Wikipedia

David Remfry

David RemfryMBERARWS(born 1942 inWorthing,England)[1]is a British painter and curator. He served as the Eranda Professor of Drawing at theRoyal Academy Schoolsfrom 2016 to 2018 and as a competition judge for the Royal Academy of Arts Charles Wollaston Award in 2021. In 2023 he coordinated the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.[2][3]A retrospective of Remfry’s work, curated by Dr Gerardine Mulcahy-Parker, is planned for 2025 atBeverley Art Gallery,East Riding.

David Remfry
MBERARWS
BornJuly 1942(1942-07)(age82)
Worthing,West Sussex, England
EducationHull College of Arts and Crafts(1959–64)
Known for
Websitedavidremfry

Career

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Remfry moved toHullaged five and attended Hull College of Art from 1959 to 1964 before moving to London. His first solo show was in London at theGrafton Galleryin 1973 and in the United States at the Ankrum Gallery, Los Angeles in 1980. He has exhibited since then at galleries in London, Holland, New York, Los Angeles and Florida. In 2002 Alanna Heiss curated a show of his work atMoMA PS1,New York.[4]Other exhibitions include theBoca Raton Museum of Art,1999 and 2002Butler Institute of American Art,2003, Ohio, and theMuseum of Art - DeLand,2017 Orlando.

Solo museum shows in the UK includethe Usher Gallery,Lincoln (2023),[5][6]Rugby Art Gallery and Museum,Rugby (2023),[7]the inaugural exhibition at the newRoyal Watercolour SocietyGallery in Whitcomb Street, London (2022),[8][9]The Lightbox,Woking (2020-21),[10]Pallant House Gallery,Chichester (2015),[11]theFitzwilliam Museum,Cambridge (2005),Ferens Art Gallery,Hull, (1975 and 2005),Middlesbrough Art Gallery,theNational Portrait Gallery(1992) and theVictoria and Albert Museum,London (2003). The National Portrait Gallery commissioned Remfry to paintSir John Gielgudin 1981 and also acquired his watercolor ofJean Muir.[12]

Awards

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Remfry was elected a member of theRoyal Watercolour Societyin 1987. In 2001 he was awarded the M.B.E. for services to British Art in America by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2006 he was elected a Member of theRoyal Academy of Arts,London and in 2007 he was invited to receive Honorary Doctorate of Arts by theUniversity of Lincoln.Remfry was awarded the Hugh Casson Drawing Prize at the 2010 Summer Exhibition and was Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy Schools from 2016 to 2018.[1]

New York City

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In 1994 Remfry was offered an exhibition at the Tatistcheff Gallery on 57th Street. He moved to theHotel Chelseaon 23rd Street in 1995 and took a studio in the recently converted 526 West 26th Street building in Chelsea. The exhibition Gotham Nights opened at Tatistcheff on 30 January 1996. In the catalogue Remfry saidThis is an extraordinary city. It oozes vitality. It is vital because it is dangerous. It is dangerous because it throws out infinite possibilities, many wonderful and some hazardous. It is a city of paradox; cruelty and compassion side by side. There are people who lead lives dedicated to others. There are some dedicated to taking from others. You run to survive, nobody coasts. They say the city never sleeps. It does, but only cat naps in the early hours and even then its cacophony haunts your own sleep.

Dancers

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In 2002 George Bolge, Director of theBoca Raton Museum of Artcurated the exhibitionDavid Remfry Dancers.A body of work begun by Remfry in 1985 that numbered over 80 paintings and drawings, many of which had not been exhibited before. Remfry was working almost exclusively on paper, but not in the conventional way of small, polite landscapes. His watercolors are large; some single-figure pieces are practically life-size, and his subjects are decidedly urban.

To coincide with the exhibition a book,Dancers,was published by the Boca Raton Museum of Art. It serves as a biographical and critical study of the work, with essays by Edward Lucie-Smith, Dore Ashton and Carter Ratcliff, and provides a definitive mid-career survey of an increasingly important and original figure in British and American Art.

The exhibition toured to the Butler Museum of Art, Ohio, (2003) The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2005) and the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull (2005/6).

People and Dogs Drawn Together

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In his studio at the Hotel Chelsea, Remfry became fascinated by the relationships that develop between dogs and their owners. His drawings and watercolours reveal the mutual understanding and sympathy of these partnerships. The drawings depict actors includingEthan Hawke(and Nina),Susan Sarandon(with Penny and Rigby) andAlan Cumming(with Honey)[13]and several Hotel Chelsea neighbours among them April Barton (with Ava), Laura Kaplan (with Oscar) and Drew Straub (with Fuzzy) the philanthropistAgnes Gund(with Tina, Giotto and Bronzino) and Mayer Rus (with Louise).[14][15]

In 2015 theRoyal Academy of Arts,London published the bookWe Think The World of You,People and Dogs Drawn Together.ISBN978-1-910350-17-1.Distributed outside the United States and Canada byThames & Hudson,Ltd London and distributed in the United States and Canada by Harry N. Abrams, Inc, New York.

