Gerard Hemsworth was born in London in 1945, from 1963-68 he studied at St Martin’s School of Art, London and has exhibited internationally since the 70’s. Up until 2011 he was Professor of Fine Art and the Director of MFA Fine Art Programme at Goldsmiths, University of London. In 2000 he won the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2010 he moved his studio from London to East Sussex where he now lives and works.
In his work, Hemsworth brings together signs and representations of modernist art, alongside and integrated with, signs and representations from what seem like cartoon narratives, presenting pictorial and ideological contradictions. What initially seems like a straightforward representation of something familiar, unproblematic, simple and innocent is undermined and consequently presents the possibility of picturing something we don’t fully understand. Contradictions between the serious and the absurd become both uncanny and subversive. For Hemsworth the ‘unknown’ is an essential element and a necessary feature for critical engagement. His work presents anxieties, notions of difference and indifference and the question of value.
2019
Works from the 70s, Palfrey, London
Chen Chi Art Museum, Wuxi, China
2018
Desert Edge, Solaris, St. Leonards on Sea, UK
2015
Nothing to Declare, Matt’s Gallery, London
Suspect, Dear Future Me, Brussels
Outing, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
2013
Desert Gardens, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo
2011
Blacklands, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
2010
After Urban Garden, Moon Gallery, Hong Kong
2009
Hidden Agenda, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Water into Wine, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
Now Then, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin
2007
A Question of Rhetoric, Galeria Luis Serpa Projectos, Lisbon
2005
Mushrooms in the Rain, Galeria Brito Cimino, São Paulo
2002
Gerard Hemsworth, Thomas Cohn Galeria, São Paulo
2001
Never mind, why?, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
1998
Strictly Suburban, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
Gerard Hemsworth, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
1994
Gerard Hemsworth, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1993
Believing in God, ‘tleerhuys Galerij, Bruges
Gerard Hemsworth, Bureau Coquilhat, Antwerp
1992
In Excess, Urmel, Gent
Gerard Hemsworth, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1991
Gerard Hemsworth, Galerie Cintrik, Antwerp
Gerard Hemsworth, Galeria Comicos / Luis Serpa, Lisbon
Financial Times, Steendrukkerij BV, Amsterdam
1989
Financial Times, Galerie Cintrik, Antwerp
Financial Times, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1988
Self Portraits, Matt’s Gallery, London
Gerard Hemsworth, Hillman Holland Fine Arts, Atlanta
1987
Gerard Hemsworth, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
Gerard Hemsworth, Galeria Comicos, Lisbon
Gerard Hemsworth, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1986
Gerard Hemsworth, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
1985
Gerard Hemsworth, Galerie Van Beveren, Rotterdam
1984
Gerard Hemsworth, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow
Gerard Hemsworth, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham
Gerard Hemsworth, Orchard Gallery, Londonderry
1983
Leda and the Swan, Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven
Act of Contrition, Galeria Christophora, Krakow
Means to an End, Matt’s Gallery, London
Act of Contrition, Piwna 20/26, Warsaw
Act of Contrition, Galeria Akumulatory 2, Poznan
1981
Key, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
Not until Viable/Not unless valid, Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven
Gerard Hemsworth, Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp
Duel, Museum für (Sub-)Kultur, Berlin
1980
Object/Nature- Still Life Drawing, Piwna 20/26, Warsaw
Object/Nature- Still Life Drawing, Galeria Akumulatory 2, Poznan
Gerard Hemsworth, Orchard Gallery, Londonderry
1979
Still Life Drawing, Oliver Dowling Gallery, Dublin
1978
Illusion/Delusion, Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh
Object-Object, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
1977
Ten White Paintings, Oliver Dowling Gallery, Dublin
1976
Gerard Hemsworth, Robert Self Gallery, Newcastle
1975
Gerard Hemsworth, Robert Self Gallery, London
Gerard Hemsworth, Patrick Verelst Gallery, Antwerp
1974
Gerard Hemsworth, Jack Wendler Gallery, London
1973
Regarding things as they are, X-One Gallery, Antwerp
1972
Presenting things as they are, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
1971
Simulation, Galerie MTL, Brussels
Gerard Hemsworth, X-One Gallery, Antwerp
1970
Gerard Hemsworth, Nigel Greenwood Gallery, London
2019
Dark Lantern, Knust x Kunz Gallery, Munich
2018
Space Invaders, Solaris, St Leonards on Sea
Straub/Huillet/Cézanne. One Doesn’t Paint Souls, Temporary Gallery, Zentrum für
zeitgenössische Kunst e.V., Koeln
Self Comes to Mind, Electro Studios, St. Leonards on Sea
Fully Awake, Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London
Heads Roll, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Malevolent Eldritch Shrieking, Attercliffe™, Sheffield
To Be Continued: Artists in Hastings, Jerwood Gallery, Hastings
2017
Legally High, Electro Studios, St. Leonards on Sea
This Way Out of England: Gallery House in Retrospect, Raven Row, London
2016
Hemsworth, Jenssen, Tollens, Reed, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
In This Soup We Swim, Kingsgate Project Space, London
2015
Kiss Chase, Electro Studios, St Leonards on Sea
Wet and Dry, Painting to the Edges, Observer Arts, Hastings
