John Hoyland (1934–2011) was a London-based British artist and one of the country’s leading abstract painters. His vibrant use of color in producing abstractions oscillated between depth and flatness, creating a dynamic visual experience.
Early Life:
Born on October 12, 1934, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Hoyland hailed from a working-class family.
His artistic journey began at the Sheffield School of Art and Crafts, where he studied within the junior art department (1946–51).
He later progressed to the Sheffield College of Art (1951–56) and then attended the Royal Academy Schools in London (1956–60).
Interestingly, Sir Charles Wheeler, the then President of the Royal Academy, initially ordered that Hoyland’s abstract paintings be removed from the walls of the Diploma Galleries.
However intervention by Peter Greenham saved the day, emphasizing that Hoyland could indeed "paint properly" based on his admired landscapes and figurative works.
Career Highlights:
The 1960s were pivotal for Hoyland. In 1960, he held the first of three annual London shows featuring large abstract pictures, aiming to fill the viewer’s field of vision. These exhibitions were dubbed “Situation” (short for “Situation in London now”).In 1964, he made his first trip to New York, where he met artists like Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman. This visit greatly influenced his artistic development.
Hoyland’s work during this period was characterized by simple shapes, high-key color, and a flat picture surface. However in the 1970s his paintings became more textured.
Steeped in the aesthetic teachings of Hans Hofmann, Hoyland's art wavered between depth and flatness, creating a captivivating tension.
His first solo exhibition took place at the Marlborough New London Gallery in 1964.
The Whitechapel Art Gallery hosted his first solo museum show in 1967, curated by Bryan Robertson.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Hoyland exhibited at the Waddington Galleries in London.
His impact extended beyond the UK as he also showcased his paintings in New York City art galleries like the Robert Elkon Gallery and The Andre Emmerich Gallery
John Hoyland’s legacy lies in his bold exploration of color, form, and texture, making him a prominent figure in the world of abstract art
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1964
Marlborough New London Gallery, London
1965
Chelsea School of Art, London
1967
Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
Galerie Heiner Friedrich, Munich
Robert Elkon Gallery, New York
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
Waddington Galleries, London
Waddington Fine Art, Montreal
1968
Robert Elkon Gallery, New York
Waddington Fine Art, Montreal
1969
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Waddington Galleries, London
Leslie Waddington Prints, London
1970
Waddington Galleries, London
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Galleria dell’Ariete, Milan
1971
Waddington Galleries, London
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Waddington Fine Art, Montreal
1972
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Harcas Krakow Gallery, Boston
Picker Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York
1973
Waddington Galleries, London
Galleria l’Approdo, Turin
1974
Studio la Città, Verona
Waddington Galleries, London
Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles
1975
Kingpitcher Gallery, Pittsburgh
Galleria E. Bolzano, Italy
Rubiner Gallery, Detroit, Michigan
Waddington Galleries, London
Waddington Fine Art, Montreal
1976
Waddington Galleries, London (paintings 1966-68)
Galleria La Bertesca, Milan
Studio la Città, Verona
1976-77
Galeria Modulo, Lisbon
1978
Waddington Galleries, Montreal
Waddington and Tooth Galleries, New York
1979
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Waddington Fine Art, Toronto
Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York (works on paper)
Art Contact, Coconut Grove, Florida
1979-80
Serpentine Gallery, London (Retrospective; touring to Birmingham and Sheffield)
1980
University Gallery, University of Melbourne (touring to Adelaide and Sydney)
Galerie von Braunbehrens, Munich
Galerie Krammer, Hamburg
1981
Gump’s Gallery, San Francisco
Waddington Galleries, London
1982
Jacobson/Hochman Gallery, New York
Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Los AngelesCompass Gallery, Glasgow
1983
Waddington Galleries, London
Waddington Graphics, London
1983-84
Hokin/Kaufman Gallery, Chicago
1984
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
1985
Waddington Galleries, London
1986
Waddington & Shiell Galleries, Toronto (ceramics and paintings)
1987
Waddington Galleries, London
Oxford Gallery, Oxford
Lever/Meyerson Gallery, New York
1988
Erika Meyerovich Gallery, San Francisco
Edward Thorden Gallery, Gothenburg
1990
Austin/Desmond Fine Art, London (prints)
Waddington Galleries, London
1991
Eva Cohon Gallery, Chicago
1992
Galerie Josine Bokhoven, Amsterdam (drawings)
Graham Modern Gallery, New York
1994
Annendale Gallery, Sydney, Australia
CCA Gallery London, ‘New Ceramics’
1995
Theo Waddington, London
1996
Carlow Arts Festival, Ireland
1999
Galerie Fine, London
Royal Academy of Arts, London (Retrospective)
2000
Galerie Josine Bokhoven, Amsterdam
University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
2001
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield (Retrospective)
Galleri Christian Dam, Oslo, Norway
Nevill Keating Pictures, London
Beaux Arts, London
2003
Beaux Arts, London
2005
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro, Cornwall
2006
Beaux Arts, London
