Chris Gollon

Chris Gollon (born 1953) is a British painter.

Gollon was born in London, England. He still lives near London, working in his studio in Surrey. He regularly exhibits in London at IAP Fine Art.^[1]

In 2000, Gollon gained a major commission from the Church of England for fourteen Stations of the Cross paintings for a historic London church designed by Sir John Soane. Gollon was a controversial choice, since he is not a practising Christian. In order to carry out the commission, and for theological matters, he agreed to collaborate with Fr Alan Green, Rector of St John on Bethnal Green.^{[2][page needed]}

In 2001, a special exhibition of his work was held at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames because until 2005 Gollon had a connection with the river; having a studio on a private island in the Thames near Hampton Court. In 2001, the museum, aided by the Victoria and Albert Museum, acquired a major work by Gollon entitled Big Fish Eat Little Fish, a centrepiece of the exhibition.^[3]

His painting of the fourth Station of the Cross (Jesus meets his Mother) was exhibited in St Paul's Cathedral in 2004. In the same year, he began painting images of Albert Einstein, before the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death in 2005 and before the centenary in 2005 of the General Theory of Relativity. Partially-inspired by a lyric in Bob Dylan's ballad 'Desolation Row', Chris Gollon painted 'Einstein & The Jealous Monk'. This painting was subsequently purchased by the Huddersfield Art Gallery in West Yorkshire, where it hangs in the museum's permanent collection alongside Sir Jacob Epstein's bust of Einstein, and works by Francis Bacon and L.S. Lowry.

In 2007, Chris Gollon was commissioned to paint the Henley Regatta by Paul Mainds, Chief Executive & Trustee of the award-winning River & Rowing Museum. The museum's collection holds Raoul Dufy's painting 'Regatta at Henley'. Since the Henley Royal Regatta has no silver or bronze medals, only win or lose, Gollon decided to focus with great empathy on the losing crew.^[4] The final work entitled 'Gollon At Henley' was unveiled in 2008, and is now displayed along with works by Dufy, Piper and Trevelyan in the museum's permanent collection.^[5]

A chance meeting in 2005 between British artist Chris Gollon and film makers JABOD began a creative journey, leading to the creation of a neologism, and a new cinematic art work: Kaleidomorphism. Fifteen years of Gollon's paintings and imagery, together with music that he has selected (including Calexico and Paolo Conte), combine with JABOD's design, rhythm and effects to create a unique film installation of 20 minutes length.

In 2009, he was invited to become a Fellow and First Artist in Residence at the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, where he took part in the Being Human research project with some of the world's leading academic thinkers. He produced 16 paintings in 10 weeks on the Being Human theme, all of which are reproduced in the catalogue 'BEING HUMAN new paintings by Chris Gollon', published by Durham University.^[6]

Also in 2009, after nine years in the making, Gollon's epic series of paintings of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross were installed in the Church of St John on Bethnal Green in East London. They were blessed and by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres in March 2009. In the same month British novelist Sara Maitland's book 'Stations of the Cross', wholly inspired by and featuring Gollon's paintings, was published (Continuum, London & New York). The book also contains a text by Fr Alan Green about the story of the commission and his personal collaboration with the artist.^[7] To bring the story closer, Gollon used his own son as the model for Jesus and his daughter as Mary, and Fr Alan Green as Nicodemus. Gollon's Fourteen Stations of the Cross are site-specific and permanently installed. They are both an active aid to worship and also make the Church of St John on Bethnal Green a visitor attraction in East London.^[8]

In 2010, art historian Tamsin Pickeral's book 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' on Chris Gollon's life and work was published by Hyde & Hughes. It features 180 illustrations of his paintings, and tells the story of his life and work to 2010, including chapters on his Stations of the Cross and the Being Human series of paintings. The book is endorsed on the cover by Bill Bryson OBE, international author and Chancellor, Durham University.^[9]

In December 2010, Chris Gollon's paintings 'Jesus As the Man of Sorrows' and 'Mater Dolorosa' ^[10] were shown in the exhibition 'Commission' at Wallspace gallery, London, a survey exhibition of the last 40 years of major religious commissions for public spaces, which included work by Henry Moore, Anthony Gormley, Chris Gollon and Tracey Emin. A book entitled 'Contemporary Art in British Churches', published by Art & Christianity Enquiry was published to accompany the exhibition. ^[11]

In January 2011, the British Museum acquired 'Magdalene' an etching by Chris Gollon for its permanent collection. The work was also featured in Tamsin Pickeral's book 'Humanity in Art' (p.243). ^[12]Chris Gollon is Artist in Residence at St Mary's College, Durham University, from April to June 2011. He is currently working on a series of paintings on the theme of Love.

References

1. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' (Hyde & Hughes, 2010) ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
2. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral (p.170). ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
3. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral (p.103). ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
4. ^ Simon Barnes writing in The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article4237863.ece)
5. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral (p.105). ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
6. ^ Being Human catalogue (p.5) ISBN 978-0-9561840-1-6
7. ^ 'Stations of the Cross' by Sara Maitland (ISBN 978-0-82640568-5)
8. ^ BBC1 Television News 8th Apr 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7992399.stm
9. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral (see back cover). ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
10. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral (see back cover). ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9
11. ^ 'Contemporary Art in British Churches' edited by Laura Moffatt & Eileen Daly' ISBN 978-0-9551485-1-4
12. ^ 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' by Tamsin Pickeral. ISBN 978-0-9563851-0-9

External links

• Chris Gollon website
• IAP Fine Art information
• Artbank information

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Name	Gollon, Chris
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Date of birth	1953
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