Highlights, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koeln
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Doppelgänger, No Format Gallery, London
2014
Summer Saloon Show, Lion & Lamb, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Hemsworth, Pompa, Maring, Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Bruxelles
2013
Private Appearances, Self-Portraits by Contemporary Artists, Fundacao Arpad Szenes-Vieira
da Silva, Lisbon
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Kaboom! Comics in Art, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen
Collecting Mushrooms is a Dangerous Attitude, Galeria Luis Serpa Projectos, Lisbon
Beyond Corrupted Eye: Akumulatory 2 Gallery, 1972-1990, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow
2012
Beyond Corrupted Eye: Akumulatory 2 Gallery, 1972-1990, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Form and Mal-Function, Angus Hughes Gallery, London
2011
Your garden is looking a mess could you please tidy it up, Paynes Shurvell Gallery, London
Picture This, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
The Wolfson Syndrome, The Modern Language Experiment, London
2010
Fast Forward: British Contemporary Art in Brazil, Centro Brasileiro Britanico, São Paulo
The Dance Card, LIDO, St.Leonards on Sea
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Use and Mention, Stephen Lawrence Gallery, London
2009
The Conspiracy, Kunsthalle, Bern
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
2008
John Moores, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
2007
Seven hundered and twentyeight days later, Marksman Gallery, Reading
Double Use/Double Bind, The Nunnery, London
2006
Salon Connexions, Contemporary Art Projects, London
John Moores, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Sweetness & Light, Marksman Gallery, Reading
2005
The Bestiary, Jill George Gallery, London
Death is Part of the Process?, Void, Derry
The Final Floor Show, Objectif _Exhibitions, Antwerp
2004
Versão Brasileira, Galeria Brito Cimino, São Paulo
Centro Brasileiro Britãnico, São Paulo
Cinderella, Trailer, London
New Prints, Eyestorm, London
2003
Small is Beautiful: War and Peace, Flowers Central, London
Godzilla, Trailer, London
Painting Per Se, Galeria Andre Millan, São Paulo
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Chockerfuckingblocked, Jeffrey Charles Gallery, London
2002
Once Again, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
60 Seconds to What?, Jeffrey Charles Gallery, London
John Moores, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Close Reading 2, objectif [...], Antwerp
London Underground, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taiwan
Sidewinder, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi; Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai
2001
Intimacy, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno; Lowry, Salford; Russell-Cotes Museum, Bournemouth
Small is Beautiful: Still Life, Flowers East, London
Open Plan: The Marathon, Alphadelta Gallery / Artio Gallery, Athens
London Underground, Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Insider Trading, Mandeville Hotel, London
Live in Your Head, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon
Conception Conceptual Documents 1968-72, Norwich Gallery, Norwich
2000
Small is Beautiful: Self Portraits, Flowers East, London
Perfidy: Surviving Modernism, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
Versailles, Trinity Gardens, London
Perfidy, An intervention at La Tourette, i’Arbresle
Include me out, Unit 6, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Vertigo, Galerie Freak Brothers, Paris
Live in Your Head, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1999
Small is Beautiful: Millennium, Flowers East, London
John Moores, The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Rebecca, Sali Gia, London
1998
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton
Cluster Bomb, Morrison Judd, London
Spatial Concepts, Foyer Gallery / James Hocky Gallery, Surrey
1997
Ace!, Arts Council Collection new purchases, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle; Harris Museum,
Preston; Oldham Art Gallery; Hayward Gallery, London; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Mappin Art
Gallery, Sheffield; Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham; Ormeau Bath Gallery, Belfast
Mind Sports Olympiad, Royal Festival Hall, London
‘tleerhuys Galerij, Bruges
1996
Studio Champ d’Action, Antwerp
Villa Dei Casari, London
Really Out of Order, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton; Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester
Connaught Brown, London
Out of Order, I.A.S., London
1995
Cocaine Orgasm, BANK, London
Bureau Coquilhat, Antwerp
1994
Piwna 20/26 1980-1993, Muzeum Akademil Sztuk Pieknych, Warsaw
Multiples, Bureau Coquilhat, Antwerp
Punishment and Decoration, Hohenthal und Bergen, Koeln
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1993
A Spit in the Ocean, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Powell Moya Partnership, London
1992
And what do you represent?, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Discover-Rediscover, Urmel, Gent
Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1991
Accrochage, Galeria Comicos / Luis Serpa, Lisbon
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Galerie Centrik, Antwerp
1990
Britanniques Contemporains, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble
Second Sight, Galerie Conrads, Neuss
1989
Figures, Galerie d’Art Contemporain de Saint-Priest, FRAC Rhone-Alpes, Lyon
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1988
The Invisible Man, Goldsmiths Gallery, London