A series of films were produced for the exhibitionPeople and Dogs Drawn Togetherdirected bySimeon Lumgair.

Drawings for Stella McCartney

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In 2002Stella McCartneycommissioned Remfry to produce a series of drawings of fashion model Tetyana Brazhnyk to be used in the advertising campaign to launch the first collection of her own fashion house in association withAbsolut Vodka(which has a history of dramatic and provocative advertising incorporating the work of contemporary artists).[16]McCartney was prompted to commission Remfry after seeing one of his drawings on the cover of the second edition of "The Image" magazine from 1972. (Peter Blakeproduced the first cover). The retro styling and the sensual mood of these drawings are characteristic of Remfry's work, and also of Stella McCartney's designs, which are inspired by 1960s and 70s fashions.

In addition to appearing in all major fashion magazines, a giant 10-story poster appeared on the side of the Mondrian Hotel LA to coincide with the launch of the project at theChateau Marmont.McCartney said "Absolut has a long history of collaborating with fashion designers, photographers, painters and other visual artists and I'm excited to join their ranks," said Stella. "I'm particularly excited because this marks the first time that drawings have been used in the campaign."

In September 2003 theVictoria and Albert Museum,London openedFashion into Art: David Remfry Drawings forStella McCartneycurated by Fiona Leslie. McCartney said on that occasion, "David uses the pencil in a bold and direct way. Yet the result is human, feminine and delicate. These drawings captured a moment in fashion. You can feel the sexual chemistry between the artist and his muse, a style of drawing not often seen, and I admire him for keeping it alive".

A book,Fashion into Art:David Remfry Drawings for Stella McCartneyaccompanied the exhibition and features an interview with the artist by Lance EsplundISBN0971397244.

Work in public collections

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References

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  1. ^ab"Artists - David Remfry RA".Royal Academy.Retrieved24 March2023.
  2. ^"Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2023".Royal Academy.Retrieved24 February2023.
  3. ^"The Royal Academy of Arts Announces the 255th Summer Exhibition Committee with David Remfry RA as Co-Ordinator".FAD Magazine.2 December 2022.Retrieved24 March2023.
  4. ^"Past Exhibitions, David Remfry, MoMA PS1".MoMA.Retrieved24 February2023.
  5. ^"David Remfry: Lincoln exhibition 'a homecoming of sorts'".BBC Lincolnshire.17 January 2023.Retrieved24 February2023.
  6. ^"Legendary painter bringing exhibition with Stella McCartney portrait to Lincoln".The Lincolnite.18 January 2023.
  7. ^"David Remfry RA: People and Dogs Drawn Together | Rugby Art Gallery and Museum".Rugby Art Gallery and Museum.Retrieved24 February2023.
  8. ^"DAVID REMFRY: WATERCOLOUR".Royal Watercolour Society.
  9. ^David Remfry: Watercolour at the Royal Watercolour Society - Curated by James Russell,retrieved19 May2023
  10. ^"We Think the World of You: People and Dogs Drawn Together by David Remfry | The Lightbox".The Lightbox.21 June 2020.Retrieved24 February2023.
  11. ^"David Remfry: We Think the World of You | Pallant House Gallery".Pallant House Gallery.Retrieved24 February2023.
  12. ^"National Portrait Gallery | David Remfry, Artist of 2 portraits".National Portrait Gallery, London.Retrieved24 February2023.
  13. ^"Alan Cumming and beloved rescue dog Honey feature in portraits to be exhibited in Surrey".ITV News.9 October 2020.
  14. ^"David Remfry on his dogs, Sir John Gielgud and turning down a chance to paint Margaret Thatcher".The Evening Standard.20 October 2015.Retrieved24 March2023.
  15. ^"Artist David Remfry paw-trays Susan Sarandon and Alan Cumming with their pooches".The Art Newspaper.7 September 2020.
  16. ^"Untitled, 2002, drawing by David Remfry commissioned by Stella McCartney".V&A Museum.2002.
  17. ^"Quiet Rooms, oil on canvas by David Remfry on Art UK".Art UK.Retrieved24 March2023.
  18. ^"The Ingram Collection".ingramcollection.Retrieved19 May2023.
  19. ^"Guessing Game, oil on canvas by David Remfry on Art UK".Art UK.Retrieved24 March2023.
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