John Carter RA (b. 1942)
John Carter is best known for his abstract sculptures. His work is frequently described as being a dialogue between painting and sculpture. It consists mainly of constructed “wall-objects”, often with a mathematical basis. Fully three-dimensional works have been less frequent in his output.
Carter was born in Middlesex in 1942 and studied at the Twickenham School of Art from 1958 and then at Kingston School of Art until 1963. A Leverhulme Travelling Scholarship took him to Italy, where he made his first abstract constructed works at the British School at Rome. On returning to England, Carter was engaged as an assistant to the sculptor Bryan Kneale and worked towards his first solo exhibition at Redfern Gallery, London in 1968. After winning two Arts Council Awards, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Warwick Arts Trust, London in 1983. Later, Carter participated in the international show Die Ecke at Galerie Hoffmann, Friedberg, Germany, where he made his first contact with European concrete and constructive artists. He has since exhibited widely in Europe, Japan and the USA. John Carter held a teaching position at the Chelsea College of Art and Design until his retirement from the post in 1999. He now lives and works in London, where a solo exhibition of his work was held at the Royal Academy in 2013, entitled John Carter RA: Between Dimensions.
Profile
Born: 1942 in Hampton Hill, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Nationality: British
Elected RA: 31 May 2007
Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2017
Gender: Male
Preferred media: Sculpture, Painting, and Printmaking
Works by John Carter in the RA Collection
5 results
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![John Carter RA, Four Diagonals]()
John Carter RA
Four Diagonals, 1996
Acrylic with marble powder on plywood
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![John Carter RA, Four Diagonals: Study No. 2]()
John Carter RA
Four Diagonals: Study No. 2, 1997
Pencil and white crayon on wash toned paper
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![John Carter RA, Four Diagonals: Study No. 1]()
John Carter RA
Four Diagonals: Study No. 1, 1997
Pencil and white crayon on wash toned paper
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![John Carter RA, Green Square]()
John Carter RA
Green Square, 1990 - 2012
Watercolour on paper
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![John Carter RA, To the Edge studies]()
John Carter RA
To the Edge studies, 2006
Oil and pencil on wove paper
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Gallery
![John Carter RA, Branched Structure]()
John Carter RA, Branched Structure, 1983.
![John Carter RA, Pierced Square Study]()
John Carter RA, Pierced Square Study, 1990.
![John Carter RA, Study “Quadrants”]()
John Carter RA, Study “Quadrants”, 1966.
![John Carter RA, Matrix]()
John Carter RA, Matrix, 2012.
![John Carter RA, To the Edge IB]()
John Carter RA, To the Edge IB, 2010.
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Art Sales at the RA
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![John Carter RA, Eight Identical Shapes 82º]()
Eight Identical Shapes 82º
Painting and sculpture set up a compelling dialogue in the screenprints of British-born John Carter RA – a one-time assistant to Bryan Kneale, and teacher at the Chelsea College of Art.
Carter is influenced by European concrete and constructivist artists, and says his printmaking relates closely to the processes of experimentation and research towards the making of his ‘wall objects’. Often with a mathematical basis, these are the forms for which the abstract sculptor is perhaps best known. In 2013, the Royal Academy showcased his work in a solo exhibition: John Carter RA: Between Dimensions.
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![John Carter RA, Transition]()
Transition
These screenprints are available to buy through Art Sales at the RA.
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John Carter RA - Selected CV
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Recent Solo Exhibitions
2013 John Carter RA: Between Dimensions, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Surface Defined (Neue Wandobjekte), Gudrun Spielvogel Galerie & Edition, München
Surface & Structure, Redfern Gallery, London
2012 To the Edge, Young Gallery, Salisbury
John Carter Galerie Wack, Kaiserslautern
Sideways and Down: A special display of the
1966 sculpture with three other works, Southampton City Art Gallery
2011 Between Dimensions, Galerie La Ligne, Zurich
Two and a Half Dimensions, De Vierde Dimensie, Plasmolen, Netherlands
Wall Sculptures, Galerie Grewenig/Nissen, Heidelberg
2010 Retrospective, Redfern Gallery, London
Carter, Espace Fanal, Basle -
Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 (Situation Kunst für Max Imdahl), Bochum. Touring to: Museum Pfalzgalerie, Kaiserslautern; Academie der Künste, Berlin; Museum im Kulturspeicher, Würzburg;
Kunsthalle, Rostock
Abstraction, Redfern Gallery, London
2011 Formes et Lumière: la Sculpture dans l’Art Construit, Musée de Cambrai. Touring to: Pierre-André Benoit Museum, Alés, France
NSA collection, Part-1 & Part-2, Noborimachi Space of Art, Hiroshima Blau, Galerie Konkret Martin Wörn, Sulzburg/Breisgau
…auf papier, Galerie Wack, Kaiserslautern Group Exhibition, De Vierde Dimensie, Plasmolen, Netherlands London Group, Part 2, The Cello Factory, London (geometrische) Abstactie 1950-2010, een hommage aan Joost Baljeu, Galerie Wittveen, Amsterdam
Ausbruch, Malerie und realer Raum, Kunstsammlungen der Ruhr-Universität
2010 Couleur et Géométrie. Actualité de l’Art Construit Européen, Musées de Sens, France. Touring to: Kunstverein
Talstrasse, e.V. Halle, Germany; Kunsthaus, Nürnberg, Germany; National Museum, Kielce, Poland; Centre d’Art Contemporain Frank Popper, Marcigny, France (2011)
Panorama graphique et petite sculpture construite, Galerie le Cube, Estavayer-le Lac, Switzerland, Galerie Emilia Suciu, Geometrisch - Abstrakt – Kinetisch, Kunstverein Speyer
What a Relief, Flowers East, London
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![John Carter, Catalogue]()
John Carter catalogue
The first comprehensive study of Carter’s work, assessing his singular contribution to the postwar flowering of British abstraction.
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