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Born
in Dartford, England, Peter Blake graduated from the Royal College of Art in
1956. Blake's early work is dominated by two major subjects: fantastic scenes
from the world of the circus and naturalistic paintings with autobiographic
elements. In style and content both types of pictures paved the way for English
Pop Art.
Thanks to a
Leverhulme scholarship, Blake had the opportunity to travel through Europe from
1956 to 1957. In 1959, inspired by reproductions by Robert Rauschenberg and
Jasper Johns, Blake began to paint collage-like pictures of pop musicians and
film stars and to produce assemblages made of recycled material, postcards and
other items.
Alongside his
collages, Blake also worked with the medium of imitation: Painted collages,
imitated pin-up-boards and locker doors, enlarged, painted postcard motifs and
painted adaptations of posters appeared. The cover design for the Beatles album
'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967) was one of his first
successes.
In 1975 Blake
was one of the founding members of the 'Brotherhood of Ruralists'. His imagery
changed under the influence of this group of artists which further developed
the combination of sophistication and naivety, typical of Blake's style today;
childhood memories, fairy tales and elves, depicted in realistic style using
techniques of the old masters, became his favourite subjects. Nowhere was this
made clearer than at his enormously successful retrospective exhibition at the
Tate Gallery, London.
In order to
produce his prints he works with one of the leading print studios, Brad Faine's
Coriander Press. Blake maintains a close involvement with the process until he
is confident that his artistic objective has been achieved. Today his style
retains the same magic as always, producing work which is still as captivating
as his work of 30 years ago.
Sir Peter Blake's work
reflects his fascination with all streams of popular culture, and the beauty to
be found in everyday objects and surroundings. Many of his works feature found
printed materials such as photographs, comic strips or advertising texts,
combined with bold geometric patterns and the use of primary colours. The works
perfectly capture the effervescent and optimistic ethos of the sixties, but are
also strikingly fresh and contemporary. There is also a strain of
sentimentality and nostalgia running throughout his work, with particular focus
towards childhood innocence and reminiscence. Blake is renowned for his
connection with the music industry, having produced iconic album covers for the
Beatles, Paul Weller, The Who, and Oasis.