Description
Born in 1933, Peter Green studied at Brighton College of Art and the Institute of Education University of London. Having qualified as a teacher he initially taught at a secondary school in East London where he established a thriving school printing press, producing small books and original prints. During this time he developed his own work as a printmaker and was elected to membership of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1958. The following years were spent developing a career both as a teacher and a printmaker. In 1967 Peter was appointed Head of the post graduate Art Teacher Training Department at Hornsey College of Art and during the 60s and 70s produced a series of original prints for London Graphic Arts and published two standard printmaking books. During the 70s and 80s Peter was appointed to the Crafts Council of Great Britain and chaired the Council’s Education Committee for six years. In 1978 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at Middlesex Polytechnic (subsequently Middlesex University) and was appointed Professor of Art and Design in 1983 (emeritus professor 1991). In 1988 he was appointed OBE. Peter has always been anxious to demystify the printing process – making it as simple and accessible as possible. For his relief printing he does not use a press, initially as a practical response to limitations of space and money. However he soon realised the advantages of printing by hand allowing him to explore the full depth of a cut block and to control gradations of pressure and tone without any limit on paper size. Much of Peter’s work also features the use of paper stencils, rolling colour through a cut shape directly on the paper’s surface. Peter’s images have a variety of origins but usually emerge as part of the printing process rather than from extensive preliminary drawings. The initial proofed image may suggest, for example, a fantasy dreamlike landscape form, which grows progressively. Exhibiting from 1958 to the present day, his work is held in collections including the Arts Council, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Towner Art Gallery, Cecil Higgins Museum, Laing Art Gallery, South London Art Gallery, Birmingham City Art Gallery, University of Wales, National Gallery Kuala Lumpur, Museums of Detroit, Seattle and Pittsburg and numerous private collections