John Gibbons

John Gibbons was born in Ireland in 1949. He studied at Limerick School of Art and Design (1969-70), Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, (1970-72) and at St Martin's School of Art, London (1972-76). Following his formal education, Gibbons became a regular visitor to the United States and Canada where he was visiting artist at Sculpture Space, Utica, NY (1980); Triangle Arts Trust, Pine Plains (1982), Clayworks Studio Workshop, NYC, and Syracuse University (1983); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1984); and Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada (1985) and Art Triangle Barcelona (1987). …

John Gibbons was born in Ireland in 1949. He studied at Limerick School of Art and Design (1969-70), Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, (1970-72) and at St Martin's School of Art, London (1972-76). Following his formal education, Gibbons became a regular visitor to the United States and Canada where he was visiting artist at Sculpture Space, Utica, NY (1980); Triangle Arts Trust, Pine Plains (1982), Clayworks Studio Workshop, NYC, and Syracuse University (1983); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1984); and Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada (1985) and Art Triangle Barcelona (1987).

John Gibbons' early sculpture, in particular when he was a student at St Martin's School of Art, was made partly as a reaction against conceptual art, where the ideas or concepts held supremacy over the object. His sculpture then, as now, celebrates its own physicality, with an emphasis on materials and construction. His works have been made from scrap steel, bronze and over the past six years virgin stainless steel sheets and bars. In the late 1970's he made some small-scale pieces in lead which, because of its malleability, required a different approach - the sculptures were either compacted or folded in different ways. Deeply textural, they are often designed to be sited in surprising environments, such as the tree-top abode of Angels V, VI, VII. In this way, Gibbons has become a master of juxtaposition. As a student of both William Tucker and David Annesley, Gibbons enjoyed the support of two very different major artists. Despite being much enriched by this contact, he has steered his own course. Gibbons' sculpture is in major public collections in America, Canada and Europe. He currently lives and works in London.