Family Machine #2 by Eric Gaskell

Eric Gaskell (BA Hons, SGFA, ARBSA)

Born in Wigan, England in 1957 I studied painting and printmaking at Wigan College and Sunderland University. After leaving art college in 1980 I won two painting scholarships, to New York and Istanbul, as well as the Sunderland Fine Art prize. Since then I have continually worked in the creative industries, teaching, illustrating and exhibiting in New York, Quebec, Ghent, Dublin, London and around the UK  in numerous one-man and group shows since the early 1980s. I am a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art, the Printmakers Council and the Royal Birmingham Society of Arts. I have work in private collections around the world and public collections in the UK.

“Drawing is the key element in my work and has been since art college. It is a diary, an academic exercise and a way to work through ideas. My work is colourful and structured that moves from tightly figurative to the symbolic/iconographic work linked to my genealogical research. I prefer linocut, its strong, flat colour, and its mark-making suit my working methods. I like how its graphic appearance seems immediate but can actually take many days of work to produce.

Although I continue to paint over the last few years printmaking has come to the fore. I prefer the linocut its strong, flat colour and its mark-making suit my working methods. I like how its graphic appearance seems immediate but can actually take many days of work to produce.

Like most people I do have influences and if I had to make a short list they would be; Edgar Degas and Egon Schiele for their draftsmanship, Georges Braque, Keith Vaughan and Eric Ravilious for their very different painting methods and Bawden for his printmaking.”

Solo Exhibitions

Eakring Gallery (1992, 93)

Robbins Building, Rugby (2000, 01)

The Rugby School Art Gallery (2001, 03)

“Family Line” Rugby Art Gallery & Museum (2008)

Solihull Arts Complex (2008)

Salisbury Arts Centre (2009)

Queens Park Arts Centre, Aylesbury (2009)

The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne (2010)

Charlecote House, Warwickshire (2010-11)

Nantwich Museum & Gallery, Cheshire (2011)

Ellesmere Port Museum (2011, 13)

The Canal Museum, London (2011, 13-14)

The Canal Museum, Gloucester (2012)

GoWA, Braunston (2013)

Harris & Moore, Birmingham (2014)

Audlem Mill, Cheshire (2014, 15, 16)

Lansdown Gallery, Stroud (2014)

Wallbridge, Stroud (2014, 15)

Welshpool Powysland Museum (2016)

“Water, locks & linocuts” Ellesmere Port Museum (2017)

“Two faced” The Glass Museum, St Helens (2017-18)

Group Exhibitions

Norwich Arts Centre (1980, 01)

Sunderland Arts Centre (1980, 81)

Alnwick Arts Centre (1981)

Hull City Gallery (1981)

Middlesborough Arts Centre (1981)

Luton Open (1989)

Association of Illustrators(Best unpublished 1990)

Pentagon Typography Gallery (1992)

Eakring Gallery (1992, 93)

Robbins Building, Rugby (2000, 01)

Rugby School Art Gallery (2001, 03)

12×12 Newcastle (2004) Society of Graphic Fine Art -Bath (2003, 04)

The WonderwallGallery – Cirencester (2003, 04)

Montserrat Gallery- New York (2004)

Ghent Expo, Belgium (2004)

The Salon, Greenwich, New York (2005)

SGFA, Menier Gallery, London (2005-2015)

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Open (2006)

Society of Graphic Fine Art – Jane Powell Gallery (2008)

Royal Leamington Spa Open (2009, 11)

Rugby Artist’s Group, Rugby (2010, 11, 12, 14)

The Mill, Little Shrewley (2010)

RBSA Print Biennial (2010, 12)

4 women, 1 bloke, Lewis Gallery, Rugby (2010)

LPW – Small Print: Big Impression – Touring show (2011-12)

GoWA, Audlem Mill, Audlem (2011, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)

Nantwich Arts Festival, Cheshire (2011)

Eye 2 i, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum (2012)

The 8th British Mini-Print Exhibition (2012-2014)

SGFA South West – Ilminster (2012)

GoWA, Braunston (2013)

Old Gallery, Leamington Spa (2013)

GoWA, Black Country Museum, Dudley (2013, 15)

Hand Drawn, St Helens Glass Museum (2013)

International Miniatures, Quebec, Canada (2013)

Alchemy Responses, Rugby Art Gallery (2014)

Alchemy, Floor One, Rugby (2014)

Printmakers Council, Barbican Library (2015)

Paper Works, SGFA, RK Burt, London (2015, 2016)

“All We Are Saying”, Gateshead (2015)

Big Draw, St Helens Glass Museum (2015)

50 years of Artists Prints, Printmakers Council, Bankside (2015)

Rugby Football Open, Rugby (2015-16)

LPW – Small Print International (2016-17)

“Pushing Boundaries” PMC, Ireland (2016-17)

The Rugby Gallery Open (2000-2006, 2008-2016)

“Loosely Bound” PMC, London/Suffolk (2016-17)

The Scarborough Archive (2017)

“Drawing Connections” Chesterfield Art Gallery and Museum (2017)

Alchemy Group, Atkins Gallery, Hinckley (2017)

“Best of times, worst of times” Alchemy, Rugby (2017)

“Print City” Morley Gallery, PMC (2017)

“M&A Show” RBSA, Birmingham (2017)