Peter McArdle
Encyclopedia
Peter McArdle is an English
artist, member of the Stuckists
art group and gallery owner.
. He finished St. Aidan's RC School, Tyneside, in 1983, at which point he began to get sales for his paintings, which have supported him since. He gained a National Diploma in Art and Design at Newcastle College
of Art and Design, 1983–85, then attended the University of Sunderland
, from which he graduated in 1992 with Honours in Fine Art, though commenting he got "my arse well and truly kicked for being a figurative painter." He did atelier
study with painter and poet Jeffrey Johnson
in London the following year, then had a series of solo shows at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery; most of his shows were sold out. From 1992, he showed at Mark Jason Fine Art in Bond Street
, London.
In 1989, he was on the shortlist for the Winsor & Newton
Young Artist Award. In 1997, during the Year of Visual Art, he was commissioned for work by the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation. He also received commissions from Arts Resource, Sunderland, and the City Council. From 1990, he participated also in group shows, including the Discerning Eye show at the Mall Galleries
, London.
In 2003 he founded The Gateshead
Stuckists
group as "a response to the Baltic
's nihilism", and was exhibited at the Stuckism International Gallery
. He was a featured artist in The Stuckists Punk Victorian
show at the Walker Art Gallery
for the 2004 Liverpool Biennial
, and was one of the ten "leading Stuckists" in Go West
at Spectrum London
gallery in 2006. In 2007, he was shown in I Won't Have Sex with You as Long as We're Married at the A Gallery
.
In 2007, he became Head of the Foundation course at Northumberland College, and Fine Art lecturer on the BA course there.
Peter is currently based in Tynemouth and works from his studio in North Shields.
He left the Stuckists in 2007.
(Brockdam Gallery closed in 2008)
He is a dedicated worker, and has painted seven days a week and starting as early as 4 a.m. He paints in oil with traditional glazing techniques, taking six months or more per painting, sometimes working with a 000 ("cat's whisker") sable brush. A burnt umber underpainting can have up to seventeen layers of glazing. He rejects a third of the finished paintings.
Images are mostly one or several figures in an empty room, often seemingly unaware of each other's presence, and given titles that are equally enigmatic. He has said that the images "hover on the frontier between the familiar and the enigmatic, addressing a range of contemporary issues. They are an endless and imperceptible moving to and fro between dream and reality", and also that they draw on his personal experience, as well as art history and mass media
popular culture
, acknowledging the difficulty of his work, which requires time and engagement from the viewer. He described On a Theme of Annunciation:
He was reviewed by Paul Clark in the Evening Standard
as "a top draughtsman with a funky fluid style" and in Art Review as someone who "augurs well for the future of British painting".
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, member of the Stuckists
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
art group and gallery owner.
Life and career
Peter McArdle was born in TynemouthTynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
. He finished St. Aidan's RC School, Tyneside, in 1983, at which point he began to get sales for his paintings, which have supported him since. He gained a National Diploma in Art and Design at Newcastle College
Newcastle College
Newcastle College is a Further Education and Higher Education college in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the largest mixed economy College in the country and claims to offer more courses in more subjects than any of its geographical competitors....
of Art and Design, 1983–85, then attended the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
, from which he graduated in 1992 with Honours in Fine Art, though commenting he got "my arse well and truly kicked for being a figurative painter." He did atelier
Atelier Method
Atelier is the French word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name...
study with painter and poet Jeffrey Johnson
Jeffrey Johnson
Jeffrey S. S. Johnson is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his role as Brady McDaniels in Letters to God.-Life:...
in London the following year, then had a series of solo shows at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery; most of his shows were sold out. From 1992, he showed at Mark Jason Fine Art in Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
, London.
Winsor & Newton
Winsor & Newton manufactures a wide variety of fine art products including: oils, alkyds, watercolours, acrylics, pastels, brushes, canvases, papers, portfolios, and distributes the Derwent pencil sets.-History:...
Young Artist Award. In 1997, during the Year of Visual Art, he was commissioned for work by the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation. He also received commissions from Arts Resource, Sunderland, and the City Council. From 1990, he participated also in group shows, including the Discerning Eye show at the Mall Galleries
Federation of British Artists
The Federation of British Artists consists of nine art societies, and is based at the Mall Galleries in London where the societies Annual Exhibitions are held. The societies represent living artists working in the UK who create contemporary figurative art...
, London.
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
Stuckists
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
group as "a response to the Baltic
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
's nihilism", and was exhibited at the Stuckism International Gallery
Stuckism International Gallery
The Stuckism International Gallery was the gallery of the Stuckist art movement. It was open 2002 to 2005 in Shoreditch, and run by Charles Thomson, the co-founder of Stuckism...
. He was a featured artist in The Stuckists Punk Victorian
The Stuckists Punk Victorian
The Stuckists Punk Victorian was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art. It was held at the Walker Art Gallery and Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool from 18 September 2004 to 20 February 2005, and was part of the 2004 Liverpool Biennial....
show at the Walker Art Gallery
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part...
for the 2004 Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial is a British international festival of contemporary art held in Liverpool. The festival comprises the International Exhibition, the John Moores Painting Prize, the Bloomberg New Contemporaries Exhibition and the Independents Biennial....
, and was one of the ten "leading Stuckists" in Go West
Go West (exhibition)
Go West is the title of the first exhibition by Stuckist artists in a commercial London West End gallery. It was staged in Spectrum London gallery in October 2006...
at Spectrum London
Spectrum London
Spectrum London was a London art gallery which showed contemporary figurative painting, photography and sculpture. It staged Go West, the first commercial West End show of the Stuckists, and a retrospective by Sebastian Horsley...
gallery in 2006. In 2007, he was shown in I Won't Have Sex with You as Long as We're Married at the A Gallery
A Gallery
The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott.The gallery was founded in 1997. Its first exhibit was by then-recent graduate Alison Jackson. In 2004, the gallery exhibited a sculpture by Marie White of a nude female; some members of the public complained...
.
In 2007, he became Head of the Foundation course at Northumberland College, and Fine Art lecturer on the BA course there.
Peter is currently based in Tynemouth and works from his studio in North Shields.
He left the Stuckists in 2007.
(Brockdam Gallery closed in 2008)
Art
Images are mostly one or several figures in an empty room, often seemingly unaware of each other's presence, and given titles that are equally enigmatic. He has said that the images "hover on the frontier between the familiar and the enigmatic, addressing a range of contemporary issues. They are an endless and imperceptible moving to and fro between dream and reality", and also that they draw on his personal experience, as well as art history and mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, acknowledging the difficulty of his work, which requires time and engagement from the viewer. He described On a Theme of Annunciation:
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
as "a top draughtsman with a funky fluid style" and in Art Review as someone who "augurs well for the future of British painting".
External links
- Peter McArdle's website
- The Stuckists Punk Victorian, Walker Gallery
- Stuckism
- Peter McArdle at A Gallery
- Peter McArdle at Spectrum London
- Peter McArdle at Llewellyn Alexander Gallery