BIO
Ian Monroe was born in New York and currently lives and works in London. He received his BFA from Washington University in Saint Louis and his MA from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2002.
Monroe came to public attention in 2003 when the Saatchi Gallery featured a large-scale work from the artist's MA show. The artist was included in 'Edge of the Real' 2004, a group painting show at the Whitechapel Gallery. 'They Built Upon It' (2005) at Haunch of Venison London was accompanied by the first major catalogue of Monroe's work, including texts by poet and art critic, Barry Schwabsky. Monroe was represented by Haunch of Venison gallery in London, Berlin and Zurich.
Most recently, in 2021, Monroe has completed a major permanent public commission on a new hotel, the Londoner, located in London’s Leicester Square. Composing of 15,000 hand-made ceramic components, the artwork is on all four facades of the building and was made in collaboration with Woods Bagot architects.
Monroe was also commissioned by St Johns College Oxford to complete a permanent public commission for the university. In 2011 he was the recipient of the Freund Fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, in partnership with the Saint Louis Art Museum where Monroe had his first US solo show. The work for that show can be seen on this website here.
His work has been collected extensively both privately and by major museum collections including the Saint Louis Art Museum, USA, the Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Aarhus Denmark, the Hamburger Banhof in Berlin, Germany and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, in Leon, Spain.
In addition to his art practice, Monroe has contributed essays to a number of publications, including “Collage, Assembling Contemporary Art”, 2008, by Black Dog Publications.
CV
Education
2002 M.A. Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
1995 B.A. Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Solo Exhibitions and Projects
2021 Public Commission The Londoner, Leicester Square, London
2017 S.I.M. Fold Gallery, London
2015 Glyph Graph Horatio Junior, London
2014 63mm Punk and Sheep, London
2012 And Also The View Galeria Casado Santapau, Madrid
2011 Currents 105, Ian Monroe Saint Louis Art Museum, St Louis
2010 NO-STOP-CITY Galeria Casado Santapau, Madrid
2008 The Instantaneous Everything Haunch of Venison, Berlin
2007 Planit Haunch of Venison, London
2006 All Possibilities Are Visible But Unknown Upstairs Berlin, Berlin
2005 They Built Upon It Haunch of Venison, London
One For Quintus Teal Haunch of Venison, Zurich
2003 Ian Monroe Hammer Sidi Gallery, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 Unseen Fold Gallery, London
2018 New Relics Thameside Gallery, London
In The Future Collyer Bristow Gallery, London
2017 From Pablo Picasso to Robert Rauschenberg - Gift of Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany
Heiner, Céline und Aeneas Bastian
Sea of Data Unit 3 Projects, London
2016 Either Those Curtains FOLD Gallery, London
Edition Zero Ses Dotze Naus, Ibiza
The Ontology of Influence Des Lee Gallery, St Louis
Imperfect Reverse Camberwell Space, London, and Anglia Ruskin University Gallery, Cambridge
Shelfie Delta House, Wimbledon
2015 Out of the Darkness ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
Between Thought and Space Dilston Grove, London
2014 Between Thought and Space Camberwell College of Arts, London
2013 With Torch and Spear Winchester College of Art, Winchester
Image/Object Furini Arte Contemporanea, Rome
2012 Parallel Universe Charlie Dutton Gallery. London
Everything But Don Omladine Gallery, Belgrade
Daydreaming With . . . Artistree, Hong Kong
