Prof Estelle Thompson

Professor of Fine Art

Slade School Of Fine Art Gower Street
UCL London WC1E 6BT

estelle.thompson@ucl.ac.uk www.estellethompson.com

Biography

Estelle Thompson (b. 1960) MA Royal College of Art, London 1983–1986.

Solo exhibitions; Flowers Gallery, London (2016); Oriel Sycharth Gallery, Wrexham (2014); Purdy Hicks, London, (1989 - 2009); Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, (2004); The New Gallery, Walsall (2001); Rosenberg and Kaufman Fine Art, New York (2001) and Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham (2000); Galerie Helmut Pabst, Frankfurt (1999); Fuse Paintings Usher Gallery, Lincoln; Mead Gallery, University of Warwick; South Hill Park, Bracknell (1997-98); Abbot Hall Art Gallery Kendal (1997); Galerie Helmut Pabst (1996); PHG touring to Winchester Gallery; Towner Art Gallery and Darlington Arts Centre (1993-94).

Group exhibitions include; Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London (2016); In Light of The Monochrome, Dye House Gallery, Bradford; Kaleidoscope Eyes, Austin Forum, London; Equivalence, Richmond AIU, London; DACS Foundation Auction, Londonewcastle, London; Carbon meets Silicon: ITA, OSG, Wrexham; detail, Usher Gallery, Lincoln; Drawing Biennial, Drawing Room, London (2015); Drawn Togetherartist as Selector, Jerwood Gallery, Hastings; Head to Head, Standpoint Gallery, London (2014) detail, Transition Gallery, London; H-Galllery, Bangkok (2014), Colour as Material, Kuvataideakatemia, Helsinki (2013), Do You Believe in Angels?, Mo space, Manila (2014); Eqautor Art Projects, Singapore (2014), Small is Beautiful XXXI Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue?, Flowers Gallery, London (2013), The Theory and Practice of the Small Painting, Equator Art Projects (2013), Back and Forth, B55, Budapest (2012), Maquettes, Furnished Space, London (2011), Calligrams, Eagle Gallery, London (2010), L’apres moderne, Project Midi, Brussels (2008) and Drawing Breath, Gallery 1, NAS Galleries, Sydney; NAFA Galleries, Singapore; Wimbledon Space, London; RWA, Bristol; Robert Gordon University Gallery, Aberdeen (2006-8); Felim Egan, Estelle Thompson, Rosenberg & Kaufman Fine Art, New York (2001); Blue: borrowed and new, The New Art Gallery, Walsall (2000); History, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Cartwright Hall, Bradford; Orleans House, Twickenham; Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, York City Art Gallery; Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; A Question of Scale, Winchester Gallery; Arnolfini, Bristol (1998-99); Six British Painters, Galerie Helmut Pabst, Frankfurt (1996); Castlefield Gallery, 10th Anniversary, Whitworth Art Gallery (1994); Moving into View, Recent British Painting, Royal Festival Hall, London; Darlington Arts Centre; Chapter, Cardiff; Oriel Gallery, Mold; Newlyn Orion Gallery, Penzance; University of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Drumcroon Arts Centre, Wigan; Harrogate Museum & Art Gallery; Victoria Art Gallery (1993)

Awards; 2014 Santander Research Catalyst 1999 Milton Keynes Theatre; 1993 Quaglino’s, London; 1990 Prudential Award for the Arts 1990/Arts Council Special Award; 1988 Royal Overseas League Travel Award; 1983 Ethel Willis, Ethel Henriques and Fred Richards Memorial Travel Scholarship.

