Alan Birch

Artist Alan Birch has been working with print for over 25 years, His work imbued with a sense of the surreal, can be found in collections at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, The Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool and Touchstones,Rochdale and numerous private collections in the Uk and overseas.
Recent work:
Later-Day Saints.
Over the the last three years I have been working on a series of prints, initially monoprints, which take their starting point from the collection of saintly wood carvings in the Wellcome Collection at The Science Museum in London . The depiction of saints is a subject I have been long fascinated with, whether in paintings or adorning churches. Found in illustrations or adorning religious spaces, the power, durability and spirituality of these works has remained, strongly linked to faith. Originally used as comforting symbols for followers, the depicted icons offered hope and solace from medical and personal difficulties. A typical example being St Apollonia, the patron saint of tooth problems, martyred by having her teeth pulled, often depicted in illustrations having her teeth extracted. The seed for this series was sown earlier this year when the media reported that Roberto Mancini had been to church ...

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
1977 - 78. TAMESIDE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY.
Foundation Course in Art and Design.
1978 - 81. WOLVERHAMPTON POLYTECHNIC. FACULTY OF ART & DESIGN.BA ( Honours ) Degree Course in Fine Art. Awarded Upper Second Degree.
1980. MARSEILLES COLLEGE OF ARTS, FRANCE.
Summer term spent on student exchange programme.
1995-97: MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY and CITY COLLEGE, MANCHESTER. ( postgraduate Certificate in Education.FAHE.NVQ Level 3 and 4 including TDLB Units D32, D33 and D36.
1999-2001: MA PRINTMAKING at BRADFORD & ILKLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE. Awarded Distinction.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017: West Yorkshire Print Workshop.
Later-day Saints.
2016: Leeds International Medieval Conference.
Later-day Saints
20016: The John Rylands Library. Manchester.
Later-day Saints.
2008: “ The Disasters of War “ Mid Pennine Art Gallery, Burnley, Lancashire.
2007: “ The Truth is out There “ Blackburn Art Gallery, Lancashire.
2006: Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington, Lancashire.
2005: Waterside Art Gallery, Sale, Trafford.
( exhibition linked to Disparates by Goya )
2004: “ Fearless “, Touchstones Art Gallery and Museum, Rochdale.
2003 “ Obsession” , Huyton Art Gallery, Huyton, Merseyside.
2001: “ Mythologies “ Tameside Art Gallery,Ashton-under-Lyne. Tameside.
1998 Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, Lancashire.
1993: " Dead Men Don't Bite! " Buxton Art Gallery and Museum, Derbyshire.
" Biting Beasts." Castlefield Art Gallery, Manchester.
1991: " Biting the Dust. " Stockport Art Gallery. Tameside.
1990: “ 5 Dryden Street Covent Garden, London.
1989: Langley Furrow Gallery, Middleton, Lancs.
" Biting Back",Oldham Art Gallery, Lancashire.
1986: Galerie Aanbeeld Ingenium, Rotterdam, Holland.
1985: Galerie Z.T., Rotterdam, Holland.
Galerie Hotel Central,Rotterdam, Holland...