Breakwell, Ian
Born Derby, 1943 and studied at Derby College of Art and the West of England College, Bristol. Died October 2005.
From his early performances in the 1960s Breakwell worked in a diverse range of media, from painting to film, video, performance and installation. He exhibited widely and his paintings are in public and private collections including Tate Gallery, Contemporary Art Society, Victoria and Albert Museum; Museum of Modern Art, New York and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia. Screenings include: World Wide Video Festival, The Hague; Videonale, Bonn; National Video Festival, Los Angeles.
He produced films for television broadcast with Anna Ridley and her production company Annalogue, and is well known for his writing, which includes: ‘Ian Breakwell’s Diary’ 1964-85 Pluto Press 1986; collected illustrated fiction ‘The Artist’s Dream Serpent’s Tail’ 1988 and ‘Free Range’ published by Victoria and Albert Museum 1993.
“Breakwell was a prolific artist, working with different media including drawing, film, video, photography, installation, slide projection, sound, and words. His Diaries made in collaboration with Anna Ridley, commissioned by Channel Four and broadcast in 1984, were observations of the ‘side events of daily life’; the Diaries were published as a book in 1986, and serialised on Radio 3 in 1990. ‘The fact that painting had a thousand year old pedigree and video had none didn’t mean a thing. It was just another means of making things. It didn’t necessarily even have to be visual. A telephone could be used for making art, radio certainly could. It was just another available tool.’ (from the REWIND Interview with Ian Breakwell)” – J Hatfield
Fellowship at King’s College and Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge 1980-81; John Brinkley Fellowship at the Norwich School of Art 1982-83; Artist in Residence, Tyne Tees Television 1985; Artist in Residence, Durham Cathedral, 1994-95; AHRB Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts at the School of Art,
Central St. Martins College of Art & Design, London
He is represented by the Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London.
updated April 2022
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Interview of Ian Breakwell
View the interview transcript here
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Exhibitions:
Individual Exhibitions
1970
Evidence, Greenwich Theatre Art Gallery, London1971
Angela Fowers Gallery, London1974
The Diary and Related Works, Angela Flowers Gallery, London, and Midland Group, Nottingham (cat.)
Le Journal et Travaux Annexes, Galerie Bama, Paris
Phototexts, CAYC, Buenos Aires1975
Film/Projection Works, 1969-75, London Film-Makers Co-Op, London1977
Continuous Diary, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol; ICA, London; Midland Group, Nottingham (cat.)1978
Continuous Diary, Scottish Arts Council, Edinborough
Circus, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow (Catalogue, ed. Chris Carrell)1979
Continuous Diary and Circus, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Continuous Diary and Circus, Northern Ireland Arts Council Gallery, Belfast
The Walking Man Diary, Angela Flowers Gallery, London1981
The Artist’s Dream, Carlisle Museum and tour
120 Days/The Artist’s Dream/The Walking Man Diary, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
120 Days, King’s College, Cambridge1982
Films/Video/Performance, ICA Cinematheque, London
120 Days, Tate Gallery, London (Catalogue, illus.)1983
120 Days and Acting, Galeria Fernando Vijande, Madrid (Catalogue, ed. Jeremy Lewison, illus.)
Celebrations in Private – New Pictures, Riverside Studios, London1985
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
The Waiting Room, Matt’s Gallery, London (Catalogue, Ian Breakwell, illus.)1986
Self Portraits, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London1988
Echoes, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne1989
National Sport, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (cat.)1990
Ian Breakwell: A Selection of Work 1969-1989, PICA, Perth, Canberra Contemporary Arts Space
Double Life, two installations, PICA, Perth1993
Mask to Mask, Oriel and Ffotogallery, Cardiff
Free Range, Survey of Ian Breakwell’s publications 1964-1993, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (cat.)1994
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Mask to Mask, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
Mask to Mask, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull1995
Mask to Mask, Reg Vardy Foundation Gallery, Sunderland
The Phantom Matinee, DLI Museum, Durham
Free Range, survey of Ian Breakwell’s publications 1964-95, Chapter Library, Durham Cathedral (cat.)1996
Revoid, The Hinge, Intermask, School of Art and Design Gallery, Newcastle College
Free Range, Newcastle College, School of Art and Design
The Rose, Sunderland City Library and Arts Centre (audio-visual installation with sound by Ron Geesin)1998
Drawing Across Boundaries, Loughborough University, School of Art and Design1999
Death’s Dance Floor, Ffotogallery, Cardiff (catalogue ed. Chris Coppock)
From Death’s Dance Floor, Street Level Photo Works, Glasgow
Textworks 1966-1999, Loughborough University Gallery (Catalogue, ed. Colin Rhodes)2000
Bellring, Durham Cathedral
Auditorium, Broadway, Nottingham2002
The Other Side, De la Warr Pavillion, Bexhill2003
Monk, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin
The Word Is, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Deep Faith, 291 Gallery London2004
The Other Side, Tate Britain, LondonSelected Group Exhibitions
1969
Expo International de Novisima Poesia, Instituto Di Tella, Buenos Aires1971
Art Spectrum, Alexander Palace, London (cat.)
