Fabian Peake: an eye either side

About

While he started out as a painter, Peake’s later work broadened to incorporate tailored textile wall pieces, cut-out reliefs, sculpture, drawing, photography, writing and poetry, with each informing one another.

This landmark exhibition marks the artist’s 80th birthday and is a celebration of Peake’s broad and multifaceted career, as both artist and writer. Spanning six decades, the exhibition will encompass early paintings from the 1970s to new works and will showcase Peake’s playful and experimental use of diverse media.

Peake is the son of the writer, illustrator and artist Mervyn Peake (1911 – 1968), best known for the ‘Gormenghast’ series of fantasy novels, and the painter and writer Maeve Gilmore (1917 – 1983). Fabian Peake studied first at Chelsea College of Art and then at the Royal College of Art. As a student he met his wife, the artist Phyllida Barlow, with whom he has five children including the artists Eddie Peake and Florence Peake. For many years, Peake taught painting as a Senior Lecturer in the Fine Art Department of Manchester Metropolitan University, while continuing his own career as an artist.