Research Summary

As a painter I have researched painted colour and established colour theory. Between 1997- 2002 my work related to prismatic light, colour harmony and colour perception. I devised a new paint application process (self pre-mixed and self-tubed oil paint applied with rollers) to form prismatic fusing of colour to create optical transition as in a spectrum. A monograph; Estelle Thompson (ISBN 1- 85894-152-0), Tony Godfrey and Deborah Robinson was published by Merrell. Paintings produced under this research form are in; Arts Council Collection, British Council Collection, British Museum, Contemporary Art Society and The New Art Gallery Walsall. Several paintings are included in the Public Catalogue Foundation and in the Chapter Pure Abstraction in Painting Today, published by Phaidon in 2009 (ISBN 9780714846316).

Paintings 2002-2016 research Greek and Venetian theories of colour, colour perception and symbolism, Albers and Bauhaus colour theory, Modernist and Contemporary painted colour. Exhibitions, publications (Estelle Thompson - ISBN 9781873184073), www.estellethompson.com, and inclusion in the Arts Council of Great Britain Collection, evidence this research. My public art/architectural projects incorporate paintings or wall works into architecture;considering conditions of light and space and colour movement; Quaglino’s, London, commissioned by Sir Terence Conran and Milton Keynes Theatre and Art Gallery. Later projects, colour design was integral to the architecture; Orchard Park Health Centre, Hull, 2002-4 and South Bristol Community Hospital, 2004-8, exterior façade, interior way-finding flooring designs and entrance canopy lighting design addressing colour symbolism and colour psychology in healthcare design. Further architectural commissions and collaborative projects include; a glass curtain wall and flooring design for the Catrin Finch Centre, 2008-9 and Centre for the Creative Industries, 2011 Wrexham Glyndwr University exterior facade and manifestation designs. I co-curated (with Tamas Jovanovics) the British Council funded exhibition Back and Forth: Eight Artists form London at B55 Gallery, Budapest connecting the Hungarian MADI group to contemporary UK based abstract artists. I have curated exhibitions including; The Art of Function, 2010 and Art and Industry, 2012 at the Oriel Sycharth, Wrexham. I contributed to the symposia and corresponding exhibition; In Light of the Monochrome, Dye House Gallery, Bradford College, 2015;You see what you see or You see who you are: Reflecting on a few painters making mirrors, walls and voids with pigment. The research included visual perception, the monochrome, Gerhard Richter, Rodchenko, Rothko and contemporary artists’ material use and material presence -insight.lancaster.ac.uk; www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk; roundtown.com. I co-organised and chaired the Artists’ Books Conference: Collaborations at Richmond University, London, 2015. A Frame of Mind with Hand in Glove; Artists’ Book collaborations in education; a working collection addressed Book Art production as a collaborative educational tool and focused on the publications made at the Slade, UCL alumni and Slade Press. The accompanying exhibition Equivalence included my Book Art work LC43-6 2014.

Teaching Summary

I have taught as a visiting and part-time tutor at Universities throughout the UK since the 1980’s including; Birmingham City University; Camberwell College of Arts; Central St Martins College of Art and Design; Chelsea College of Art and Design; De Montfort University; Kingston University; Royal Academy Schools; Royal College of Art; Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art; Sheffield Hallam University; University of the Creative Arts; Wimbledon College of Art and Winchester School of Art. I have also presented artist workshops and lectures at various museums and galleries nationally including; Camden Arts Centre; Serpentine Gallery; The New Art Gallery Walsall; Abbot Hall, Kendal, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester and at art institutions internationally such as Sotheby’s Institute, Christie’s Education, Kuvataideakatemia, Helsinki and Barbados Community College. I have been the External Examiner for Bath Spa University and am currently External Examiner for BA (Hons) Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. I have been part of the selection panel for PhD applications and a PhD supervisor at UCL and Wrexham Glyndwr University. I have been a part-time tutor at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL since 1996 and became a 0.4 FTE Lecturer in 2003. I have taught graduate, undergraduate and PhD levels across painting, photography, sculpture, performance, printmaking, film and video. As a part-time tutor, within the Graduate Painting programme at the Slade I currently lead on the Discourse Project in Graduate Painting, liaising with the Honorary Research Associate. The Discourse Project aims to research the cultural, social and philosophical issues that inform and define the diversity of contemporary painting. The research developed corresponds to aspects of the Graduate Painting programme by focusing on the critical context in which an artist works. I sit on the Slade’s Teaching Committee as the part-time staff representative. In 2011/12 I was responsible for co-programming the Slade Contemporary Art Lectures with the Head of Graduate Painting Lisa Milroy and from 2009-10 I developed a Book Art Group, leading seminars including visits to UCL’s Special Collections archive of rare Artists books. I have organized several of the Graduate Painting student led and shared seminars presented 2009-11 and I have been a selector on the UCL Museums/ Slade student annual collaboration. I also assisted with and contributed to the Group Project’s in Graduate Painting over the last ten years. Projects realised include; Paint to Print (2008), HOT/COLD (2011); Recipe Book (2013); A Stamp Collection (2015) and a Colouring Book (2016). In 2009 I proposed and organized a week long mural painting project and exhibition; Edge to Edge at the Woburn Research Centre with Graduate Painting students.