2011 As The World Turns, New Art From London Anna Schwartz Gallery, Sydney
Common Logic Image Music Text Gallery, London
2010 Dawnbreakers John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton
The Marienbad Palace Highlanes Gallery, Droichead Arts Centre, Dublin
Surface Warp Factor Aubin Gallery, London
Daydreaming Haunch of Venison, London
Beskrivelse Uden Sted Gallerie Møller Witt, Aarhus, Denmark
Terminator Camberwell College of Art, London
2009 On The Line Crimes Town Gallery, London
Straylight Cavern Cell Projects, London
Hypersurface FX Margini Arte, Massa, Italy
2008 Straylight Cavern Cooper Gallery, Dundee
Take Me There - Show Me The Way Haunch of Venison, New York
Recent Developments in Painting Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen
HyperSurface OVADA, Oxford
Schil/Ders De Constant Rebecqueplein, The Hague, Netherlands
HyperSurface Rod Barton Invites, London
Parallax Fieldgate Gallery, London
2007 Existencias Museo De Arte Contemporaneo De Castilla Y Leon, Leon, Spain
Design for Living Initial Access, Wolverhampton
Raumwelten Kunsthalle Arnstadt, Germany
Odd Spaces Møller Witt, Aarhus, Denmark
2006 Recent Acquisitions Hamburger Banhof Museum, Berlin
The City is Not a Tree Alon Segev Gallery, Tel-Aviv
Slider Cell Projects, London
2005 Utopian Architecture Upstairs Berlin, Germany
Infrastructure Studio Voltaire, London
Winterzauber Upstairs Berlin, Germany
2004 Edge of the Real Whitechapel Gallery, London
Selected Sculpture Max Wigram Gallery, London
Cinderella Trailer Projects, London
Contra Pop Vamiali Gallery, Athens
2003 Bag Lady Cell Projects, London
Reduced Century Gallery, London
Debris Martinez Gallery, New York
Godzilla Trailer Projects, London
Saatchi Gallery Opening County Hall, London
The Queen Mum Show One in the Other Gallery, London
Chockerfuckinblocked Jeffery Charles Gallery, London
RSVP 5 Cork Street, London
2002 Present Lotta Hammer Gallery, London
The Way to Happiness VTO, London
Trailer Presents Trailer Projects, London
Lend us £100m Dingley Road, London
Selected Collections
Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, USA
Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
Hamburger Banhof, Marx Collection, Berlin, Germany
Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, Leon, Spain
Kemper Museum of Art, Saint Louis, USA
Saatchi Collection UK, Zabludovich Collection UK, Peter Norton Collection USA, Simmons and Simmons Collection UK, Berge Collection, Spain
Various private collections in UK, Europe, Asia, and North America
Public Commissions
2021 Edwardian Group’s, ‘The Londoner’ hotel, Leicester Square, awarded via Modus Operandi Art Consultants
2012 Equivalents, an Arts Council project for the Cultural Olympiad
2010 Palimpsest, The Kendrew Quadrangle Screen, St John’s College, Oxford. awarded via Modus Operandi Art Consultants
2009 Short-listed for the Northern Headhouse Commission, 2012 Olympic Park, London awarded via Modus Operandi Art Consultants
2007 Planit an Artist Intervention Commissioned by Vienna Art Week and the City of Vienna
Honors/Awards
2016 Artist in Residence, Ses Dotze Naus, Ibiza, Spain
2012 Artist in Residence, Siena Art Institute, Siena, Italy
2011 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellowship and Exhibition, in partnership with Washington University in St. Louis and the St. Louis Art Museum
1999 Resident Artist, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska
1995 Eliot Scholar, Washington University in St. Louis
Published Writing
2018 The Trouble With Shapes, an essay about the artwork of Juan Bolivar. Published in the solo show catalog to accompany the show 'High Voltage' at JGM Gallery, London.
