John Byrne: Ceci n'est pas une rétrospective
“Paisley ‘buddies’ are, to a man and a woman, total oddballs. I should know, I’m one of them,” said John once.
John’s formal life as an artist began aged 18 when he entered Glasgow School of Art. His mother said he started drawing in his pram. A year before entering the art school, he started at A F Stoddart & Co in Paisley - a “Technicolour hell hole” - as a ‘slab boy’. Much of what was to come, visually and literally, drew on what John observed there. In 1966 he secured an exhibition - and his passport out of factory life - at the Portal Gallery, London under the pseudonym “Patrick”. Having passed himself off as a self-taught naïf, he was given an exhibition. The dream-like images that made up the show met with success. His ruse was uncovered and from here he went on to design record covers for The Beatles, Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty; and to co-write songs with the latter.
From the early 1970s John diversified into writing, designing and directing stage and screen productions. In the decades that followed an extensive iconography unfolded amounting, in some cases, to a kind of pictorial autobiography. In a finely balanced act, he pulled together the macabre and humour. But back to oddballs: running through all of John’s work is the outsider, either as a lone figure or a fragment of society. The vision may be fantastical and magical but it’s what John knows.
This exhibition coincides with John Patrick Byrne: A Big Adventure, a major retrospective exhibition of John's work at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, 27 May to 18 September. Comprising seven sections, the exhibition highlights key aspects of John's prodigious career from the 1960s to today. Further details and tickets at Glasgow Life.
Left: Ceci n'est pas un autoportrait, 2003, oil on board, 31 x 28 inches
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John Byrne RSABlack Boy in Dungarees, 1972signed 'Patrick'; titled 'Black [...] Boy in Dungarees' in pencil versogouache on primed painting paper15 X 16 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAChild and Lion, 1975signed 'Patrick'; titled on stretcher versooil on canvas18 x 20 inches
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John Byrne RSADanse Macabre, 2002signed; signed and titled on board versooil on board47 1/4 x 35 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAPortrait of Ingebjorg Smith, 2003signed and inscribed 'Ingebjorg'pastel28 x 31 inches
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John Byrne RSAFive Self Portraitssignedpencil and ink on paper7 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAFeegie, 2012signedoil, pastel and pencil on paper13 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches
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John Byrne RSALa Bête Rouge, 2014signedoil on board29 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAThe Stranger, 2017signedoil on canvas laid on board24 x 20 inches
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John Byrne RSAThe Yellow Hat, 2018signed and titled, U/Pmonotype with watercolour and drawing in ink and pencil20 1/2 x 29 inchesU/P (unique print)
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John Byrne RSABlack Lives Matter, 2020signedoil on board23 3/4 x 26 inches
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John Byrne RSASelf Portrait with crown, 2021initialledoil on panel24 1/4 x 13 inches
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John Byrne RSAChurch of San Fortunato, Perugia, 1963signedink and wash on card22 x 17 1/4 inches
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John Byrne RSATwo Children, 1968signed 'Patrick'oil on panel38 x 48 inches
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John Byrne RSAMan on the beach with cat, 1972signed 'Patrick'acrylic on board7 x 13 inches
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John Byrne RSAThe Pink Boot, c. 1972-73signed 'Patrick'pen, ink and gouache on paper18 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAMeat Market, 1974signedgouache on board8 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches
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John Byrne RSAMarcellina, from 'The Marriage of Figaro', 1986inscribed 'Marcelina'pen, ink and watercolour on board11 x 4 1/4 inches
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John Byrne RSAAn Unsolved Crime, 1997signed 'Patrick'watercolour and ink on paper18 x 24 inches
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John Byrne RSASelf portrait against the light, c. 2000signedmixed media on paper16 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches
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John Byrne RSACeci n'est pas un autoportrait, 2003signed and inscribed with title; titled and dated 2003 on frame versooil on board31 x 28 inches
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John Byrne RSACrisis in Underwood Lane, 2010-11signedoil on canvas30 x 24 inches
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John Byrne RSAGlen Park Velo, 2012signedoil, pastel and pencil on paper laid on board15 x 15 3/4 inches
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John Byrne RSANight and Day, 2012diptych, signed 'Patrick'oil on board56 x 96 inches (each panel 56 x 48 inches)
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John Byrne RSADesign for the King's Theatre dome mural, c. 2013signed and inscribed 'Scale 2/3 of Section AA (1:10CAO)'gouache and pencil on paper33 1/2 x 32 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAGray's Anatomy, 2014oil on board26 x 18 inches
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John Byrne RSAThe Huntsman and the Snowy Owl, 2014signed; inscribed with title versocasein on paper42 1/2 x 32 inches
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John Byrne RSA'Your Cheatin' Heart', hand painted guitarsigned and inscribed 'Your Cheatin' Heart'oil36 1/2 x 13 x 3 1/2 inches
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John Byrne RSAThe father of Man, 2020signed; inscribed on linen versooil and bodycolour on linen15 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches
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John Byrne RSASelf portrait, 2021signedoil on board30 x 19 3/4 inches
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John Byrne RSADouble Self Portrait II - Looking Back Seriessignedpastel and ink on paper5 3/4 x 4 inches