Paul Eachus, 1944 -2015, English artist, was born in Liverpool. He studied in Liverpool College of Art 1961-66 and moved to London for post graduate studies at Royal College of Art 1966-70. Eachus was a multi-disciplinary artist. Formally trained as a painter which he practiced early in his career. Later he became interested in a combination of painting and photography working alongside with John Goto (1983-7). In late 80s and 90s, his practice further expanded and it took the form of installation, video, slide projection, drawing and still photography. In 2000-15, Eachus made his most elaborate works. These were made in his studio that took the form of large scale photoworks as well as large scale sculptures/installations.
Early work 1970-1983
During this period, Eachus’ main concentration on painting was a form of engagement with ‘space’; how they occupy the ‘space’, the gaps between them, and how they permeate outward beyond their surface and the frame. Intrinsic to these paintings were multiplicity of the material such as acrylic, charcoal, graphite, oil etc. coexist within the surface to emphasis on chaos as a form of discontinuity..
Collaboration with John Goto 1984-87
This was a significant period for Eachus artistic practice as his collaboration with Goto set off a new direction in his continuing practice. The multiplicity of material of early paintings developed not only into the mixture of media but also into the mutability of thinking. These works usually were made through long discussions which were crucial for the development of the idea of ‘concept’. Goto’s photographic work and Eachus painting embarked on a new dimension in their work. They endorsed strategies that were anti-aesthetic, pondering on disorder and chaos. This development was important in view of new political development in the history of British art.
The most significant exhibitions celebrating their collaborative work were their solo exhibition ‘Sites of Passage’ at Fischer Fine Art, London, 1986 and in the group show 'Blasphemies, Ecstasies and Cries' at the Serpentine gallery , London 1985 and the thematic touring exhibition ‘Painting / Photography’, 1985/86.
1987-2000
After five years of collaboration with Goto, Eachus continued the same principle, ie. a mixture of painting and photographic images to develop a series of works under the generic title of ‘Codition is Secured’, ‘Eminant Faulter’, etc. He later expanded his practice to multimedia installation that embraced not only painting, drawing and photography but also three dimensional objects, sound, slide projection and video. His significant exhibition during this period were: ‘Critical Intervention – Evil’, John Hansard Gallery 1998; ‘Four Silences (after Blanchot)’, Centre D’Art en L’Ile, Geneva, Switzerland; ‘Der Lacheln der Forsythe’, ACC Galerie , Weimar Germany; ‘Musee Imaginaire’, Arts Council of England, UK touring, where he presented his works as the installation of a series of monitors, sound, microphone, speakers, still photographs and drawings and other non conventional materials such as water and stone.
2001-2015
Photowork: From this point Eachus developed his practice to what he termed it ‘photowork’. His photoworks are large, close to the same size as their original subject matter. They present us with wholly constructed spaces and involve physical construction and display of material made in the studio. These displays were made from different materials including everyday basic building supplies and a mixture of domestic and found urban objects along with photography and video.
Installation: Eachus’ latest development were large scale installations and sculptures. Unlike his photographic works, Eachus’ installations were impermanent both in their physicality and concept. His most important installations include: ‘Looking up to Cuuba’, 2006; ‘Counter Crux’ 2008; 'Trans Chaosmos Facility l & ll', 2010-11 and ‘Amytime’, 2012.
Drawing: The major recent drawings made by Paul Eachus are 'Trans Chaosmos Facility', 2011. They are a series of 22 drawings that are originated from the major installation Trans Chaosmos Facility and funded by Henry Moore Foundation, in a limited edition publication, and 'The Assassination' series of 20 drawings that has been exhibited at Interfaces Galerie with Tsjaling Groningen Holland 2013 and Timings Agency Gallery, London 2014. The ' Ronald Reagan', no 14 of this series was selected for The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2012. The drawings are mixed media in themselves; they include text, drawing, photo images and found objects all incorporated into what become hybrid graphic works.
Collaboration with Nooshin Farhid 2002-2015
Beside his collaboration with John Goto in -mid 80s, Eachus collaborated with the artist Nooshin Farhid. In 2010 - 11 Paul Eachus invited Nooshin Farhid to make a series of videos for the large installation work 'Trans Chaosmos Facility' l & ll, first shown at The Wasp Room, Nottingham 2010 and then at Angus Hughes Gallery, London 2011. The latest collaboration with Farhid was ‘After Party’ that was shown at the Agency Gallery London in 2014.
Eachus and Farhid also collaborated in curating a number of exhibitions , 'Wait For Me', 2002 and 'Use This Kind of Sky' 2005-8, the latter being a multi-site exhibition including Keith talent Gallery, Camden Art Centre, Resonance Radio, Redux Project and other non gallery sites such as cafes and streets in Hackney, London. The project led to a publication and finally a Forum which offered a space for textual material within both the specific and wider contexts of art production and reception.
Exhibitions
Since 1970 Paul Eachus has shown in numerous venues internationally, including Museum of Modern Art Oxford; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1988; Serpentine Gallery, London; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art WA; Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery, Bornemouth; BodhiBerlin, Berlin, Germany; Kunstverien Beregenz, Austria; The Akbank Centre, Istanbul Turkey; Fischer Fine Art, London; Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge; The Whitechapel Gallery, London; Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales; Manchester Museum, Manchester; Galeria Moriarty, Madrid, Spain; Bloomberg Space, London; Galerie Lucy MacKintosh, Lausanne, Switzerland; Foundation VHDG Leeuwarden Holland; The Jerwood Gallery London and many more.
Residencies
Residencies include: State University of Pennsylvania USA; Bauhau Univertat, Weimar Germany; Edith Cowan University WA and The School of The Art Institute of Chicago USA, and Exeter College of Art, Exeter, UK
Collections
Eachus's work is in the collections of the Channel4 TV; Arts Council Southern Region; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth; University of The Arts London; Galerie Morner, Stockholm; Galerie BodhiBerlin, Germany; ACC Galerie, Weimar and a number of international private collections.[57]
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