Richard Grayson (artist)

Richard Grayson (born 1958) is British artist, writer and curator.

His art practice encompasses installation, video, painting and performance. His work investigates ways that narratives shape our understandings of the world.

Grayson was a founder member of the Basement Group (1979–1984) in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Basement group was an artists' collective that focused on experimental time based and performance art practices. It has been described as "unique in this country [the United Kingdom] in combining two functions: it is an 'exhibiting society' for a group of six artists working in time based media (mostly performance and video), and it has up to the present provided a venue for any performing artist wishing to present work [in Newcastle]." ^[1]

He has since shown at Matt's Gallery, London;^[2] SMART Project Space, Amsterdam; Art Unlimited at Art Basel 2005, Switzerland; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia. Works include: Messiah, 2004, Intelligence, 2005, Ghost Houses, 2004–2007.

His critical writing has been published by Art Monthly, UK and Broadsheet, Australia. He has written catagogue essays and monographs on Mark Wallinger, Roy Harper, Mike Nelson, Susan Hiller and Suzanne Treister.

Between 1992 and 1998, he was Director of the Experimental Art Foundation in Adelaide, Australia.

Grayson was Artistic Director of the 2002 Biennale of Sydney, titled '(The World May Be) Fantastic', which investigated 'artists and practices using fictions, narratives, invented methodologies, hypotheses, subjective belief systems, modellings, fakes and experiments as a means to make works.'.^[3] Writing in Art in America in October 2002, Michael Duncan said of the exhibition that it "gave free rein to complex, often offbeat works predicated on alternate realities.^[4] Artists included: Mike Nelson, Chris Burden, Susan Hiller, Vito Acconci, Eleanor Antin, Henry Darger, Janet Cardiff and Rodney Graham. In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald from 17 May 2002, Bruce James describes why the exhibition was "a bit of a miracle".^[5]

Grayson curated 'A Secret Service: Art, Compulsion, Concealment' in 2006/7, a Hayward Gallery Touring Exhibition; 'This Will Not Happen Without You' in 2006-2007, Arts Council of England Touring exhibition.

Awards

• Arts Council of England grants for new work 2004 and 2008
• Bartlett Research Fellow, University of Newcastle, UK 2007
• AHRB Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• South Australian Department of Arts New Work Grant 2000
• South Australian Department of Arts Writing commission 2000
• Australia Council New Work Grant 1997
• South Australian Department of Arts Art In Public Places Grant 1993
• Australian Museums Association Professional Development Grant 1993
• South Australian Fim Corporation Development Grant 1992
• South Australian Department of Arts Personal Award 1990
• Australia Council Joint Projects award 1989
• British Council Grant 1984
• Arts Council GB Film and Video Bursary 1984
• Northern Arts Award 1982
• Arts Council GB Video Bursary 1982

Education and Training

• 1976–1977 East Herts College of Art and Design
• 1977–1980 Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic B.A. Hons Fine Art (now Northumbria University, Newcastle.)

Residencies

• 2003–2004 Artist in Residence, International Studio Programme, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
• 2009 Artist in residence, ArtPace, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Texts and Writing

• A Secret Service: Art, Compulsion, Concealment by Roger Cardinal, Clare Carolin, Richard Grayson Publisher: Hayward Gallery Touring (14 Sep 2006) ISBN 1-85332-256-3 ISBN 978-1-85332-256-3
• (The World May Be) Fantastic, 2002 Biennale of Sydney catalogue. Essay 'Grasshopper Worlds' ISBN 978-0-9580403-0-3
• This Will Not Happen Without You: (Basement to Locus 1979 to 2007). University of Sunderland Press 2007 ISBN 978-1-899377-25-1
• Mark Wallinger Publisher JRP Ringier ISBN 978-3-905829-78-5

External links

• The official Site
• Richard Grayson at Matt's Gallery, London
• Artist Talk, Tate Liverpool: Richard Grayson on Mike Nelson
• Artfacts.Net: Richard Grayson
• Richard Grayson, SMART Project Space, Amsterdam
• Self-created worlds: last summer's Biennale of Sydney gave free rein to complex, often offbeat works predicated on alternate realities – Report From Sydney – Critical Essay, Art in America , Oct 2002 by Michael Duncan
• Trey Grayson
• Richard Grayson publications: Intelligence
• Richard Grayson, Matt’s Gallery exhibitions
• Artist Talk, Tate Liverpool: Richard Grayson on Mike Nelson [1]
• Richard Grayson Books at Cornerhouse, Manchester
• Susan Hiller interviewed by Richard Grayson, as part of the 'Talking Art' series at Tate Modern in collaboration with Art Monthly.
• Artfacts.Net: Richard Grayson' international gallery guide for modern, contemporary and emerging art.
• Grayson, Richard Letter from Berlin 45/ 276 ; review by Peter Suchin 17/ 283; review of Thank You For The Music (London Beat) 39/299, Richard Wilson 41/302, Mark Wallinger 26/304; book review of Hans Ulrich Obrist, dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop 42/304
• Richard Grayson, SMART Project Space, Amsterdam
• Biennale of Sydney

References