Other appointments and educational affiliations include; Senior Research Fellow, De Montfort University 1994 – 2000; Visiting Professor, 2001 – 2007 and Research Professor in Fine Art, 2007 – 2008, North Wales Institute of Higher Education; Research Professor in Fine Art, Wrexham Glyndwr University 2008- present; Head of School of Media, Arts and Design, Wrexham Glyndwr University 2014 – 2015; Jury Member for Jerwood Drawing Prize and Director of the Oriel Sycharth Gallery, Wrexham Glyndwr University 2009-16.

Exhibitions

Estelle Thompson: In Deep

2021
The Brighton Storeroom

Recent Paintings using new materials (including paint formed using volcanic ash) in response to issues of environment, climate change and regional cultural identity within the Caribbean and Latin American region.

Colour Burst & Heartbeat

2021
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK

beginning

2019
The Brighton Storeroom

an exhibition of contemporary art by emerging and established artists working in the Caribbean archipelago and its diaspora. the exhibition reflects an open multi-disciplinary curatorial policy but the core focus remains limited print editions and works of art on paper, paintings and ceramics.

In Colours where We Meet

2017
Ambacher Contemporary, Munich, Germany

A Two-Person exhibition of paintings with Ernesto Canovas considering nurtured influence from teacher to student within the evolution of an individual art practice, focussing on use of colour and process within painting.

Among The Colours:Estelle Thompson & Jo Volley

2017
North Lodge Gallery, UCL

Two Person exhibition addressing concerns and the history of material colour through the production of two large scale installed wall works.

Imperfect Reverse

2016
Ruskin Gallery

Research and exhibition questions visual transformation, both temporal and aspectual towards a synthesis of experience

Imperfect Reverse

2016
Camberwell Space Projects

This research questions visual transformation, and examines an operational shift in working processes, towards a synthesis of experience

Artist of The Day

2016
Flowers Gallery, London

Artists selected by prominent figures in the contemporary art world present a solo body of work showing originality, promise and ability from the fields of drawing, painting, sculpture and photography.

Kaleidoscope Eyes

2015
Austin Forum

The work of several artists explore the psychedelic, scientific and formal associations of the kaleidoscope.

detail

2015
Usher Gallery

Survey show of extracted detail from works by International group of contemporary painters

White Lies

2014
Oriel Sycharth Gallery

A solo exhibition curated by Charles Dandy was a partial survey of works produced over the last 17 years, including paintings on linen, aluminium, panel and paper drawing together central strands of practice and recurrent research - chromatic monochromes, spatial block paintings, vertical stripe fuse paintings, geometrically divided and subdivided paintings and cut paper collages. These visual architectures, at once functions of space and mechanical order, colour investigation, the lightness and touch of painting in and of itself, but more profoundly of its intersections with the world.

