OXFORDSHIRE.- One of the founding figures of British Pop art in the early 1960s, Joe Tilson was famous long before the Beatles and David Hockney. He studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and then at the Royal College of Art. In 1955 he won the much coveted Rome Prize, which took him to live in Italy where he continues to live and work today. He is a Royal Academician and his artistic career was celebrated at the Royal Academy in a retrospective exhibition in 2002. Despite his success and perhaps due to his relocation to Italy, his work remains one of the most affordable artists of his generation.

A lifelong dedicated printmaker, Joe Tilson has gained a reputation as one of Britain’s foremost artists producing prints, multiples, constructions, paintings and reliefs. His enduring appeal relies on his consistent refusal to recognise the artificial divisions between the unique and the editioned artwork. Many of his prints are largely hand-painted and his ‘paintings’ are based around print-making techniques. His early work embraced the hedonism and optimism of the 1960s and he became a natural exponent of the ‘Pop Art’ era.

The 1970s saw a shift in his work when he moved to Italy as he began to reflect on the five elements and Greek and Roman mythology. Italy remains a strong focus in his work and some of his most recent imagery is inspired by the churches of Venice. All periods of the artist’s career will be represented in Bohun Gallery’s show with a wide selection of prints, multiples and constructions.

Over its 40 Year history, Bohun Gallery has had the opportunity to work with some of Britain’s greatest printmakers and introduce the work of Joe Tilson RA and to celebrate his achievements in this long-overdue solo show.