John Hoyland RA (1934 - 2011) was a British painter known for his use of vibrant colour in producing abstractions which wavered between depth and flatness by layering harmonious and contrasting colours in compositions of irregular shapes. He is perhaps best known for his seminal series, ‘Power Stations’ (1964-1982).
Born in Sheffield, he studied at the Sheffield College of Art and later the Royal Academy in London. In 1964, Hoyland travelled to New York where he met Robert Motherwell and Mark Rothko, both of whom had a lasting impact on his work. On returning to England Hoyland’s reputation grew, culminating in his first solo exhibition in 1967 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Retrospectives of his paintings have been held at the Serpentine Gallery (1979), the Royal Academy (1999) and Tate St Ives (2006). In 1982 he won the John Moores Painting Prize, and in 1998 the Royal Academy’s Wollaston Award. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1991 and was appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy Schools in 1999.
His works are held in many public and private collections including the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Damien Hirst’s Murderme Collection, among others.