2008 Where Does One Thing End And The Next Begin? Commissioned essay for Collage: Assembling Contemporary Art, by Black Dog Publishing
2006 The Infinity Pool Contradiction, A conversation between Ian Monroe and Suhail Malik, 2006. Published in the catalog to accompany the show ‘All Possibilities Are Visible But Unknown’, Upstairs Berlin Gallery
Selected Reviews
2015 A-N Magazine Online ‘Between Thought and Space’, Manjinder Sidhu, June 7, https://www.a-n.co.uk/media/52419097
2012 The Guardian ‘Creative Boom’, Katy Cowan, February 9
2008 Turps Banana ‘Hypersurface’, Sarah Douglas, Issue 4, October
2007 The Independent on Sunday ‘The Conquest of Space’ Charles Darwent
ArtUS ‘Ian Monroe’ Maria Zimmermann, May/June
Lowdown Magazine ‘Ian Monroe, The Infinity of the Moment as Space’, Thomas Marecki, Nr. 55 February-March
Allegemeiner Anzeiger ‘Podium fur Junge Kunstler’, January
2006 Modern Painters ‘A Walk on The Wild Side’, Roger Tatley, Feb
Lapiz. Revista Internacional, ‘de Arte Ian Monroe’, David Ulrichs, December
2005 Art Review ‘Future Greats’, December
Art Review ‘The Walls Came Down’ Jay Merrick, July
2004 Modern Painters ‘All in the Best Bad Taste’ Sally O’reilly, Dec-Jan
2003 Art Monthly ‘Anyway’ Bruce Haines, May 2004, number 276
Contemporary ‘The Queen Mum Show’, Jamie Lau, issue 53/54
The Times ‘New Blood at RA Summer Show Gets Old Blood Boiling’ Dalya Alberge, May 29
The Royal Academy Magzine ‘Summer Exhibition’ Sebastian Smee, number 79
Arena 'The Boom’, Tom Morton, July, number 136
The Spectator ‘Formidable Power’, Andrew Lambirth, May 17
Art Review ‘Saatchi’s New Sensation’, Meredith Etherinton-Smith, May
Evening Standard ‘The Saatchi Effect’ Hephzibah Anderson, April 18
The Observer ‘Space Traveller’, Alison Roberts, April 20
Telegraph Magazine ‘Adventures in Saatchiland’, Colin Gleadell, March 29
2002 The Sunday Times ‘Saatchi’s Rival to the Tate Takes Shape’ Richard Brooks, September 8
Time Out London ‘Present’ Martin Herbert, October 23
Art Review ‘New Art Graduates, Class of 2002’, June
Solo Show Catalogs
2006 All Possibilities Are Visible But Remain Unkown, published by Upstairs Berlin Gallery, Berlin. Texts by Harriet Häußler, Georgia Holz and Suhail Malik
2005 They Built Upon It, published by Haunch of Venison, London. Featuring ‘Ian Monroe’s Architecture’ by Barry Schwabsky, and ‘All in The Best Bad Taste’, by Sally O’Reilly
Ian Monroe, published by Haunch of Venison, London. Featuring ‘Twelve Footnotes’, by Tom Morton
Group Show Catalogs
2014 Between Thought and Space, Camberwell Press
2010 Dawnbreakers John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton. ISBN 978 08 5432909 0
2008 Collage, Assembling Contemporary Art, published by Black Dog Publishing, London. Featuring the essay Where Does One Thing Begin and The Next End? by Ian Monroe.
Take Me There - Show Me The Way, published by Haunch of Venison, New York
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks; Recent Developments in Painting, published by Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2007 MUSAC, Volume 2 published by Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, Spain. Work from the Museum’s permanent collection. ISBN 978 84 935781 2 1
Collection Berge, published by the Berge Foundation.
2005 Utopian Architecture published by Upstairs Berlin Gallery, Berlin. Essay by Aeneas Bastian
Triumph of Painting published by the Saatchi Gallery, London. Essay by Barry Schwabsky
Lectures and Symposiums
2016 Lecture, 'Material and Immateriality; negotiating the role of the maker in the 21st century', Wimbledon College of Art, UAL, London
2015 5 day Seminar, 'Material and Immateriality; negotiating the role of the maker in the 21st century', Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, London
5 day Seminar, 'Material and Immateriality; negotiating the role of the maker in the 21st century', Camberwell College of Arts, UAL, London
2014 Visiting Lecturer, University of Brighton, BA Fine Art, Brighton
2013 ‘Global Futures Speakers Series’, University of Southampton, Winchester
Visiting Artist, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge
2012 Associate Lecturer, Camberwell College of Art, BA Sculpture, London
Symposium ‘Craft After De-Skilling, Do Artists Need To Know How To Make Things?’, Camberwell College, London
2011 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellowship and Exhibition, in association with Washington University in St. Louis and the St. Louis Art Museum
Visiting Tutor, Goldsmiths, BA Fine Art, University of London
2009 Visiting Artist, Oxford University, The Ruskin School, Oxford
Visiting Artist, University of Kent, Canterbury
Visiting Artist, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts, London
Visiting Artist, West Kent College, School of Art and Design, Tonbridge
2007 Lecture; ‘Anxious Landscapes: Spaces of Abandonment and Decay’ The Royal Academy of Arts Architecture Programme: RA Forum
Visiting Artist, Camberwell College of Art, London