Theodore Mendez
Encyclopedia
Theodore Mendez 1934-1997 was an abstract artist who taught at Camberwell College of Arts
in London
for over thirty years. After attending Strand School
, he entered Camberwell College of Arts
in 1950 as a student, where his contemporaries included Terry Frost
, Howard Hodgkin
, Euan Uglow, Roy Turner Durrant
, Bernard Dunstan
and Gillian Ayres. He returned as a teacher; and from 1976-1984 was head of the Textile Department.
Writing about his work in 1990, he confided, " My recent work is no way representational or literal...The works are sometimes symbolic of a moment in time - an event or place witnessed, felt or experienced.. The work I do is made up - invented - stimulated by life-enhancing experience... Each work has ultimately to stand by itself without necessarily being part of a series or having a title or clue as to its origin... I love the variety of the medium, the spreading of colour and the interrelation of colour and colour areas... sometimes the work comes almost directly via music, which I listen to constantly - several hours every day - like food and drink, it is essential... if I achieve anything at all, it has, for me, to satisfy [a need for] lasting contemplation - mystical, intangible.."
His first exhibition was at the Redfern Gallery in London in 1954; he would later show his textile designs at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1956 and in the same year won the Design Award at the Manchester Colour, Design & Style Centre. Mendez returned to the Camberwell College of Arts
in 1958, which was the year when Frank Auerbach
began his time on the staff. Mendez continued to teach full-time, and was Head of the Textile Department from 1976 until his retirement in 1984, which was precipitated by his feeling that the re-organization of London art colleges at that moment would erode the intimate values upon which he believed artistic creation was predicated.
He exhibited less in his later years, preferring to concentrate on teaching, and in retirement, intensive painting. His creative output did not diminish, and his paintings were hung alongside such acknowledged modernists as David Hockney
, Patrick Caulfield
, Patrick Heron
& Roger Hilton
, especially at two exhibitions at the Walker Art Gallery
in Liverpool in 1972 & 1978.
Since his death there have been six London exhibitions, and his works are in The Museum of London
and private collections in France
, Australia
, New Zealand
, America and Great Britain
. His work is mainly abstract and often based on urban landscapes, cosmopolitan emblems such as Parisian cafes or Argentinian tangos, and is suffused with a sense of music, especially jazz. Thre are countless highly literate references to the history of art, and in this sense he was arguably one of the earliest post-moderninsts, perhaps without fully being aware of it. He worked with oil, acrylic and collage on canvas, wood and cardboard. He also made constructions in wood and metal, and even painted a few touching, almost expressionistic landscape canvases on rare occasions of lyrical outburst.
Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost art and design institutions. It is located in Camberwell, South London, England, with two sites situated at Peckham Road and Wilson Road...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for over thirty years. After attending Strand School
Strand School
Strand School was a boys' grammar school in the Tulse Hill area of South London. It moved there in 1913 from its original location in the Strand...
, he entered Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost art and design institutions. It is located in Camberwell, South London, England, with two sites situated at Peckham Road and Wilson Road...
in 1950 as a student, where his contemporaries included Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
, Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin CH, CBE is a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.-Early life:...
, Euan Uglow, Roy Turner Durrant
Roy Turner Durrant
Roy Turner Durrant was a 20th century English abstract artist.He was born in Lavenham, Suffolk, England on 4 October 1925. He had a love of drawing from an early age which continued as a driving force throughout his life...
, Bernard Dunstan
Bernard Dunstan
Bernard Dunstan RA is a British artist, teacher, and author, best known for his studies of figures in interiors and landscapes. He is currently the longest serving Royal Academician.-Life and work:...
and Gillian Ayres. He returned as a teacher; and from 1976-1984 was head of the Textile Department.
Writing about his work in 1990, he confided, " My recent work is no way representational or literal...The works are sometimes symbolic of a moment in time - an event or place witnessed, felt or experienced.. The work I do is made up - invented - stimulated by life-enhancing experience... Each work has ultimately to stand by itself without necessarily being part of a series or having a title or clue as to its origin... I love the variety of the medium, the spreading of colour and the interrelation of colour and colour areas... sometimes the work comes almost directly via music, which I listen to constantly - several hours every day - like food and drink, it is essential... if I achieve anything at all, it has, for me, to satisfy [a need for] lasting contemplation - mystical, intangible.."
His first exhibition was at the Redfern Gallery in London in 1954; he would later show his textile designs at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1956 and in the same year won the Design Award at the Manchester Colour, Design & Style Centre. Mendez returned to the Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost art and design institutions. It is located in Camberwell, South London, England, with two sites situated at Peckham Road and Wilson Road...
in 1958, which was the year when Frank Auerbach
Frank Auerbach
Frank Helmut Auerbach is a painter born in Germany although he has been a naturalised British citizen since 1947.-Biography:Auerbach was born in Berlin, the son of Max Auerbach, a patent lawyer, and Charlotte Nora Burchardt, who had trained as an artist...
began his time on the staff. Mendez continued to teach full-time, and was Head of the Textile Department from 1976 until his retirement in 1984, which was precipitated by his feeling that the re-organization of London art colleges at that moment would erode the intimate values upon which he believed artistic creation was predicated.
He exhibited less in his later years, preferring to concentrate on teaching, and in retirement, intensive painting. His creative output did not diminish, and his paintings were hung alongside such acknowledged modernists as David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
, Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Joseph Caulfield, CBE, RA was an English painter and printmaker known for his bold canvases, which often incorporated elements of Photorealism within a pared down scene.-Life and work:...
, Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron , was an English painter, writer and designer, based in St. Ives, Cornwall.- Early life :...
& Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton CBE was a pioneer of abstract art in post-war Britain. He was born in 1911 in Northwood, London and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London under Henry Tonks and also in Paris, where he developed links with painters on the Continent.In World War II he served in the Army, part...
, especially at two exhibitions at the Walker Art Gallery
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part...
in Liverpool in 1972 & 1978.
Since his death there have been six London exhibitions, and his works are in The Museum of London
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
and private collections in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, America and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. His work is mainly abstract and often based on urban landscapes, cosmopolitan emblems such as Parisian cafes or Argentinian tangos, and is suffused with a sense of music, especially jazz. Thre are countless highly literate references to the history of art, and in this sense he was arguably one of the earliest post-moderninsts, perhaps without fully being aware of it. He worked with oil, acrylic and collage on canvas, wood and cardboard. He also made constructions in wood and metal, and even painted a few touching, almost expressionistic landscape canvases on rare occasions of lyrical outburst.