Charles Asprey
Encyclopedia
Charles Asprey is the publisher of the quarterly journal PICPUS and a founder and supporter of various UK and international art projects and initiatives, including ArtSchool Palestine
. For many years he was the owner and director of aspreyjacques, a London art gallery, which introduced British audiences to young, emerging German artists. These included Thilo Heinzmann, Manfred Pernice, Christian Flamm and the late Michel Majerus
. Since 2005 he has concentrated on curating and collecting; in 2009, he was invited to show part of his own art collection at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
.
artists and aid their participation in international Contemporary Art
exhibitions and biennales. ASP has held many events and exhibitions, including "As If By Magic", to which the British artist Damien Hirst
lent his support. In addition to this, Asprey personally put together a library of 1,500 art books with the help of the bookdealer and publisher Walther Koenig and his son Franz Koenig of Cologne
, which he donated to Bir Zeit University near Ramallah
in Palestine
.
ASP also offers exchanges with art schools and arranges exhibitions both in Palestine and other countries. In 2006, it launched a virtual studio project between students from Chelsea College of Art and Design
(London) and young artists in the West Bank
. Students and artists worked collaboratively over the Internet on an exhibition in each location, without leaving their homes.
Another aspect of its work is organising and financing artist-in-residences in other countries. Thus far these have included partnerships with Gasworks and Delfina Studios in London. As well as its work in Palestine, ASP is currently expanding its remit to include the Middle East region which remains relatively under-represented in the UK. An example of this was "IN FOCUS", a major exhibition about the Middle East in 2007 at Tate Modern
, the Imperial War Museum
, and the N4 Gallery.
Artschool Palestine is supported by, among others, the Arts Council England
, the British Council
, and Development, the Ford Foundation
and the Karim Rida Said Foundation.
The etymology of Picpus
(pique-puce = flea-bite) comes from the region in Paris
where many of the victims of the Reign of Terror
in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution
are buried. This part of the French capital inspired the artist Ian Hamilton Finlay
to produce a number of artworks and, as a homage to him, the first issue of the newspaper was perfumed, referencing the manner in which 18th Century Parisians placed their handkerchiefs over their faces to blot out the smell while walking in the notoriously rank 12th arrondissement
.
Asprey and Grant recently entered into a debate with Eugene Lebedev, the son of Alexander Lebedev
, the owner of London Evening Standard
and The Independent
newspapers, about the dearth of exciting new British artists in the pages of the UK journal The Spectator
.
. Artists who have used the facility include Tom Burr
, Marc-Camille Chaimowicz, Frances Stark, Manfred Pernice, Joseph Kosuth
, David Schutter, Dexter Sinister, Sean Snyder
, Christian Flamm, Thomas Struth
, Mark Wallinger
and Anna Bariball.
and Thomas Dane. Its opening exhibition was with Jake and Dinos Chapman
and was followed by shows with Keith Coventry
, Peter Doig
, Abigail Lane
, Corban Walker, Alan Charlton and Michael Landy
, among others.
In 1998 he co-founded the contemporary art gallery aspreyjacques. It is best remembered for its prescient introduction of young art from Berlin to the capital, giving many well-known German artists their first exposure in the UK. These included Daniel Pflumm, Manfred Pernice, Antje Majewski, Nader Ahriman, Christian Flamm, Thilo Heinzmann and Michel Majerus
(1967–2002). Other notable artists represented included Paul Morrison
, Graham Little, Ian Kiaer, Alessandro Raho and The Estate of Robert Mapplethorpe
.
In 2006 Asprey and Kay Pallister curated “As If By Magic” at The Peace Centre in Bethlehem
. This show enabled world famous international artists to show in a besieged part of the West Bank
by inviting each of them to produce an idea for an artwork that could be remade on site, thereby getting around the Israeli Army checkpoint controls and circumventing the need to ship valuable art work in and out of the country. Artists who gave work to this project include Damien Hirst, Douglas Gordon
, Martin Creed
, Wolfgang Tillmans
, Isa Genzken
, Michael Fullerton
, Jim Lambie
, Michael Craig-Martin
, Gary Rough, Nathan Coley
, Simon Periton, Andreas Slominski.
In 2008 Asprey curated the exhibition of new work by Alessandro Raho
at Thomas Williams Fine Art on Old Bond Street, London.
More recently he presented “Two Horizons: work from the collections of Charles Asprey and Alexander Schroeder” at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
in Edinburgh in 2009 and curated “The Ground Around: idylls, earthworks and thunderbolts” at Vilma Gold Gallery in London (2010).
- Benefactor; Studio Voltaire - Trustee; South London Gallery
- Building Patron; Camden Arts Centre
- Patron; Nottingham Contemporary
- Benefactor.
). His family once owned Asprey
, the jewelers.
ArtSchool Palestine
ArtSchool Palestine is a non-profit organisation founded in 2005 by Charles Asprey, Sasha Craddock and Samar Martha....