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro, Cornwall
Tate St Ives
Michael Carr Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2007
Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland
Gallery Aalders, La Garde Freinet, France
2008
Beaux Arts, London
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro
Nevill Keating Pictures, London
Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London
2009
Galerie White8, Vienna
Alan Wheatley Art, London
Beaux Arts, London
2010
Lemon St Gallery, Truro
2011
Beaux Arts, London
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015
John Hoyland : Power Stations (Paintings 1964–1982) Newport Street Gallery, London
2017
John Hoyland : Stain Paintings 1964-1966 Pace Gallery, New York
2019
John Hoyland : Spotlight, Tate Britain, London
2021
John Hoyland :The Last Paintings. Millennium Gallery, Sheffield
King of Misrule : John Hoyland Paintings from the 80s, Clifford Chance, London
Frieze Art Fair, London. Hales Gallery
John Hoyland : Relentless Rhythm, Prints from the 80s and 90s Eames Fine Art, London
2022
John Hoyland : Flames Like Rainbows. Hales London
Selected Joint Exhibitions
1969
São Paulo Biennale, Brazil (with Anthony Caro)
1972
Leslie Waddington Prints, London (with Jules Olitski)
1979
Waddington Graphics, London (with Gordon House)
1980
Van Straaten Gallery, Chicago (with John Walker)
1981
Hokin Gallery, Miami (with Joe Tilson)
1994
‘John Hoyland and Anthony Caro, from the 60s to the 90s’, Galerie Josine Bokhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
2007
Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London (with Andy Stewart)
2017
Art Catto, Conrad Algarve, Free Forms, Portugal. (with Jeff Lowe)
Selected Group Exhibitions
1959-60
‘Young Contemporaries’, RBA Gallery, London
1960-61
‘Situation’ exhibitions, RBA Gallery, London, and Marlborough New London Gallery
1962
‘Nine Painters from England’, Galleria Trastevere, Rome
1962-63
‘British Art Today’, San Francisco Museum of Art (touring to Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art; Santa Barbara Museum of Art)
1963
7th Tokyo Biennial
1964
‘The New Generation: 1964’, Whitechapel Gallery, London
1965
‘The English Eye’, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York
1966-67
‘Aspects of New British Art’, Arts Council exhibition (touring to New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania)
1968
‘The New Generation: 1968’ (Interim: April–May), Whitechapel Gallery, London
Junge Generation Großbritannien’, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1970-71
‘British Painting and Sculpture 1960-1970’, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1974
‘Some Significant British Artists 1950-70’, Rutland Gallery, London
1982
‘Aspects of British Art Today’, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (touring to Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Utsunomiya; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo)
1983
‘Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art, Part 1’, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
1991
‘Affinities in Paint’, Crane Gallery, London
1992
Galerie zur alten Deutschen Schule, Switzerland
Peter Stuyvesant Foundation: Kunst Werkt Artworks (touring Holland, Spain and France)
Arts Council Collection, Royal Festival Hall (paintings from the 1960s; touring UK)
Redfern Gallery, London (with Robyn Denny and Guy Irvin)
1993
‘New Realities: Art from Post-war Europe 1945-1968’ (The National Collection of Modern Art in the North of England), Tate Liverpool
‘The Sixties Art Scene in London’, Barbican Gallery, London
1994
‘Here and Now, British Painters at the Serpentine Gallery from 1970 to the Present’, Serpentine Gallery, London
The First Harlech Biennale 1994
1999
‘A Line in Painting’, Gallery Fine, London
2003
‘Formal Situations: Abstractions in Britain, 1960-70’, Tate Liverpool
2004-06
‘Art in the 1960s, This was Tomorrow’ at Tate Britain (touring to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand)
2006 & 2007
Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris
2008
‘British Abstract Art, 1950-1985’, Portland Gallery, London
2010
‘Ainsi font les rêveurs/As dreamers do – The 60s in CAM’s British Art Collection’, Centre Culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris
‘Let us Face the Future’, Fondació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain
John Moores Painting Prize exhibition, Liverpool
Seongnam Arts Centre, Korea
2010-11
‘The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art from the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie’ (with Patrick Caulfield, Howard Hodgkin, R.B. Kitaj, Ian Stephenson and John Walker; touring to Flowers Gallery, New York)
2011
‘High-abstract’, Poussin Gallery, London
Watters Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2012
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
2012-13
‘Freedom not Genius: Works from Damien Hirst’s Murderme Collection, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin
2015
Hoyland Caro Noland, Pace, London
2021
‘Modal Painting’, John Hoyland, Sam Gillian, Frank Bowling, John Golding, Reginal Sylvester II. Maximillian William, London
British Abstraction’ Gazelli Art House, London
2022
Celebration: British Abstract Painting. Mercer Gallery, Harrogate (with Douglas Abercrombie, Gillian Ayres, Rancis davison, John Edwards, Patrick Heron, Albert Irvin, Patrick Jones, Mali Morris, Fred Pollock and Gary Wragg.
‘These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture’ RWA, Bristol with Caroline Achaintre, Olivia Bax, Eric Bainbridge, Phillida Barlow, Hew Locke, Anna Reading, Jessi Reaves, Andrew Sabin, John Summers, Chiffon Thomas