Leo Fitzmaurice (born 1963 in Shropshire, England) is a British artist.

Leo Fitzmaurice
Born1963
Shropshire, England
Alma mater
OccupationArtist
AwardsNorthern Art Prize (2011)
Websitewww.leofitzmaurice.com

Biography

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Fitzmaurice was born in Shropshire, England, in 1963. He studied painting at Leicester Polytechnic, Liverpool Polytechnic and Manchester Metropolitan University.[1]

After leaving college Fitzmaurice moved away from pure painting and his practice eventually focussed on a strategy of intervening in already existing objects, materials and situations, a way of working which continues to this day.[1] Some of his earlier work was shown at EASTinternational[2] in 1995 where one of his pieces was purchased for the Arts Council Collection.[3] Also after graduating Fitzmaurice developed an interest in working in non-gallery situations by co-organising a number of 'artist-led' projects such as All in the Mind (1998), with artist Patricia McKinnon Day, which took place inside a disused mental asylum;[4] and Up In The Air/Further Up In The Air (1999–2004) with artist Neville Gabie, which used tower blocks as contexts for art and writing.[5][6] In these projects Fitzmaurice worked with the artists and writers George Shaw, Julian Stallabrass, Elizabeth Wright, Lothar Gotz, Will Self, Anna Fox, Marcus Coates and Bill Drummond amongst others.[7][8][9]

During this time Fitzmaurice continued to develop his own practice, exhibiting widely in shows such as Good Riddance at MOT, London, in 2007;[10][11] the international sculpture show Blickachsen 6 in Germany the same year;[12][13] Undone at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds in 2010[14] (which was reviewed in Art Monthly by David Briers);[15] The Way We Do Art Now, curated by Pavel Buchler, at Tanya Leighton Gallery, London, also in 2010;[16][17] Chain Chain Chain, 2012, at Bischoff Weiss, London, curated by Glenn Adamson;[18] and Cosmos Levels, the same year, curated by Jamie Bracken Lobb at The Sunday Painter gallery, London.[19][20] During this period Fitzmaurice developed the long-term project Post Match which was launched in 2009 with a publication by art agency Locus+.[21] It was later shown at Gallery So in London and reviewed in Creative Times.[22][23]

Solo projects occurring at this time include Sometimes the Things You Touch Come True at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 2009;[24][25] You Try To Tell Me But I Never Listen at the New Art Gallery Walsall, 2011;[26] and Blank Stir[27] at Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool (with Paul Rooney), 2012.[28] In 2008 Fitzmaurice was commissioned by Harewood House in Leeds to make the sculptural work What Use is a Sign if We Know The Way,[29] and later that same year Leeds art agency Kaavous-Bhoyroo commissioned the found-concrete multiple work Recouper.[30]

Fitzmaurice was shortlisted for the Northern Art Prize in 2011, presented at Leeds Art Gallery, eventually winning the prize for his presentation of a slide-show of photographs and an arrangement of 13 landscape paintings from the gallery's collection.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b Healey, Lauren (March 2013). "Leo Fitzmaurice". a-n.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. ^ "EASTinternational". Eastinternational.net. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Redirect: Artists". Artscouncilcollection.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Artworks in a straitjacket". The Independent. 27 October 1998. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Public Art Online Housing Case Studies - Further up in the air". Publicartonline.org. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Furtherafield". a-n The Artists Information Company. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  7. ^ Further Up in the Air. Fitzmaurice, Leo; Gabie, Neville. (Eds). Furtherafield ISBN 0-9545778-0-9
  8. ^ "From Studio to Situation (2004)". Situations. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ^ GaWood (11 August 2002). "Reach for the skies". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  10. ^ "MOT International". Motinternational.org. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Frieze Magazine - Archive - Good Riddance". Frieze.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Blickachsen - Archive: Blickachsen 1-8 - Contemporary Sculpture in the Historic Bad Homburg Kurpark". Blickachsen.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Blickachsen - Archive: Blickachsen 1-8 - Contemporary Sculpture in the Historic Bad Homburg Kurpark - Works - Exhibits Details". Blickachsen.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  14. ^ "The Henry Moore Foundation - Undone". Henry-moore.org. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Art Monthly (Dec-Jan 10-11)". Exacteditions.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Tanya Leighton - Pavel Büchler - The Way We Do Art Now". Tanyaleighton.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  17. ^ "A weekend of goodness". domusweb.it. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  18. ^ "ArtSlant - Chain Chain Chain at Bischoff/ Weiss". ArtSlant. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  19. ^ "COSMO'S LEVELS - The Sunday Painter". Thesundaypainter.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Cosmo's Levels". Time Out London. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  21. ^ Locus+. "Leo Fitzmaurice". Locusplus.org.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Leo Fitzmaurice : Post Match - 6 December 2013 – 26 January 2014". Gallery SO. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  23. ^ "Art review: Leo Fitzmaurice - Post Match - Creative Times". Creativetimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  24. ^ "Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Leo Fitzmaurice at YSP". Ysp.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  25. ^ "Yorkshire Sculpture Park". Ysp.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  26. ^ "The New Art Gallery Walsall - Whats On - Leo Fitzmaurice L You Try To Tell Me But I Never Listen - More Images From Leos Exhibition". Thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  27. ^ Paul Rooney: Black Ear, 2012. Vimeo.
  28. ^ "This week's new exhibitions". The Guardian. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  29. ^ "Gardens & Grounds". Harewood House. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  30. ^ "kaavous-bhoyroo". Kaavous-bhoyroo.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  31. ^ Youngs, Ian (20 January 2012). "Leo Fitzmaurice wins Northern Art Prize". BBC Online. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
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