Prospekt ’71, Projektion, Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf (cat.)1972
Artes de Sistemas II, Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires (cat.)
A Survey of the Avant-garde in Britain, Gallery House, London (cat.)
British Drawings 1952-1972, Angela Flowers Gallery, London1973
Photography into Art, Project Arts Centre, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast; Camde Arts Centre, London (cat.)
Open Circuit, Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinborough (cat.)1974
Artists’ Bookworks, British Council, touring England and Germany (cat.)
Festival Internacional de Cine Experimental, CAYC, Buenos Aires
Cinema Different, CNAC, Paris1975
The Video Show, Serpentine Gallery, London (cat.)
Documents de l’Absence, Maison de la Culture, Rennes
First Festival of Independent Film, Arnolfini, Bristol (cat.)
Artists’ Books, Arts Council of Great Britain, touring England (cat.)
Festival of Expanded Cinema, ICA, London (cat.)1976
Time, Words and the Camera – Photoworks by British Artists, Kunstlerhaus Graz and tour (cat.)1977
Five Artists, Galerie Bama, Paris
Perspectives on British Avant-Garde Film, Hayward Gallery, London (cat.)
Audio Arts, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
On Site, Arnolfini, Bristol
Artist Placement Group, Kunst als Soziale Strategie, Stadtiches Kunstmuseum, Bonn (cat.)1978
The Transformaction Review, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Artist Placement Group, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (cat.)
Art for Society, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (cat.)1979
Un Certain Art Anglais, ARC, Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris (cat.)
Journees interdisciplinaires sur l’art corporel et Performances, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (cat.)
Kunst als Soziale Strategie in Institutionen und Organisationen (Artist Placement Group), Galerie Nacht St.,Stephan, Vienna
The Open and Closed Book, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (cat.)
Cratylus: Six British Artist, Bienal de Sao Paolo, Brazil (cat.)
Audio Arts, Riverside Studios, London1980
Kelpra Studio, Artists Prints 1961-1980, Tate Gallery, London
British Art 1940-1980, Hayward Gallery, London
Audio Arts, Ulster Museum, Belfast and tour1981
Alternative Film, Kettle’s Yard Gallery, Cambridge1982
Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia (cat.)1984
Collazione Inglese II, Venice Biennale1985
Alles und Noch Viel Mehr, Kunsthalle, Bern
Third Eye Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow1985-86
4th Biennal of European Graphic Art, Baden-Baden and tour (cat.)1986
Contrariwise: Surrealism in Britain 1930-1986, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea and tour1987
Self Portrait, Artsite Gallery, Bath and tour (cat. Illus.)
John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 15, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (cat. Illus.)
Antidotes to Telly, Torriano Meeting House, London1988
Contemporary Portraits, Angela Flowers Gallery, London (cat.)
Auditorium (with Ron Geesin), Edge 88, London (cat.)
Evidence, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
This Sporting Life, Flowers East Gallery, London1993
A Portrait of the Artist’s Mother done from memory, Flowers East Gallery, London1995
Hidden Cities, site-specific presentations in five UK cities co-ordinated by The Laboratory, Oxford: Ian Breakwell’s in Durham (cat.)1996
Second Impressions, Reg Vardy Foundation Gallery, Sunderland
Durham Cathedral Artists in Residence 1983-96, DLI Museum, Durham (cat.)
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, ‘The Hinge’
Across 2 Cultures, Digital Dreams, Newcastle-upon-Tyne1997
Ian Breakwell, David Batchelor, Concourse Gallery, Byam Shaw School of Art, London
Wilson to Callaghan (cur. Philippa Beale), Posterstudio, London
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London: ‘The Walking Man Diary’ (video catalogue)
Night of the Living Tongues 2, The Junction, Cambridge
Blipverts, NOW Festival, Nottingham; ‘Connected’, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Arts, Sunderland; ‘Ostranenie’ ’97, Dessau, Germany and cinemas throughout UK1998
Blipverts, Lux Centre, London
A to Z, (curated by Matthew Higgs) The Approach, London
Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (with Paul Graham and Amikam Toren)
Llathyard, (curated by Mel Jackson) Ffotogallery, Cardiff1999
The Land of Milk and Honey, Catalyst Arts, Belfast
Common People, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guarene (cat.)
