LEONARD GREEN
Abstract/Street Art
Leonard Green was born in the north west of England in a ‘cotton’ and ‘mining’ town - Leigh near Wigan. He studied Foundation Art at Wigan School of Art then studied BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting) at Manchester University followed by MA studies in Fine Art (Painting) also at Manchester. Amongst the exhibitions he was involved in during this time in the late 70s and 80s was a one-man show at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh, Greater Manchester; a prestigious, contemporary art gallery. He has exhibited widely across the UK including the Royal Academy
In the course of his early development as an artist he became a semi professional DJ at a time when Northern Soul music was the dominant form of music in the night clubs of the Greater Manchester area - notably Leigh and Wigan. This music informed my paintings and in recent years, in particular, has provided the titles for my paintings.
He left the Northwest of England in 1984 and joined the Art Department at Millfield School in Somerset – a prestigious private school. A curious decision to make, leaving behind Art lecturing and being a practising artist - for a teaching post. An even more curious twist to this tale is that whilst living up North he had qualified as a National Swimming Coach and was coaching at one of Britain's top swimming clubs – Wigan Wasps; subsequently he joined Millfield’s very successful swimming team.
My work attempts to create complex compositions enhanced by vivid colour, and tries to harness together very disparate elements of art: (drawing) lyrical and gestural abstraction with geometry and structure; spontaneity yet control, order and chaos; colour and form. The work essentially employs drawing and markmaking activities, working together to provide a rhythmic ‘dynamic’ in the work in which colour is dominant. There are ‘accidental’ suggestions of figurative/organic forms which encourage a wider personal engagement with the work and its interpretation; but fundamentally the work is pure abstraction – non referential.
Titles of my paintings may conjour up figurative images in the viewer’s mind but they are for contemplation only rather than a narrative. These titles come from my passion for 1960s Northern Soul music, which has tremendous energy and sense of abandonment in a physical and romantic context, and which reflects my painting style. I was a DJ in Wigan in the 60s and 70s and my immersion in this music provides me with a meaningful reason to identify my work by the title of a particular piece of music and the memories/experience it evokes. The world I invite you to enter is one of contemplation and reflection and offers the viewer the freedom of interpretation as you enter into a personal exploration and understanding of my work.
The surface of the painting is kept simple to allow ‘drawing’/expression to be the quintessential feature; and the brushwork and mark making I employ celebrates the element of action and dynamism in the music. Consequently my work is in response to the music’s energy and the rhythmic dance moves. A cursory visit to YouTube to see video examples of Northern Soul music dancing will explain it all!
Leonard Green
Exhibitions & mentions
1980 Sainsbury Visual Art Centre, University of East Anglia
1980 ICA Galleries, London
1981 Manchester City Art gallery,
1981 Undercroft Gallery Manchester
1981 Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester
1981 Graves Art gallery Sheffield,
1981 Preston City Art gallery,
1982 Sheffield Polytechnic Gallery
1983 Salford City Art Gallery
1983 Turnpike Gallery, Leigh, Greater Manchester (One Man Show)
2000 Mall Galleries, London
2007 Lewis Gallery, Rugby
2012,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21 Atkinson Gallery, Somerset
2014 Sidcot Galleries, Somerset
2014 Silo Gallery, Brighton Arts Festival
2014 Somerset House, Embankment Galleries, London
2015 Pallant House Galleries, Chichester
2015 Minerva Gallery, Chichester
2017 Royal Academy, London
2018 Sewell Gallery Oxford
2018 Atkinson Gallery, Millfield
2018 Castle Gallery, Exeter
2019 Sidcot Galleries, Sidcot, Bristol
2019 [HERE] Gallery, Bristol
2019 Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2019 Prideaux Gallery, Farnham
2020 Roper Gallery, Bath Artists Studios, Bath
2020 Ace Art Gallery, Somerton, Somerset, Virtual Exhibition
2020 Absent Gallery, Somerset, Lockdown Virtual Exhibition
2021 Absent Gallery, Somerset, Open - Virtual Exhibition
2021 Ace Arts Gallery, Somerton, Somerset
2021 FLUX Exhibition, London, Virtual online
2021 Deansgate Gallery - Manchester - Manchester VR2020
One Man Shows
1983 28 May - 25 June - Turnpike gallery, Leigh, Greater Manchester
2018 7 September – 28 September - Sewell Gallery, Oxford
2018 5 November – 8 December - Atkinson Gallery, Millfield, Street, Somerset
2019 7 January – 25 February - Sidcot Gallery, Sidcot, Bristol, Somerset
2019 26 February - HERE Gallery, Bristol
2019 8 November – 28th - Prideaux Gallery, Lord Wandsworth College, Farnham
2020 6 February - 1 March - Roper Gallery - Bath Artists Studios
2020 28 March - 7 May - Ace Art Gallery - Somerton, Somerset (VIRTUAL)
2021 18 May - 19 June - Ace Art Gallery, Somerton, Somerset
Awards
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National Open Art 2014 Featured artist and selected prize-winner for their promotional artwork for the 2014 exhibition at Somerset House
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Reviews of exhibitions in Artscribe magazine and Abstract Critical on line
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International Sculpture Commission by Clarks Shoes International in 2006 to create a sculpture competition (and select a winner from the world’s leading sculptors) to produce a large scale sculpture to ‘front’ the entrance to their main factory in Street, Somerset
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Selector for Allura Malta National Art Exhibition 2018
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Review of One Man Show in Oxford Times - September 2018
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Reviews of One Man Show in The Mancunion magazine - September 2018
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Featured Artist in Somerset Life magazine November 2018
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Review of One Man Show in Galleries Magazine November 2018
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Review of One Man Show in Evolver Magazine by Fiona Robinson November 2018
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Featured Artist in Bath Life magazine February 2020