1930
Born in Barnes, London, United Kingdom
2018
Died in North Devon, United Kingdom
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022
Gillian Ayres, Galería Marlborough, Madrid, Spain
2021
Gillian Ayres, Marlborough Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2019
Spotlight: Gillian Ayres, Joyous Colour, Tate Britain, London, United Kingdom
I See Nature Like Paint: Gillian Ayres: Paintings 1972-83, Mark Rothko Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia
Gillian Ayres: Song Beneath the Stars, Cristea Roberts Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2018
Gillian Ayres, PIFO Gallery, Beijing, China
2017
Sailing off the Edge: Gillian Ayres’ Abstract Painting, Past to Present, China Art Museum, Beijing, China
Gillian Ayres, Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Llanbedrog, Wales, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres: Retrospective Exhibition, National Museum Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Penzance, Wales, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres: New Paintings and Woodcuts, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2015
Gillian Ayres: New Paintings and Prints, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2014
Gillian Ayres: New Works and Woodcuts, Burton Art Gallery, Bideford, Devon, United Kingdom
2013
Gillian Ayres: Works on Paper 1990-2011, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, United Kingdom; travelled to
Turnpike Gallery, Leigh, United Kingdom; Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, United Kingdom
2012
Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Works on Paper, 2010-2012, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United
Kingdom
Gillian Ayres: Paintings from the 50’s, Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, United Kingdom
2010
Gillian Ayres (Room 23), Tate Britain, London, United Kingdom
New Painting and Prints, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
Retrospective, John Moores Painting Prize Show, Seongnam Arts Centre, Seongnam, Korea
2009
At the Edge: British Art 1950 - 2000, Gallery Two, Three & Four, Rochdale, United Kingdom
2007
New Paintings, Prints and Monoprints, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2006
New and Recent Paintings, Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland
2005
At This Stage, Southampton City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
2004
Surface Tensions, Norwich City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
2001
Gillian Ayres: New Prints, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1999
Gillian Ayres: New Paintings, Gimpel Fils, London, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres: New Prints, Alan Cristea Gallery, London, United Kingdom
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-sea, United Kingdom
1997
Gillian Ayres, Sackler Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London; travelled to The Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Iowa University Museum, United States
Works on Paper, Gimpel Fils, London, United Kingdom
The Customs House, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
1996
Gimpel Fils, London, United Kingdom
1995
Solo Room, Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1994
Bolton City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
1991-94
Chosen by the British Council as the Solo British Representative for the Seventh Triennale, India; travelled to Nicholson Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, India; Lalit Kala Akademi, Madras, India; Karnataka Chirakala Parishath, Bangalore, India; Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, Calcutta, India; Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabrindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India; Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle, Ireland; Ayuntamiento De Calvia, Salon De Las Artes. Leon, France; Palacio Almundi, Murcia, Spain; Torreon De Lozoya, Segovia, Spain
1993
Indian Summer, Manchester City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom
Atkinson Gallery, Somerset, United Kingdom
Atlantis Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1991
Kilkenny Arts Festival, The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland
1989
Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Arnolfini, Bristol, United Kingdom
1988
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1987
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1985
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, United States
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1984
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1983
Gillian Ayres Solo Retrospective, The Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom; travelled to Cooper Gallery, Barnsley; Newyln Gallery, Penzance; Nottingham University Art Gallery; Mostyn Art Gallery, Llandudno, United Kingdom
1982
Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, United Kingdom
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1979
Knoedler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1978
Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, United Kingdom
1977
Galerie Alvarez, Porto, Portugal
1976
William Darby Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres: Acrylic Paintings, Women’s Interart Centre, New York, United States
1973
Hoya Gallery, London, United Kingdom; travelled to Oxford Gallery, Oxford, United Kingdom
1967
Gillian Ayres: Prints, Ceramics and Drawings, Alecto Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1966
Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom
1965
Hamilton Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Kasmin Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1964
Arnolfini, Bristol, United Kingdom
1963
Hamilton Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1962
Molton Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1960
Molton Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1958
Redfern Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1957
Kara Benson Gallery, Oslo, Norway
1956
Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One, London, United Kingdom
Selected Group Shows
2024
The 14th China Songzhuang Culture and Art Festival, Songzhuang Art Center, Beijing, China
A Constellation of Cities: Contemporary Art and Experiment in Southern China and Beyond, Guangdong Museum of Art (BAIETAN), Guangzhou, China
2023
The Power of Painting: between Ideas and Beliefs, Ennova Art Museum, Langfang, China
Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940–70, Whitechapel Art Gallery,London, United Kingdom / Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles,Arles, France
New Gestures: Experiments in British Painting in the 1950s and 60s, Austin/Desmond Fine Art, London,United Kingdom
Sensing Abstraction, Cristea Roberts Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Explorations in Paint Exhibition, Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex, United Kingdom
UK vs. USA: Post-war to Present, Alon Zakaim Fine Art, London, United Kingdom
Abstract Colour, Marlborough Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2022
Postwar Modern: New Art in Britain 1945-1965, Barbican, London, United Kingdom
The Experience of Painting, Alex Vardaxoglou Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Ruminations, Gazelli Art House, London, United Kingdom
2021
Hockney to Himid: 60 Years of British Printmaking, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, United
Kingdom
Listing, PIFO Gallery, Beijing, China
David Diao - Traces of Modernism | Gillian Ayres, Ian Davenport, John Hoyland, Albert Irvin and Bridget Riley, Gazelli Art House, London, United Kingdom
Summer Exhibition, Marlborough Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Summer Exhibition, Marlborough Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2020
Summer Exhibition 2020, PIFO Gallery, Beijing, China
2019
Bad Actors, KARST, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Gillian Ayres/Rachel Jones/Nao Matsunaga, New Art Centre, Salisbury, United Kingdom
The World as Yet Unseen: Women Artists in Conversation with Partou Zia, Falmaouth ArtGallery, Falmouth, United Kingdom
She’s Eclectic: Women Artists of the VG&M Collection, Rodeo, London, United Kingdom
2018
Perfect: Buddhism and Art, Putian Art Museum, Putian, China
Albert Irvin: Abstract Expressionism and how it influenced him and his contemporaries, Royal Westof England Academy, London, United Kingdom
LONDON, Quebec, Canada
Surface Work, Victoria Miro, London, United Kingdom
2017
Decade: Abstract Art 10, PIFO Gallery, Beijing, China
2015
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
No Set Rules, Ben Uri Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2014
As Exciting as We Can Make It: IKON in the 1980s, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
2012
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
My Generation: Art of the 60s and Early 70s, Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2011
Objects of Delight: Personal Choices from the Arts Council Collection, QUAD, Derby, United Kingdom
2010
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
As Dreamers Do, Works of the 1960s from the Calouste, Gulbenkian Foundation’s Art Collection, Centre Culturel Calouste Gulbenkain, Paris, France
Retrospective: John Moores Painting Prize Show, Seongnam Arts Centre, Seongnam, Korea
2009
At the Edge, British Art 1950-200, Touchstones, Rochdale, United Kingdom; travelled to Harris
Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, United Kingdom; Gallery Oldham, United Kingdom; Bolton
Museum, Art Gallery and Aquarium, Bolton, United Kingdom
2008
Blitzkreig Pop, Man and Eve Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Colour Show, Hilton Young Gallery, Penzance, United Kingdom
2006
Passion for Paint, National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
How to Improve the World, Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2004
Surface Tensions, Norwich City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
2002
Éigse Carlow Arts Festival, Carlow, Ireland
1998
Coming to Light: Recent Acquisitions, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, United Kingdom
In/Sight, University of Exeter Faculty of Arts, Exeter, United Kingdom
25 Years of Arts Week, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle, Ireland
1996
ACE! Arts Council Collection New Purchases, Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom; travelled
to The Harlech Biennale, Wales, United Kingdom; Oriel Senig, Gwynedd, United Kingdom
1995
Home and Away, Internationalism and British Art 1900-1990, Tate Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Newlyn Art Gallery: 100 Years–Context and Continuity, Newlyn Gallery, Penzance, United Kingdom
1993
The Sixties: Art and Popular Culture in Britain, Barbican Art Centre, London, United Kingdom
1992
Ready, Steady, Go: Painting of the Sixties from the Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre,
London, United Kingdom
The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London, United Kingdom
Heaven and Hell, Pomeroy Purdy Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1990
Great British Art Show, City Art Gallery, Glasgow, United Kingdom
1989
Blasphemies, Ecstasies, Cries, Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1988
Athena Towards, Barbican Art Centre, London, United Kingdom
100 Years of Art in Britain, Leeds City Art Gallery, United Kingdom
Presence of Painting: Aspects of British Abstraction 1955-88, Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom
1985
Summer in the City, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom
1983
Alive To It All, Arts Council Exhibition; travelled to Rochdale Art Gallery, United Kingdom;
Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, United Kingdom; City
Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth, United Kingdom; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, United
Kingdom
Art of Now: Peter Moores Liverpool Project 7, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Tolly Cobbold, Eastern Arts 4th National Exhibition, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, United Kingdom