Head to Head (Standpoint)

2014
Standpoint Gallery, London,

Head to Head takes on four questions important to the continuing progression of painting. What is painting after the internet? How has the exponential growth of image culture changed painting's engagement with depiction? What are the building blocks of painting, and to what extent do painters feel the need to employ them to complete a painting? Is there still merit in the act of painting itself as the prime subject- rather than using it as a means to illustrate an external concept?

Drawn Together Artist as Selector, Jerwood Gallery, Hastings

2014
Jerwood Gallery

Exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Jerwood Drawing Prize, centres on the role of drawing in the practice of artists who have been on the selection panel of the Jerwood Drawing Prize, exploring the selectors' own drawing practice and interests, continuing the dialogue about what constitutes drawing and its importance as a medium for artists working today

Theory and Practice of Small Painting

2014
Mo Space

Survey of painters working in small format

detail

2014
H-Gallery

contemporary painters/painted details

detail

2014
Transition Gallery

Detail survey of contemporary painters paintings

Theory and Practice of the Small Painting

2014
Equator Art Projects

Survey of contemporary artists making small paintings as part of practice

Small is Beautiful XXI Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue

2014
Flowers Gallery

Survey painting show, exploring a primary colour palette

Head to Head, Rogue Project Space, Manchester

2013
Rogue Project Space, Manchester

HEAD TO HEAD takes on three questions relevant to how painting that maintains its traditional wall based format might continue to progress. Three pairings of works by six contemporary painters become points of reference for the following questions and invite consideration as to paintings continuing contribution to a broader debate in art. Can painting transcend the comfortable confines of society’s internet-centered framework to find new strategies for positive progression? Is there such a thing as post-internet awareness/logic? In today's image-savvy culture, what makes a painting become more than just another image? Is there still merit in taking painting as the prime subject?

Back And Forth

2012
B55 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

I conceived and co-curated this exhibition with Tamas Jovanovics. It was a group exhibition of eight artists - all painters based in London selected to showcase an aspect of contemporary abstract 'Geometric' painting in the UK to a Hungarian audience.

'A' is not equal to 'A'

2010
Quare Gallery, London, UK.

Featuring photographs by fourteen artists in response to a previous installation of works by Richard Bevan, only seen and experienced by the photographic documentation.

Summer Exhibition 2010

2010
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK.

New work by gallery artists.

Calligrams

2010
Eagle Gallery

Four abstract painters - Jane Bustin, Kevin Finklea, Matt Magee and Estelle Thompson - selected exhibition.

Black and White Flower Painting≅≅≅√

2010
Imperial College Healthcare Charity Arts Committee at Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK.

An exhibition of black and white flower paintings by staff and students in Graduate Painting, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.

Estelle Thompson

2009
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, UK.

An exhibition of recent paintings from 2006-2009 at Purdy Hicks Gallery, London. Publication 24 page colour catalogue. ISBN: 978 1 873 184 07 3. Inclusion in 'Painting Today' - Tony Godfrey, Phaidon (2010).

L'Apres Moderne

2008
Project Midi, 3 Rue du Rectangle, 1080 Brussels, Belgium

Drawing Breath: 10 Years of the Jerwood Drawing Prize

2008
Royal West of England Academy, Queen's Road Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1PX

Tipping Point

2008
Purdy Hicks Gallery, 65 Hopton Street, London, SE1 9GZ

Drawing Breath: 10 Years of the Jerwood Drawing Prize

2007
National Art School Gallery, National Art School, Forbes St, Darlinghurst, Australia

Drawing Breath: 10 Years of the Jerwood Drawing Prize

2006
Wimbledon College of Art, Merton Hall Road, London SW19 3QA

Estelle Thompson

2006
Purdy Hicks, London

Estelle Thompson 'True Colours'

2004
Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden

Santa Smiles (Sometimes)

