial topics in Western cultural history
) in idyllic scenes based on classical
paintings such as the pastoral works of Claude Lorrain
and Caspar David Friedrich
.
For example, his Cross in the Wilderness introduces a miniature Spandau Prison
, the iconic jail for Nazi
war criminals, into a forest scene based on Der Chasseur im Walde by Friedrich, a leading painter in German Romanticism
. Another painting, Darkening of the Green, places the controversial HM Prison Maze
into a rural landscape.
Quinn has exhibited internationally in many shows including Language of the Wall at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ljubliania, Slovenia
, The Real Ideal at the Millennium Galleries
in Sheffield
, and Showcase at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh
. He was represented by Wilkinson Gallery and is now represented by Stephen Friedman Gallery in London.
Quinn was also the keyboard player in the Liverpool group The Wild Swans
. He was one of the three original core members, along with Paul Simpson and Jeremy Kelly, and played on their Zoo Records 12" single The Revolutionary Spirit/God Forbid released in 1982. He was also involved when the group reformed in 1986, although he left shortly afterwards to pursue his art career. A retrospective 2CD collection called Incandescent with Quinn appearing on all tracks, was released in 2003 by Renascent Records http://www.renascent.co.uk. However Quinn did not appear on either of the band's two albums for Sire Records later in the nineteen eighties.
In the interim between the Wild Swans Mks I and II he was also a member of another Liverpool band, The Lotus Eaters (new wave)
and co-wrote their hit single The First Picture Of You.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist. He studied at the Ruskin
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, known as The Ruskin, is an art school and research institute at the University of Oxford.Working collaboratively across two sites, the school provides undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in the study and production of visual art...
in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the Slade School of Art in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, formerly Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, is the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf. It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Demand, and Andreas Gursky...
, and the Rijksakademie
Rijksakademie
The Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten is a two-year residency for visual artists, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Funded by the Dutch government, residents are granted a stipend and are allotted a personal studio in the former military barracks building in which the Rijksakademie is housed...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
He specialises in allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
paintings that include contemporary images (generally on controversial topics in Western cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
) in idyllic scenes based on classical
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
paintings such as the pastoral works of Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French Claude Gellée, , dit le Lorrain) Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French...
and Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...
.
For example, his Cross in the Wilderness introduces a miniature Spandau Prison
Spandau Prison
Spandau Prison was a prison situated in the borough of Spandau in western Berlin, constructed in 1876 and demolished in 1987 after the death of its last prisoner, Rudolf Hess, to prevent it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine. The prison was near, though not part of, the Renaissance-era Spandau Citadel...
, the iconic jail for Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
war criminals, into a forest scene based on Der Chasseur im Walde by Friedrich, a leading painter in German Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. Another painting, Darkening of the Green, places the controversial HM Prison Maze
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
into a rural landscape.
Quinn has exhibited internationally in many shows including Language of the Wall at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ljubliania, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, The Real Ideal at the Millennium Galleries
Millennium Galleries
The Millennium Galleries is an art gallery in the City of Sheffield, England. Opened in April 2001 as part of Sheffield's Heart of the City project, it is located in the city centre close to the city library, Sheffield Hallam University, and the city's theatre district...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, and Showcase at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He was represented by Wilkinson Gallery and is now represented by Stephen Friedman Gallery in London.
Quinn was also the keyboard player in the Liverpool group The Wild Swans
The Wild Swans (band)
The Wild Swans are a post-punk band from Liverpool, England, which originally formed in 1980 shortly after Paul Simpson left The Teardrop Explodes and teamed up with Jeremy Kelly , Ged Quinn , James Weston and Justin Stavely...
. He was one of the three original core members, along with Paul Simpson and Jeremy Kelly, and played on their Zoo Records 12" single The Revolutionary Spirit/God Forbid released in 1982. He was also involved when the group reformed in 1986, although he left shortly afterwards to pursue his art career. A retrospective 2CD collection called Incandescent with Quinn appearing on all tracks, was released in 2003 by Renascent Records http://www.renascent.co.uk. However Quinn did not appear on either of the band's two albums for Sire Records later in the nineteen eighties.
In the interim between the Wild Swans Mks I and II he was also a member of another Liverpool band, The Lotus Eaters (new wave)
The Lotus Eaters (new wave)
The Lotus Eaters formed in 1982 in Liverpool, England. Their debut single "The First Picture of You", from their debut album, No Sense of Sin , became a hit in the UK and Europe, notably France, Italy and Spain.-History:...
and co-wrote their hit single The First Picture Of You.