Derek Hill, an RCA-trained practitioner from northeast England, has a proven track record of public engagement. Hill founded the Art Studio, Sunderland, in 1986, where he developed his artwork as its artistic lead for 26 years before moving to his current studio in 2012. His project Flaw was exhibited as a solo exhibition at the Myles Meehan Gallery in 2009 and Flaw, The New Work at the South Hill Park Arts Centre in 2011. Hill was the artist in residence at the CBCB, Newcastle University, between 2016 and 2022, researching and developing artwork. The artwork for Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds was exhibited at the CBCB in 2018 and 2022. Part of the collection is available for viewing by appointment at the CBCB.
Notes on Current Development 2024: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/current-paintings-2024/ Current paintings: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/current-paintings/ book: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/book/?cat=84 Awards: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/awards/?cat=84 Reviews & Exhibitions: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/reviews-exhibitions/ The Art Studio: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/the-art-studio/?cat=84 Hill’s first solo exhibition, Victory and Defeat, opened in 1983 at the Imperial War Museum’s entry lobby in London. The ‘Victory and Defeat exhibition featured twenty-five etchings and drawings organised by Angela Weight, IWM’s keeper. Victorious and Defeated: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/13013 “Derek Hill works like an alchemist. His studio is a magical place where he conducts his experiments. It is a cavernous roof space with alcoves and wooden stairways on every side. Overhead is a tangle of huge wooden beams with an occasional fluttering pigeon, and in the middle is a great irregular space. Paintings are everywhere. They are slotted in rows into every alcove. They cover the floor with sheets of polythene. On the narrow strips between them are pots and tools, and there’s not much room to walk. by J. Millard (Former manager of Liverpool and Newcastle Museums) Flaw (continued) Julie Revell, Head of Exhibitions, invited Hill to present a solo exhibition of paintings from his ongoing project, ‘Flaw,’ in the Myles Meehan Gallery of the Darlington Art Centre in 2009/10. Dr. Outi Remes, SHP Visual Arts Director, curated the second show in the series, ‘Flaw, the New Work,’ held a year later, in 2011, in the Bracknell Galleries at South Hill Park Arts Centre. (See exhibition images and reviews below.). For handsets press on the link until list of options appear and click on the Preview page. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.466661434861.252735.56652329861&type=3 https://www.a-n.co.uk/tag/south-hill-park-arts-centre/page/2/ https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/flaw/ Since 2016, Hill has been developing a series of paintings based on the theme ‘Shifting Worlds,’ a project still in progress. A collection of his paintings is now on display at Newcastle University’s Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB) at the Baddiley-Clark Building. Viewing by appointment. A recent set of paintings and films was displayed in the public forum of the building in 2022. (See reviews: “When Art and Science Collide” and “Big and Small” below.) Contact reception for viewing. https://www.derekhill.co.uk/open-now-hidden-kingdoms-shifting-worlds-exhibition-baddiley-clark https://www.thecrackmagazine.com/view-editorial/6880 http://www.derekhill.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/FLASH.docx.pdf https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEaXqBBNmccqIWlSfvFIDI9xU https://www.ncl.ac.uk/cbcb/about/engagement/ Derek Hill received widespread acclaim for his pioneering work at the Art Studio, including recognition from The Daily Telegraph and the Association of Business Sponsors for the Arts. In 1996, Arts Council England and the City of Sunderland commissioned the installation book for the Visual Arts UK Initiative. His work has been shown in London, Oxford, Glasgow, Paris, and Belgrade, and it is held in private and public collections, including the Imperial War Museum in London. He has been featured in national publications such as the Telegraph, the Observer, the Arts Council’s “96 from 96,” Arts Review, and Flash Art International, an online magazine.
Flaw
Derek’s alchemy consists of making combinations from his remarkable storehouse of materials and deploying his immense compendium of techniques. His images are drawn, poured, and painted in a meticulous sequence of actions balancing chance and control. Some of his canvases are like microscopic biological processes expanded to a massive size. Others appear to be vast geographical processes made to happen in a few square feet. They are lucid and mysterious, generous and intense, majestic and, literally, wonderful.”Hidden Kingdoms: Shifting Worlds
