UNIVERSITY of LIVERPOOL EXHIBITIONS

Tony Phillips
A retrospective
18 September to 15 December 2006

The University of Liverpool presents this retrospective of paintings, drawings and prints by Liverpool born artist Tony Phillips. This show is part of the Independent Programme of the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art. It is the first to attempt to give an overview of his artistic output, which has resulted in an impressive, extensive and varied body of paintings, drawings and prints.

The exhibition spans the period from the early 1970s, when Tony had recently graduated from art school, to the early 21st century. Tony explores various themes, including consumerism, capitalism, the dislocation of the human from nature, the nude, history and the passage of time, methods to define history in a visual manner and the role of the individual in society. Of particular local interest are images of Liverpool, both painted and printed.

Tony Phillips was born in Liverpool in 1952. He studied mural painting at Lancaster Art College, graduating in 1972. He remained in Lancaster until 1977, working as a full time artist involved in street theatre, and developing an interest in community work and social activism. In 1977 Tony made the conscious decision to move closer to London, and relocated to Shrewsbury, where he remained until 2001, before moving to Italy. Tony’s work throughout his career demonstrates the development and definition of his own visual language.

Many of the pictures in the exhibition are part of deliberate series of narrative images, in a variety of styles and techniques. Of particular interest are the series of etched prints, where Tony has developed an unusual style. Tony creates the first image, and prints the edition. The same plate is then used to form the second image, with some areas of the first image left unchanged, some altered, and some obliterated entirely. Tony has made many series of prints in this way, including Jazz, History of the Benin Bronzes, Guide to the 20th Century and three focused on cities: London, New York and Liverpool.

Tony has also recently completed a residency at World Museum Liverpool. The results of this, a series of installations, are currently on display in the Atrium of World Museum Liverpool.

For further information or photographs please contact Matthew Clough on 0151 794 2348 or email artgall@liv.ac.uk

Visit our website at www.liv.ac.uk/artgall

This page has been visited

times.