JENNIFER BINNIE HOME
Contact: jen@jevfinearts.co.uk
Art Education:
1976-1978 Eastbourne College of Art and Design
1978-1981 BA(hons) degree Fine Art, Portsmouth Polytechnic
1999-2000 PGCE University of Brighton
www.tabularium.co.uk/sussexwomen
Solo Exhibitions
October 2007 Gallery 286, Earls Court, London
September 2006 Lewes Artwave, (open studios)
July 2003 Gallery 286, Earls Court, London.
September 1998 Lewes Artwave, (open studios)
October 1997 Eastbourne Festival, (open studios)
May 1996 Brighton Festival, (open studios)
June 1991 Artist of The Day, Flowers East, London.
May 1990 The Bridge Gallery, London.
October 1988 Danlan de Bairead, London.
June 1985 James Birch Fine Art, London.
May 1984 James Birch Fine Art, London.
Group Exhibitions
October 2008 ' 4 Modern Sussex Women', Hastings Arts Forum
June 2008 '4 Modern Sussex Women', Fairfax Gallery, Chelsea, London
June 2007 'The Neo-Naturists', England & C0., London
March 2007 'The Secret Public,' ICA, London
October 2006 'Dead Galleries,' Fieldgate Gallery, London
October 2006 'The Secret Public,' Kunstverein, Munich
May 2003 Whitechapel Project Space, London.
December 2002 Gallery 286, Earls court, London.
July 2002 Charleston Farmhouse, nr. Lewes, East Sussex.
October 1998 Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
August 1998 A & C Gallery, Greenwich, London.
September 1997 Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
September 1996 Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
May 1995 Riviera Gallery, Hastings, East Sussex.
October 1993 Olympian Arts, Centrepoint, London.
June 1992 Magic and Imagination, Spitalfields Heritage Centre, London.
October 1989 Jevington Fine Arts Workshop, Prism Gallery, Brighton.
August 1987 Young Contemporaries, Birch and Conran, London.
September 1986 Edward Reade Gallery, San Antonio Texas, U.S.A.
May 1986 International Contemporary Art Fair, Olympia, London.
March 1985 Edward Reade Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
December 1984 London Goes To Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
January 1984 10 Women Artists, Mountbatten Gallery, Portsmouth.
July 1983 Procession, Mountbatten Gallery, Portsmouth.
July 1982 Neo-Naturist, painting and performance, B.2 Gallery, London.
January 1981 Portsmouth Biennale, Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery.
September 1980 The Old Market Arts Centre, Brighton.
Biographical details:
1958, Born, Hampton Court, Middlesex, England, to Kenneth and Beryl Binnie. Encouraged to paint from an early age by her Father, who was a follower of Rudolph Steiner, practicing his 'Painting out of Colour' theory.
1976-1978, Jennifer Binnie completes a 2 year Foundation course at Eastbourne College of Art and Design. Her sister, Christine Binnie had attended the college for 5 years previously. Both sisters fell easily into the fashionable Art college system of the day.
1978-1981, Jennifer Binnie moves to Portsmouth to take a 3 year degree course in Fine Art at Portsmouth Polytechnic.It was here that she met Grayson Perry, her partner of the next 7 years. Lecturers at the college included: Darrell Viner, Helen Chadwick, Richard Wilson, Anish Kapoor and Bruce Lacey.
1980, The heart of the New Romantic Era, Jennifer Binnie and Grayson Perry spend the Summer in London and complete their first performance at Christine Binnie's Coffee Spoon Cafe, part of the infamous Warren Street squat whose inhabitants included such rising stars as Boy George and Maralyn. Grayson Perry drives into the cafe on his motor bike, dressed as Fanny Craddock with Jennifer Binnie on the back as husband Johnny. They complete a cookery demonstration of how to make Flambé Bananas.
1983, Jennifer Binnie and Grayson Perry move to London permanently, inhabiting the Crowndale Road squat in Mornington Crescent, along with Christine Binnie, Marilyn, Cerith Wyn Evans and Wilf Rogers. By now, the Neo-Naturist Cabaret group is performing regularly at a variety of night club and gallery venues. The group perform naked except for body paint, indulging in purposefully amateurish shows which include cookery demonstrations, wobbly human pyramids, yoga demonstrations and recorder playing.
1984, Jennifer Binnie and Grayson Perry both have studios at the squat and they have fallen into a routine of regular artistic practice. Jennifer Binnie has her first solo exhibition at James Birch Fine Art which is a sell out success.
1986, The colourful, bohemian life at Crowndale Road ends with the closing of the squat. Jennifer Binnie moves to Jevington, East Sussex to pursue her Rural Idyll. She is joined by Wilf Rogers and their son, Magnus is born in 1987. Jennifer continues to paint, her work is strongly influenced by her idyllic surroundings at this time and included reference to life with animals and the cycles of nature.
1989, Jennifer Binnie and Wilf Rogers form Jevington Fine Arts Workshop, successfully making and selling painted furniture. Jennifer Binnie continues to exhibit her paintings locally and in London.
1990 - 1998, Jennifer continues to paint large, richly coloured canvases featuring animals, the landscape and the cycle of nature and the seasons. Imagery is hugely influenced by her surroundings - The South Downs, represented with a strong emotional response.
1999, Jennifer embarks on a PGCE course at Brighton University. She starts teaching at Bishop Bell School, Eastbourne in 2000, and Sussex Downs College in 2002.
2002, Jennifer begins to paint again after a 3 year break. Completes the 'painted hub caps' in Summer of 2002 and begins the 'Faces' in the Autumn of that year.
2003, First solo show in 5 years at Gallery 286. She shows the faces, the hubcaps and some of her earlier large canvases. After an 'important' walk in Friston Forest with Alex Binnie, Jennifer Binnie begins the 'Grimms' paintings. The Grimms Fairy Stories continue to be a strong influence on her work.
2004, 'Arts Around' is formed with Christine Binnie, Wilf Rogers, Phillipa Perry and Liz Johnson. Jennifer begins 'The Painted Diary' in August 2004.In October, Christine and Jennifer begin their first 'Arts Around' project - painted tiles for Jevington Village Hall.
2006, There is a resurgence of interest in 'The Neo-Naturists' beginning with participation in 'The Secret Public, Last Days of The British Underground,' at Kunstverein, Munich. This exhibition travels to the ICA in 2007.
2007, Jane England shows 'The Neo-Naturists' at England & Co. This exhibition includes documentary material from the Neo-Naturist archive and paintings, ceramics, photos and films made in the 1980's by Jennifer Binnie, Christine Binnie, Grayson Perry and Wilma Johnson. Jennifer shows her paintings at Gallery 286 in October.
2008, David Dawson curates '4 Modern Sussex Women' - Jennifer and Christine Binnie, Rachel Widdows and Liz Finch. The launch is held in June at the Fairfax Gallery, Chelsea to be followed by further venues in Sussex the first of which will be Hastings Arts Forum in October.