BARRY COTTRELL

burin engravings on copper

catalogue of engravings: about the artist

I was born in 1953 in Bristol, England; I studied psychology and philosophy at Oxford University and art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. I am also a researcher and writer: in 2008 my book, The Way Beyond The Shaman – Birthing A New Earth Consciousness was published by O Books now under Moon Books imprint.

 

Engraving and shamanism are both ancient practices and over the years I have been exploring ways in which they can communicate to us today. My recent project, Totem Body, continued this exploratory synthesis of consciousness research with image. For exhibitions on this theme please see below.

Engraving

Since 2011 I have been researching the origins of engraving as a PhD research project at Aberystwyth University.

In November 2007 I had two solo exhibitions of engravings, one The Driven Line at Christ Church Picture Gallery, in Oxford, and the other The Driven Line@Lessedra at Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The 'driven line' refers to the technique of pushing the burin through the copper plate. For more information about engraving and intaglio printmaking with some illustrations of my work see Mychael Barratt's handbook Intaglio Printmaking.

The Totem Body project

In early 2011 I had two solo exhibitions in the UK on the theme of Totem Body, one Totems and Transformations at Quay Arts, in Newport on the Isle of Wight; the other was Totem Body at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe, an exhibition of selected recent monoprints including the Wounded Animal series.

In June 2011 I curated and exhibited in Totem Body at the Crypt Gallery, London, a group exhibition exhibition celebrating our 'creature consciousness.' There is more information about this exhibition on the project website.

EXHIBITIONS since 2009

2014

3rd International Open Print Show: Art at Wharepuke, New Zealand (art-in-newzealand)

7th International Competition Ex Libris Biblioteca di Bodio Lomnago 2013-2014 (bodiolomnago)

5th International Miniature Print Biennale Ottawa School of Art, Canada ( artottawaminiprint)

Connecting the Dots (group exhibition) North Wall Gallery, Oxford (thenorthwallconnecting-the-dots)

InspiredBy (group exhibition) Morley Gallery/V&A, London (InspiredBy)

13th World Art Print Annual 2014 Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria (Lessedra)

9th Triennale Mondiale de l'Estampe Chamalières, France (mondialestampe.com)

 

2013

12th World Art Print Annual 2013: Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria

 

2012

11th World Art Print Annual 2012: Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria

 

2011

Totems and Transformations, solo show: Quay Arts, Newport, Isle of Wight

Totem Body, solo show: 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe

Totem Body, group exhibition: the Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Church, London

10th World Art Print Annual, Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria

 

2010

A4 Printmakers International Contemporary Printmakers Competition, Cornwall, UK: winner of 2nd prize

This Wordless Dance, solo show: Mary Ogilvie Gallery, St. Anne's College, Oxford at the Annual Conference of the Consciousness and Experiential Psychology section of the British Psychological Society

38 World Gallery of Drawings - Skopje 2010, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

9th World Art Print Annual, Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria (www.lessedra.com)

Drink & Dial, WW Gallery, London (www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com)

West Ox Arts Printmakers, an Oxfordshire Artweeks exhibition at the Gallery, West Ox Arts, Bampton, Oxfordshire (www.westoxarts.org)

Grit & Grace, 2-person show: sculpture by Pat Elmore and prints by Barry Cottrell at the Gallery, West Ox Arts, Bampton, Oxfordshire (www.westoxarts.org)

 

2009

Travelling Light, London/Venice Biennale, 2 cities, 58 artists (www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com)

8th World Art Print Annual, Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria (www.lessedra.com)

6th International Graphic Triennial Bitola, Republic of Macedonia

L'Arte e il Torchio, Art and the Printing Press, 6th International Small Engraving Exhibition, Cremona, Italy (www.artetorchio.it)

Un Monde en Noir et Blanc, international group exhibition of black and white small format prints touring Canada since 2007 (see Amigrav website)

 

GALLERIES

Idbury Prints, Brook Gallery

 

MEMBERSHIP

Amigrav

 

COLLECTIONS

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, British Museum, London, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Calcografía Nacional, Madrid, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian, Washington D.C., The Faringdon Collection, Buscot Park, Oxfordshire, Magdalen, St. Anne's and St. John's Colleges, Oxford, Cogen-ji Zen Buddhist Monastery, Japan, Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria, Aberystwyth University, Wales.