Peter Blake
(b. 1932)
Among the most recognizable figures of the British Pop Art movement is renowned artist Peter Blake. His status as a leader among his contemporaries became recognized during the late 1950s, and was cemented several years later by his inclusion in the widely televised documentary Pop Goes the Easel (1962). His work during this period embodies the most recognizable characteristics of Pop Art. Drawing his imagery from the vocabulary of popular culture, primarily in the form of familiar commercial icons, media figures and even iconic works by fellow artists, Blake – like many of his colleagues working at that time – reappropriates the familiar and, through seemingly incongruous juxtapositions, gives it new life, as it is shown to the viewer through the eyes of the artist. It was during this time that Blake created the work for which he is perhaps best remembered: the cover for The Beatle’s seminal album Sgt. Pepper. Later revealed as a revised draft of his original version, this album cover nevertheless secured Blake’s immortality as an artist as surely as the contents of the album secured The Beatle’s position in musical history. Blake made a brief departure from the traditional iconography of Pop between 1969 and 1978, during which time he had retired to the English countryside. However, his return to the life of metropolitan London in 1979 marked a return to the style of work for which he had become known. Love Me Do (2004) and I Love Paris (2005), both currently on view at Gallery Biba, are exquisite examples of Blake’s greatest contribution to the history of Western art.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1962
Portal Gallery, London, UK
1965
Robert Fraser Gallery, London, UK
1969
Leslie Waddington Prints, London, UK
City Art Gallery, Bristol, UK
Robert Fraser Gallery, London, UK
1970
Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, UK
1972
Waddington Galleries, London, UK
1973-1974
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; touring to Kunstverein, Hamburg, Netherlands; Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem, Netherlands; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium
1974
Natalie Stern Gallery, London, UK
1977
Waddington and Tooth Galleries, London, UK
1978
Waddington Graphics, London, UK
1979
Bohun Gallery, Henley-on-Thames, UK
1980
Galleria Documenta, Turin, Italy
1983
Tate Gallery, London, UK; retrospective, touring to
Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
1984
Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, France
1986-1987
Watermans Art Centre, Brentford, Middlesex, UK; touring to Turnpike Gallery, Liegh, UK
1988
Nishimura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1990
Waddington Galleries, London, UK
Wetterling Gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
1992
Govinda Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1993
The Tabernacle Cultural Centre, Machynlleth, UK
1995
Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, France
1996-1997
Now We Are 64: Peter Blake at the National Gallery, National Gallery, London, UK; touring to Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
1999
A Cabinet of Curiosities from the Collections of Peter Blake, Morley Gallery, London, UK
2000
Peter Blake: About Collage, Tate Liverpool, UK
2001
Peter Blake: Alphabet, touring UK venues to 2009 (Hayward Touring exhibition)
2002
Sir Peter Blake/And Now We Are 70, Paul Morris Gallery, New York
Over the Rainbow, Harley Gallery, Welbeck, UK
2003
Peter Blake, Artiscope (Zaira Mis), Brussels, Belgium
Peter Blake: Sculpture, The London Institute Gallery, London, UK
Peter Blake: Commerical Art, The London Institute Gallery, London, UK
2005
Peter Blake: 1-10 (Collages, Constructions, Drawings & Sculpture) & The Marcel Duchamp Paintings, Waddington Galleries, London, UK
2006
Peter Blake Prints and Sculpture, The Harley Gallery, Welbeck, UK
2006
Peter Blake: 1975 – 2005, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Peter Blake: A Retrospective, Tate Liverpool, UK; touring to Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain