Paul Critchley

Rainford, England 1960The young are judged on their potential, the old on the quality of their productivity; art is one of those subjects where experience counts. What did I know when I left art college at the age of 22, other than I wanted to go to London, the Mecca of the Art World? However two things prevented me: Firstly it was too expensive and secondly it would have been too easy. I realised that if I was to do anything I would need complete isolation in order to develop my own voice, so I got a part time job and three years later I went to Berlin which, at that time, was an island-city behind the Iron Curtain. Not knowing a single soul and even less of the language I spent a year in splendid isolation. I was free from both the fetters of obligation and the expectations of others, it was ideal for me: the new start I felt I needed. At the time I even toyed with living in East Berlin but the bureaucracy and my limited school German made it impossible - plus the fact that nobody ever went to live in the East. I was learning more than the rules of perspective; I was putting myself in perspective and learning about life outside of my previous narrow academic life: school, college, teaching. A chance encounter in Berlin led me to ...

1978 - 1979 St. Helens College of Art & Design
1979 - 1982 Coventry Polytechnic, B.A. (Hons) Fine Art

Individual Exhibitions

2013 Panoramic Installation, SCOPE Basel
2012 Verbeelde Ruimte, Panorama Mesdag Museum, The Hague
2011 Step into the Picture, Gallery Oldham, Oldham
2008 Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art, Manchester
2007 Prudential HQ, London
2005 Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam
2003 Broadway Windows, New York
2003 Museum Kunstlicht in de Kunst, Eindhoven
2003 Galerie Maas, Rotterdam
2003 Dutch-Art.nl/Ahrend, Rijswijk, Netherlands
1997 Galeria Mar, Barcelona
1997 Casa de Cultura, Alfas del Pi, Spain
1997 Palais des Congres, Lourdes, France
1996 Xauen, Galeria de Arte, Granada, Spain
1996 Galeria Asensi, Castellon, Spain
1996 Zahnart, Grimma, Germany
1995 Object Art Enterprises, Brisbane, Australia
1994 Haus Havemann, Luneburg, Germany
1993 Casar, Galeria de Arte, Alicante, Spain
1991 La Galerie, Fontvieille, France
1990 Hall Richards Gallery, London
1988 Galerie Rath, Cologne
1987 Haus Hildener Kunstler, Hilden, Germany

Two Man Exhibitions
2011 Respective Perspectives, Drumcroon Gallery, Wigan (with Patrick Hughes)
2006 Dutch-Art.nl, Rotterdam (Marcel Warmenhoven)
2005 McHardy Sculpture Company, London (Antonio Lopez)
2000 Palais des Congres, Lourdes, France (Harold Critchley)
1999 Galeria D'Art Ma...