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
Something Solid, Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester
The British Picture, L.A. Louver, Venice, California
1987
Accrochage, Galeria Comicos, Lisbon
Appropriate Pictures, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1986
New Art, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Works on Paper, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1985
New Art, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1984
The British Art Show, City Museum and Art Gallery and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Royal
Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; Southampton City Art Gallery
Collazione Inglese ll, Scuola di San Pasquale, Venice
1982
Collazione Inglese, Scuola di San Pasquale, Venice
Art and the Sea, Liverpool University, Liverpool; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
1981
Artists’ Books, Metronom, Barcelona
New Works of Contemporary Art and Music, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh and Orchard Gallery, Londonderry
Tolly Cobbold / Eastern Arts 3rd National Exhibition, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge
1980
British Art 1940-1980, The Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London
1979
Artists’ Books, Galerie Lydia Megert, Bern
Living Art, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
Verbiage, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
Languages, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow
1978
Oliver Dowling Gallery, Dublin
Living Art, Trinity College, Dublin
1977
Robert Self Gallery, London
1976
Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
1974
Artists Bookworks, British Council touring exhibition
1973
The Book as Artwork, Nigel Greenwood Gallery, London
Art Systems, Museum of Fine Art, Santiago de Chile
X-One Gallery, Antwerp
1972
Drawing, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
Art Systems, Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires
Survey of the Avant-Garde in Britain, Gallery House, London
X-One Gallery, Antwerp
1971
Participation Art, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
Wall Show, Lisson Gallery, London
Gevisualiseerde Denkprocessen, X-One Gallery, Antwerp
1970
British Sculpture out of the Sixties, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
Projects and Drawings, Centro de Artes y Comunicacion, Buenos Aires
8 Sculptors, Kunsthallen, Gothenburg
Visual Milieu, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
1969
Stockwell Depot, London
New Sculpture, Arts Council Travelling Exhibition
1968
City of London Festival, London
Survey, Camden Art Centre, London
Brighton Festival, Brighton
Stockwell Depot, London
4 Show, Royal Institute Galleries, London
1967
Six young Artists, Institute of Contemporary Art, London
Young Contemporaries, Tate Gallery, London
1966
New Dimensions, Camden Art Centre, London
Young Britain, B. Altman & Co., New York
1965
AIA Gallery, London
John Moores, The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
2010
Gerard Hemsworth: After Urban Garden
Forward by Paris Moon
Essay by Richard Noble
Moon Gallery, Hong Kong
ISBN 978-988-19631-1-6
2009
Gerard Hemsworth: Hidden Agenda
Preface by Philippe Pirotte
Essays by Thomas Lawson and Suhail Malik
Kunsthalle Bern and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
ISBN 978-3-941185-89-0
2005
Gerard Hemsworth: Mushrooms in the Rain
Essays by Andrew Renton and Suhail Malik
Galeria Brito Cimino, São Paulo
ISBN 85-99470-01-9
2002
Gerard Hemsworth
Essay by Suhail Malik
Galeria Thomas Cohn, São Paulo
2001
Gerard Hemsworth: Never mind, why ?
Essay by Suhail Malik
Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Koln
1999
Gerard Hemsworth: Strictly Suburban
Essay by Nick de Ville
John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton
ISBN 085432 682 0
1993
Twee Taksten bij het werk van Gerard Hemsworth
Essays by Michael Philipson and Michael Corris
Win Van den Abbeele, Antwerp
1992
Gerard Hemsworth: In Excess
Essay by Michael Corris
Win Van den Abbeele and Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
ISBN 90 74458 01 7
1988
Gerard Hemsworth: Self Portraits 1977-87
Essays by Peter Dormer, Nick de Ville and Gray Watson
Matt’s Gallery, London
ISBN 0 907623 14X
1986
Gerard Hemsworth
Introduction by Declan McGonagle
Essay by Marjorie Allthorpe-Guyton
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
ISBN 0 905263 80 4
1984
Gerard Hemsworth
Essay by John McEwen
Third Eye Centre, Glasgow
ISBN 0 906474 37X
1981
Gerard Hemsworth: KEY
Essay by Jean Fisher
Orchard Gallery, Londonderry and Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
ISBN 0 907797 00 8
1981
Gerard Hemsworth
Introduction by Glenn T. Van Looy
Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp
1977
Gerard Hemsworth: Ten White Paintings
Insert, Essay by Peter Dormer
Robert Self Publications, London
1977
Gerard Hemsworth: A context which incites a particular attitude
Robert Self Publications, London
1977
Gerard Hemsworth: No More/No Less
Robert Self Publications, London
1975
Gerard Hemsworth: Dependant on/ Subject to
PMJ Self Publications, London
1975
Gerard Hemsworth: All that glitters is not gold
Patrick Verelst and Marc Poirier dit Caulier, Antwerp
1974
Nine works by Gerard Hemsworth 1973
Jack Wendler, London
1972
Gerard Hemsworth: Characteristically a work of Art
Gallery House Press, London
Reprinted 2017
Raven Row, London
Reprinted 2018
Temporary Gallery, Köln
1972
Gerard Hemsworth: In particular a work of Art
Gallery House Press, London
Reprinted 2017
Raven Row, London
Reprinted 2018
Temporary Gallery, Köln
1970
Gerard Hemsworth: 13-7-70 19-7-70
X-One Gallery, Antwerp and Nigel Greenwood Inc., London