Joe Tilson

Joe Tilson is one of Britain's leading artists, renowned for his paintings, prints and wooden constructions. Born in London in 1928, he worked as a carpenter and joiner from 1944 to 1946. Following this, Tilson served in the RAF until 1949. After his National Service, he went to St. Martin's School of Art and the Royal College of Art where he won the Rome Prize taking him to live in Italy in 1955. From there he travelled widely before teaching at various places including St Martin 's School of Art , the Slade School of Art, University College London, King's College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne , the School of Visual Arts in New York ; and the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste in Hamburg .

Tilson belongs to the generation of British artists - including Peter Blake, Allen Jones, Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney - who studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s. The style of Tilson's early work was essentially conventional and realist, but his subject matter was contemporary, taken from his surroundings and travels. In the 1960s, Tilson produced some of the most iconic images of the British Pop Art movement. His works combined bold colours and imagery to refer to contemporary events along with radical political figures of the period.

In 1970, Tilson and his family moved to the Wiltshire countryside and he also bought an isolated house in Italy. The tranquillity and simplicity of life lead Tilson to explore new themes in his work which cut across time and cultures. He began to draw inspiration from various sources such as the four elements, classical mythology and Australian Aboriginals. Tilson is devoted to Mediterranean culture which stretches back to his childhood love of Italian painting and his visits to Italy .

Tilson's first one-man show was held at the Marlborough Gallery, London in 1962. He then gained international exposure in 1964 at the Venice Biennale. This led to his first retrospective exhibition in Rotterdam which travelled to Belgium and Italy . This has been followed by many further solo shows and retrospective exhibitions worldwide.

Tilson's awards include the Gulbenkian Foundation Prize in 1960 and the Grand Prix d'Honneur, Biennale of Ljubljana in 1996. He was elected Royal Academician in 1991 (ARA 1985).

Tilson lives in London and Tuscany . His work continues to explore the significance of words and images, through vibrant colours and applied graphics.