2003
Ols and Co, London

Hybrid

2003
Art Space, Imperial College London

Gallery Artists

2003
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London

Estelle Thompson

2003
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London

Three from the Royal College of Art, London

2003
New England School of Art and Design Gallery, 75 Arlington St, Suffolk University, USA

European Contemporary Artists from Purdy Hicks Gallery

2003
Jane Deering Gallery, Gloucester, Massachussetts, USA

London Original Print Fair

2003
Royal Academy, London

Purdy Hicks at Art 2003

2003
Business Design Centre, London

Estelle Thompson and Felim Egan

2001
Rosenberg and Kaufman Fine Art, New York, USA

Abstract Painting

2001
Flowers East, London

Being Here: New Paintings by Estelle Thompson

2001
The New Art Gallery, Walsall

Paintings 2000-2001

2001
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London

New Work

2000
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London

Estelle Thompson Recent Paintings

2000
Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham

Einmal Leiwand, Einmal Papier

2000
Galerie Helmut Pabst, Frankfurt, Germany

Blue, Borrowed and New

2000
The New Art Gallery, Walsall

Estelle Thompson: Fuse Paintings

1998
Usher Gallery, Lincoln and toured to Mead Gallery, Warwick 25 Ap

Estelle Thompson

1997
Abbot Hall, Kendal

Prints

1997
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London

Small is Beautiful

Flowers Gallery

An annual exhibition first established in 1974 (33rd edition) taking place in London and New York featuring invited/selected contemporary artists working in any media to present works with a fixed economy of scale, each piece measuring a maximum of 7 x 9 inches.

Publications

Artists’ Book: Collaborations

Conference Artists’ Book: Collaborations. 2015/03/20

This one day conference examines the collaborative process (author and artist, text and image, maker/bookbinder and artist, etc.) that is fundamental to many examples of Artists' Books or Book art. the conference focuses on contemporary works and addresses the following fundamental questions: What kinds of dialogues feature in contemporary artists' books? How does this collaboration affect the production and dissemination/display of the work made?

In Light of the Monochrome

Conference In Light of the Monochrome. 2015/03/05

In Light of the Monochrome explores the many interpretations of the monochrome genre. the monochrome has the quality of being luminous, emitting or reflecting light through the painted surface. Light can also be regarded as a condition of the spiritual awareness, divine illumination, which references the transcendental or sublime often attributed to the monochrome. artists are also exploring the monochrome through digital and photographic light techniques. This symposium brings together some contemporary reflections on the genre

Curtain Wall/Glass Artwork

Artwork (Public art commission), Glyndwr University, Glyndwr University Lecture Theatre and Performing Arts Centre. 2009

Flooring design for Glyndwr University

Artwork (Public art commission), Glyndwr University, Glyndwr University Lecture Theatre and Performing Arts Centre. 2009

Clearer images

Journal Article for The Lancet Vol. 9256. 2001

Commission wall work for Milton Keynes Theatre

Artwork (Commission. Wall work for Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.). 1998

Entrance light

Artwork (Public art commission), Ginkgo for Bristol Infracare LIFT LTO, South Bristol Community Hospital

Colour Commission - South Bristol Community Hospital

Artwork (Public art commission), Ginkgo for Bristol Infracare LIFT LTO, South Bristol Community Hospital

Facade

Artwork (Public art commission), Ginkgo for Bristol Infracare LIFT LTO, South Bristol Community Hospital

Column Mural

Artwork

Commissioned painting on interior column

Designs for Lecture and Performance Theatre

Artwork

Concept designs and consultation for redesign of Lecture Theatre and Performance Space, Wrexham Glyndwr University.

John Radcliffe Hospital Commission

Design in Colour Burst, Heartbeat,

Commissioned artwork for theThe Women’s Centre entrance - an architectural ‘glass’ site bridging the interior and exterior. The use of colour, light and motif to celebrate birth, life, health and well being.

Concept designs

Artwork

Concept designs for development of specialist educational Centre for The Child

Centre for the Creative Industries

Artwork

Concept Designs and development of exterior cascade and interior manifestations on new build multi-media Centre working with Lawray architects, Wrexham