John Hoskin
1921-1990
John Hoskin was born in Cheltenham of Welsh and Cornish descent. He left school at the age of fourteen and worked in an architect’s drawing office before starting his army service in 1942 and serving in the Second World War.
After the war, encouraged by Terry Frost, he started painting and by 1950 was working on reliefs and constructions. In 1957 he was made Head of Sculpture at the Bath Academy of Art, Corsham and in 1978 was appointed Professor of Fine Art at Leicester.
His first solo exhibition was at the Lord’s Gallery in 1957 and he went on to have successful one-man shows at both the Grosvenor and Matthieson Galleries in the 1960’s. A retrospective of his work was held in 1975 at the Serpentine Gallery, London.
Most of his sculptures are unique and constructed from mild steel. Shiny, curved, organic surfaces combine with geometric, black welded forms.
His work is included in public collections including the Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Council.