. For many years he was the owner and director of aspreyjacques, a London art gallery, which introduced British audiences to young, emerging German artists. These included Thilo Heinzmann, Manfred Pernice, Christian Flamm and the late Michel Majerus
Michel Majerus
Michel Majerus was a Luxemburgian artist whose work combined painting with digital media.His work was featured in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Europe and North America, most notably the "Pop Reloaded" exhibition in Los Angeles....
. Since 2005 he has concentrated on curating and collecting; in 2009, he was invited to show part of his own art collection at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
.
ArtSchool Palestine
ArtSchool Palestine (ASP), which Asprey co-founded with Sacha Craddock and Samar Martha, was set up in 2005 to promote and support PalestinianPalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
artists and aid their participation in international Contemporary Art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
exhibitions and biennales. ASP has held many events and exhibitions, including "As If By Magic", to which the British artist Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
lent his support. In addition to this, Asprey personally put together a library of 1,500 art books with the help of the bookdealer and publisher Walther Koenig and his son Franz Koenig of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, which he donated to Bir Zeit University near Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
ASP also offers exchanges with art schools and arranges exhibitions both in Palestine and other countries. In 2006, it launched a virtual studio project between students from Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
(London) and young artists in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Students and artists worked collaboratively over the Internet on an exhibition in each location, without leaving their homes.
Another aspect of its work is organising and financing artist-in-residences in other countries. Thus far these have included partnerships with Gasworks and Delfina Studios in London. As well as its work in Palestine, ASP is currently expanding its remit to include the Middle East region which remains relatively under-represented in the UK. An example of this was "IN FOCUS", a major exhibition about the Middle East in 2007 at Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
, the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, and the N4 Gallery.
Artschool Palestine is supported by, among others, the Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, and Development, the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and the Karim Rida Said Foundation.
PICPUS
PICPUS is a free, quarterly journal with a focus on the arts, story-telling and criticism. Asprey and his co-founder and fellow editor Simon Grant claim it is part of a long tradition of small, independent British arts journals and periodicals that attempt to fill a gap left by mainstream arts publications. The pair cite as examples Coterie (1919–1921); Ray Magazine (1926–1927); The Apple (1920's) and ZG magazine from the 1980s.The etymology of Picpus
Picpus
Picpus may refer to:* Cimetière de Picpus, a cemetery in Paris*The Picpus Fathers, an order of the Catholic Church, whose official name is the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary*Picpus, a journal edited by Charles Asprey and Simon Grant...
(pique-puce = flea-bite) comes from the region in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where many of the victims of the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
are buried. This part of the French capital inspired the artist Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.-Biography:Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas of Scottish parents. He was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. At the age of 13, with the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to family in the countryside...
to produce a number of artworks and, as a homage to him, the first issue of the newspaper was perfumed, referencing the manner in which 18th Century Parisians placed their handkerchiefs over their faces to blot out the smell while walking in the notoriously rank 12th arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
.
Asprey and Grant recently entered into a debate with Eugene Lebedev, the son of Alexander Lebedev
Alexander Lebedev
Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev is a Russian businessman, referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs.In May 2008, he was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the richest Russians and as the 358th richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion...
, the owner of London Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspapers, about the dearth of exciting new British artists in the pages of the UK journal The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
.
Randolph Cliff residency
Randolph Cliff is an artist residency programme established by Asprey and Dr Clémentine Deliss in the heart of EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Artists who have used the facility include Tom Burr
Tom Burr
-Life:Burr was born in New Haven. His art encompasses installation, photography, sculpture and drawing and references architecture and public space and the psychological and social issues that surround it. He is also influenced by Minimalism and Conceptual art....
, Marc-Camille Chaimowicz, Frances Stark, Manfred Pernice, Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth , is an American conceptual artist. Kosuth lives in New York and Rome.-Early life and career:Kosuth was born in Toledo, Ohio. He attended the Toledo Museum School of Design from 1955 to 1962 and studied privately under the Belgian painter Line Bloom Draper. In 1963, Kosuth enrolled at...
, David Schutter, Dexter Sinister, Sean Snyder
Sean Snyder
Sean Snyder is a retired football punter, who was an all-American at Kansas State University. He is the son of Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder.-High school:...
, Christian Flamm, Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth is a German photographer whose wide-ranging work includes depictions of detailed cityscapes, Asian jungles and family portraits. He is one of Germany's most widely exhibited and collected fine art photographers...
, Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger is a British artist, best known for his sculpture for the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, Ecce Homo , and State Britain , a recreation at Tate Britain of Brian Haw's protest display outside parliament. He won the Turner Prize in 2007...
and Anna Bariball.
Curating/Gallerist
Asprey has been an active curator since 1994. He co-founded Ridinghouse Editions, a project space dedicated to the production of limited editioned works by mainstream artists, with Karsten SchubertKarsten Schubert
Karsten Schubert is an artists' representative and gallery proprietor working in England.-Karsten Schubert Limited:Karsten Schubert ran Karsten Schubert Limited, initially in collaboration, and with the backing of, Richard Salmon, from 1986 to 1991...
and Thomas Dane. Its opening exhibition was with Jake and Dinos Chapman
Jake and Dinos Chapman
Iakovos "Jake" Chapman and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, who work together as a collaborative sibling duo...
and was followed by shows with Keith Coventry
Keith Coventry
Keith Coventry is a British artist and curator. In September 2010 his Spectrum Jesus painting won the £25,000 John Moores Painting Prize.-Early life:...
, Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
, Abigail Lane
Abigail Lane
Abigail Lane is an English artist. Lane was one of the exhibitors in the 1988 Damien Hirst-led Freeze exhibition—a mixed show of art which was significant in the development of the later-to-be YBA scene of art.-Life and work:...
, Corban Walker, Alan Charlton and Michael Landy
Michael Landy
Michael Landy RA is one of the Young British Artists . He is best known for the performance piece installation Break Down , in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the Art Bin project at the South London Gallery. On 29 May 2008 Landy was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in...
, among others.
In 1998 he co-founded the contemporary art gallery aspreyjacques. It is best remembered for its prescient introduction of young art from Berlin to the capital, giving many well-known German artists their first exposure in the UK. These included Daniel Pflumm, Manfred Pernice, Antje Majewski, Nader Ahriman, Christian Flamm, Thilo Heinzmann and Michel Majerus
Michel Majerus
Michel Majerus was a Luxemburgian artist whose work combined painting with digital media.His work was featured in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Europe and North America, most notably the "Pop Reloaded" exhibition in Los Angeles....
(1967–2002). Other notable artists represented included Paul Morrison
Paul Morrison
Paul Morrison is the name of:* John Paul Morrison , aka Paul Morrison or J. Paul Morrison, Canadian computer programmer* Paul Morrison , British film director & screenwriter...
, Graham Little, Ian Kiaer, Alessandro Raho and The Estate of Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
.
In 2006 Asprey and Kay Pallister curated “As If By Magic” at The Peace Centre in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
. This show enabled world famous international artists to show in a besieged part of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
by inviting each of them to produce an idea for an artwork that could be remade on site, thereby getting around the Israeli Army checkpoint controls and circumventing the need to ship valuable art work in and out of the country. Artists who gave work to this project include Damien Hirst, Douglas Gordon
Douglas Gordon
Douglas Gordon is a Scottish artist; he won the Turner Prize in 1996 and the following year he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale...
, Martin Creed
Martin Creed
Martin Creed is an artist and musician. He won the Turner Prize in 2001 for Work No. 227: the lights going on and off, which was an empty room in which the lights went on and off.-Life and work :...
, Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German Fine-art photographer and artist. His comprehensive and diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and also the first...
, Isa Genzken
Isa Genzken
Isa Genzken is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Berlin.-Education:Genzken studied fine arts and art history at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts from 1969–1971, the Berlin University of the Arts from 1971–1973, and Arts Academy Düsseldorf from 1973-1977. Genzken married German visual...
, Michael Fullerton
Michael Fullerton
Michael Fullerton is a Scottish artist living and working in London. He is primarily a portraitist and paints in a traditional style.-Life and work:...
, Jim Lambie
Jim Lambie
James "Jim" Lambie is a contemporary visual artist, and was shortlisted for the 2005 Turner Prize with an installation called Mental Oyster....
, Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin RA is a contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is noted for his fostering of the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, An Oak Tree...
, Gary Rough, Nathan Coley
Nathan Coley
Nathan Coley is a contemporary British installation artist, who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2007....
, Simon Periton, Andreas Slominski.
In 2008 Asprey curated the exhibition of new work by Alessandro Raho
Alessandro Raho
Alessandro Raho is a British portrait and landscape artist. His work has been shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London.-Career:...
at Thomas Williams Fine Art on Old Bond Street, London.
More recently he presented “Two Horizons: work from the collections of Charles Asprey and Alexander Schroeder” at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
in Edinburgh in 2009 and curated “The Ground Around: idylls, earthworks and thunderbolts” at Vilma Gold Gallery in London (2010).
Philanthropy (selected)
Tate GalleryTate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
- Benefactor; Studio Voltaire - Trustee; South London Gallery
South London Gallery
South London Gallery, founded 1891, often known by the acronym SLG, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London - exhibiting artists included Alfredo Jaar, Ryan Gander and Chris Burden...
- Building Patron; Camden Arts Centre
Camden Arts Centre
Camden Arts Centre is a contemporary visual art gallery, dedicated to engaging living artists from across the world. Positioning the artist at the centre of the programme, Camden Arts Centre strives to involve the public in the ideas and work of today's artists.The exhibition and education...
- Patron; Nottingham Contemporary
Nottingham Contemporary
Nottingham Contemporary is a contemporary art centre in the Lace Market area of Nottingham...
- Benefactor.
Personal
Asprey is married to Justine, a sculptor. They have one son, Ivor (aka BadgerBadger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
). His family once owned Asprey
Asprey
Asprey is a British luxury brand with a heritage that dates back to 1781. The brand offers an extensive range of gifts, jewellery, watches, leather, silver, bone china, crystal and rare books, all available in its flagship New Bond Street store. Asprey was once the destination for crowns,...
, the jewelers.
External links
- Artschool Palestine website
- Randolph Cliff Artist Residency
- Studio Voltaire
- South London Gallery
- Camden Arts Centre