1980
Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1977
British Painting 1952-1977, Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
1974
British Painting ’74, Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1971
Large Paintings – Three Painters(John Golding, Alan Gouk), Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1970
British Artists Prints 1961-66, British Council Exhibition; travelled to National Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland; Zoumboulakis Gallery, Athens, Greece; International Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp, Belgium; National Museum of Malta, Valletta, Malta; British Council Largos, Nigeria; Queensland
Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1968
Junge Generation Grossbritannien, Akademie der Kunst, Berlin, Germany
1967-69
British Painting: The New Generation, Museum of Modern Art, New York; touring United States
1967
Recent British Painting, Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Collection, Tate Gallery, London
1966
Aspects of New British Art, touring exhibition, Australia and New Zealand
1965
Op and Pop, Stockholm, Sweden
European Drawings, Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States
1963
British Painting in the Sixties, Whitechapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Seventh International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
1962
British Art, touring exhibition, Denmark
British Painting, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco; touring to Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, and Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, United States
Situation: An Arts Council Exhibition, Cambridge; touring to Newcastle, Bradford, Kettering and
Liverpool, United Kingsm
1961
New London Situation, Marlborough Gallery, London, United Kingdom
International Malerie, Aschaffenberg, Germany
Opening Exhibition, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom
1960
Guggenheim Award Paintings, RWS Galleries, London, United Kingdom
Situation, R.B.A. Galleries, London, United Kingdom
Art Alive, Northampton Museum of Art, Northampton, United Kingdom
Artists at Work, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Contemporary Paintings, Bristol City Art Gallery, Bristol, United Kingdom
1959
The Gregory Collection, ICA, London, United Kingdom
Premiere Biennale de Paris, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
1958
Dimensions: British Abstract Art, O’Hana Gallery, London, United Kingdom
New Trends in British Art, Rome-New York Art Foundations, Rome, Italy
Three British Abstractions: Gillian Ayres, Harold Cohen, Ralph Rumney, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom
British Abstract Painting, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1957
Metavisual, Tachiste, Abstract Painting in England Today, Redfern Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Dimensions: British Abstract Art, O’Hana Gallery,London, United Kingdom
Peinture Anglaise Contemporaine, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Liège, Belgium/Galerie du Perron, Geneva, Switzerland
La Peinture Britannique Contemporaine, Salle Balzac, Galleria Creuze, Paris, France
Summer Exhibition, Redfern Gallery, London, United Kingdom
8 British Abstract Painting, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Education
1941-6
St Paul’s Girls’ School, London, United Kingdom
1946-50
Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, London, United Kingdom
Selected Awards/Residencies
2011
Awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
2005
Elected Senior Royal Academician, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom
1989
Shortlisted for the Turner Prize, London, United Kingdom
1988
Awarded the Blackstone Prize at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition, London, United Kingdom
1986
Awarded Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
1979
Received the Arts Council Purchase Award, Second Prize
1967
Received the Arts Council Purchase Award, London, United Kingdom
1963
Japan International Art Promotion Association Award
Teaching Appointments
1959 – 66
Lecturer at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, United Kingdom
1978 – 81
Head Teacher of Painting at Winchester School of Art, United Kingdom
1966 – 78
Senior Lecturer at St. Martin’s School of Art, London, United Kingdom
Monographs
2017
Martin Gayford, David Cleaton-Roberts and Andrew Marr, Gillian Ayres (London: Art/Books, 2017)
2004
Mel Gooding, Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Works on Paper 1980-2004 (London: Alan Cristea Gallery, 2004)
2001
Mel Gooding, Gillian Ayres (London: Lund Humphries, 2001)
Public Collections
Asia-Pacific
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
British Council, New Delhi
CAFA Art Museum, Beijing
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Europe
Stuyvesant Foundation, The Netherlands
Hennie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo
Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon
UK Art Council of Great Britain
Birmingham City Art Gallery, Birmingham
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton
British Council, Manchester
British Museum, London
Bolton Museum, Bolton
Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford
Contemporary Art Society, London
Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries, Glasgow
Government (UK) Art Collection, London
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
John Creasey Collection of Contemporary Art, Salisbury
Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds
Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester
National Museum of Wales, Wales
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton
Swindon Art Gallery, Swindon
Tate Collection, London
Touchstones, Rochdale
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
USA
Museum of Fine Art, Boston
Museum of Modern Art, New York
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Brazil Olinda Museum, Sao Paulo
Museum of Modern Art, Brasilia