Joe Tilson facts for kids
Joseph Charles Tilson (24 August 1928 – 9 November 2023) was a famous British artist. He was a member of the Royal Academy, a special group for artists. In the 1960s, he was an important part of the Pop Art movement. He created many different types of art, including paintings, prints, and sculptures made from wood.
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Becoming an Artist
Joe Tilson was born in London on August 24, 1928. Before becoming an artist, he served in the Royal Air Force from 1946 to 1949.
After his time in the Air Force, he went to art school. He studied at Saint Martin's School of Art from 1949 to 1952. Then, he continued his studies at the Royal College of Art until 1955. In 1955, he won a special award called the Rome Prize. This allowed him to live and study in Italy for two years at the British School at Rome.
He came back to London in 1957. From 1958 to 1963, he taught art at Central Saint Martin's. He also taught at other famous art schools, like the Slade School of Fine Art in London and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In 1961, his art was shown at the Paris Biennale, a big art exhibition.
His Art Career
In the 1960s, Joe Tilson became one of the most important artists in the British Pop Art movement. Pop Art was a style that used images from popular culture, like advertisements and comic books.
Joe Tilson used his skills as a carpenter to create unique artworks. He made sculptures and reliefs (artworks that stick out from a flat surface) out of wood. He also created many prints and paintings. While studying at the Royal College of Art, he met and became friends with other famous artists like David Hockney and Peter Blake.
Exhibitions and Recognition
Tilson had his first solo art show in London in 1962 at the Marlborough Gallery. His art became known around the world when it was shown at the Venice Biennale in 1964. This led to a big show of his past works at the Boyman's Museum in Rotterdam in 1964. More shows of his past work happened in Vancouver in 1979 and Bristol in 1984.
In the 1970s, Tilson's art changed. He became less interested in consumer society. After moving to Wiltshire in 1972, he started using different materials like stone, straw, and rope. He wanted his art to connect with older times and cultures, using ideas from ancient myths. He called this new series of works "Alchera."
Tilson's art was shown in many solo exhibitions around the world. Some notable places included Rome (1990), Plymouth (1991), Siena (1995), and Ljubljana (1996). In 2002, a major exhibition of his work was held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, called 'Joe Tilson: Pop to Present'.
He received several awards, including the Gulbenkian Foundation Prize in 1960. He was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1985 and a full Royal Academician in 1991. In 2019, he created an art installation for the Swatch Pavilion at the Venice Biennial, inspired by his 'Stones of Venice' artworks. He also designed a special limited-edition watch for the project.
Personal Life
Joe Tilson lived and worked in both London and Italy. He married Joslyn Morton in Venice in 1956. They had three children: Jake (born 1958), Anna (born 1959), and Sophy (born 1965).
Joe Tilson passed away on November 9, 2023, at the age of 95.
Collections
Joe Tilson's artworks are held in important public art collections. These include the Tate Gallery in London, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
See also
In Spanish: Joe Tilson para niños
