- John Ernest
John Ernest (1922-1994) was an American born artist working in
England from 1951. As a mature student atSt Martin's School of Art he came under the influence ofVictor Pasmore and other proponents of constructivism. During the 1950s together withAnthony Hill ,Kenneth Martin , Mary Martin,Stephen Gilbert andGillian Wise he became a key member of the British constructivist (aka constructionist) art movement.John Ernest created both reliefs and free standing constructions. Several of his works are held at
Tate Britain , including the Moebius Strip sculpture [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=80248&tabview=text&texttype=10] . He designed both a tower and a large wall relief at theInternational Union of Architects congress, South Bank, London, 1961. The exhibition structure also housed works by several of the other British constructivists.John Ernest had a lifelong fascination with mathematics that is reflected in his work, and together with his colleague
Anthony Hill he made contributions to graph theory (crossing number ).An excellent summary of John Ernest's life and work, together with that of the other British constructivists is given in Alastair Grieve's book of 2005.
Six of his works are included in "A Rational Aesthetic", a show of
constructivist andsystems art at Southhampton City Art Gallery, January 10 to March 30, 2008. (Including the work depicted above).References
* Grieve, Alastair "Constructed Abstract Art in England After the Second World War: A Neglected Avant Garde", Yale University Press. 2005. ISBN 978-0-300-10703-6.
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