Fourth Wall, National Theatre, London (curated by PADT)
The New Anatomists, Wellcome Trust, London (cat.)
In the Footsteps of Fluxshoe, DeMontfort University and Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester (cat.)
Tales of the Unexpected, Harley Gallery Welbeck (curated by Lisa Gee)2000
Diary, Cornerhouse, Manchester (curated by Margot Heller) (cat.)
Tales of the Unexpected, CAMAC, Marnay-sur-Seine, France
Live in Your Head: Concept and Experiment in Britain, 1965-75, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (curated by Andrea Tarsia and Clive Philpot) (cat.)
Ian Breakwell/Amikam Toren, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
An Exemplary Life, Bury St. Edmunds Art Gallery (cat.)
Art in Sacred Places, Union Chapel, London2001
Live in Your Head, Museu do Chiado, Lisbon
A B See D, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
Votive, The Adam Gallery, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and Dunedin Art Gallery, New Zealand (cat.)
Telling Tales: Narrative Approaches in Recent Art, Tate Liverpool2002
Intimacy, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudnom; The Lowry, Salford; Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth
You are History, Essex University Gallery, Colchester (cat.)
Words – from the Arts Council Collection, City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth and tour (cat.)
Self Evident, Tate Britain, London
On General Release – Artists and Film in Britain 1968-1972, Norwich Gallery and Institute of Visual Culture, Cambridge
Opening exhibition, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, 60 Great Marlborough Street, London2003
A Century of Artists’ Film in Britain, Tate Britain, London
Radio Radio, The International 3, Manchester2004
Tape 291, 291 Gallery, London
Collage, Bloomberg Space, London
Tonight, Studio Voltaire, London
Stranger than Fiction, City Art Gallery, Leeds (Arts Council touring exhibition) (cat.)2005
Truer Than The Truth, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
35th Anniversary Exhibition, Flowers East, LondonSelected Performances
1967
Restaurant Operations, Exeter Festival, Bristol Arts Centre
Buffet Car News, Bristol Arts Centre1968
Buffet Car News, University of Newcastle; University of Cardiff
Fading Menu, Bristol College of Art
Face History, Arts Lab, London
Face History, Theatre du Vieux Colombier, Paris1969
Unword 1, Compendium Bookshop, London
Aquavogue, swimming pool, Taunton
Unword 2, ICA, London1970
Unword 4, University of Swansea
Unword 3, Bristol Arts Centre
Final section of the ‘opera’ Till, performed by WHSHT, Swansea University Festival
Pink Marriage, The First Festival of Life, Victoria Park, London
Palach (with Alan Burns and Charles Marowitz), Open Space Theatre, London1971
One, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
The Institution (with Kevin Coyne), Alexandra Palace, London1972
Public Event, W.O.R.K.S. Festival, Calgary, Alberta1973
The Institution (with Kevin Coyne), ICA, London; Exe Gallery, Exeter1995
Hidden Cities: Durham, River Wear and Durham Cathedral2001
Coach A, Episode one at the Spitz, London -
Videography:
1975
Excerpts from the Diary1984
Ian Breakwell’s Continuous Diary (21 programmes, with Anna Ridley)
Ian Breakwell’s Christmas Diary (8 programmes, with Anna Ridley)1988
Public Face Private Eye (5 programmes, with Anna Ridley)1993
Auditorium (Ian Breakwell and Ron Geesin)2000
Bellring (Ian Breakwell and Ron Geesin)2001
Variety2002
The Other Side (2 screen double sided installation)2003
Unword (reconstruction in 2003 of 1969-70 film, made with Mike Leggett)
One (reconstruction in 2003 of 1971 film and CCTV footage, made with Mike Leggett)
Deep Faith (installation)2005-08
BC / AD -
External Links:
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Artist works:
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Artist assets:
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Quotes:
"Breakwell's event Birthday celebrated the Gallery's first year of operation, and was also recorded on film by Legget as One (1971), and it led to a jointly issued diatribe agianst domestic TV, Moving Wallpaper in the TV Lounge, one of the first by many artists: Study and observe the piece of equipment known as a television receiver in its most common environment; the living room, the lounge, the drawing room , whatever you call it. ...Functioning perfectly, is it not just simply a 21" picture window? Another standard lamp in the corner? A constantly changing pattern of new wallpaper? ...Between 20 and 30 million people watch television each night: the engaging guest who's staying permanently, who's impossible to ignore and won't tolerate being turned off. For so many people to entertain such an insufferable guest is intolerable" A4 flier accompanying a workshop by Legget and Breakwell at Plymouth College of Art, 19 April-16 June 1971. David Curtis, A History of Artists' Film and Video in Britain. British Film Institiute, 2007.
