Leon Kossoff (1926 − )
Leon Kossoff was born in London to Russian and Jewish parents. He studied at the Borough Polytechnic, attended the artist David Bomberg's evening class, and later went to the Royal College of Art in London. Since the age of twelve he painted London obsessively: "The strange, ever-changing light, the endless streets, and the shuddering feel of the sprawling city linger in my mind like a faintly glimmering memory of a long-forgotten, perhaps never experienced childhood". Kossoff's paintings are characterised by rich surfaces of heavy impasto. Thick paint and sombre colours gave way to a lighter palette in the 1990s. His work has affinities with European expressionism, but also has particular English qualities: reminiscent of Sickert and the Camden Town Group of painters with an attachment to the everyday and least picturesque aspects of urban life. His work was shown in the British Pavilion at the 1995 Venice Biennale (www.britishcouncil.org/venicebiennale)
Further reading:
Leon Kossoff, Tate Gallery 1996
Richard Kendall, Drawn to Painting: Lion Kossoff Drawings and Prints after Nicolas Poussin, Merrell Publishers Limited 2000
Work Themes (5)
Exhibition map
Current & upcoming exhibitions
LEON KOSSOFF LONDON LANDSCAPES
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2013
- UK, London, Annely Juda
Past exhibitions
Francis Bacon to Paula Rego: Great Artists
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2012
- UK, Kendal, Abbot Hall Art Gallery
THE THINKING LINE
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2012
- UK, Canterbury, Sidney Cooper Gallery
MY CHOICE WORKS SELECTED BY PAULA REGO FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION
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2011
- Portugal, Coimbra, Univesidade de Coimbra, Casa de Caldeiras
- Portugal, Edp Foundation
- Portugal, Cascais, Casa Das Historias
THRESHOLDS
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2012
- Macedonia, Skopje, Museum Of Contemporary Art
- Malta, Valletta, St James Cavalier Centre For Creativity
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2010
- UK, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery
PASSPORTS. IN VIAGGIO CON L'ARTE
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2009
- Italy, Milan, Padglione D'arte Contemporanea
PASSPORTS: GREAT EARLY BUYS FROM THE BRITISH COUNCIL COLLECTION
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2009
- UK, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery
DRAWN
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2005
- UK, Bedford, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery
DRAWING DISTINCTIONS
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2003
- Poland, Lodz, Museum Sztuki
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2001
- UK, Nottingham, Castle Museum And Art Gallery
- UK, Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes Gallery
- Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, Museum Of Fine Arts
- Russia, Moscow, Pushkin Museum Of Fine Arts
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2000
- Russia, St Petersburg, The Hermitage
- Canada, Yukon Art Gallery
- Canada, Prairie Art Gallery
- Canada, Winnipeg Art Gallery
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1999
- Canada, Timmins Museum And N E C
- Canada, Arcadia University Art Gallery
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1998
- Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, National Art Gallery
- Malaysia, Penang, Penang State Museum And Art Gallery
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1997
- USA, Phoenix, Arizona State University Art Museum
- USA, Berkeley, University Art Museum
L'ECOLE DE LONDRES DE BACON A BEVAN
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1998
- France, Paris, Musee Malliol
TREASURE ISLAND
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1997
- Portugal, Lisbon, Gulbenkian Foundation
WEU PRESIDENCY EXHIBITIONS
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1995
- Belgium, Brussels, Western European Union
XLVI VENICE BIENNALE
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1996
- Netherlands, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum
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1995
- Germany, Dusseldorf, Kunstverein Fur Die Rheinlande & Westfal
- Italy, Venice, British Pavilion
BRITISH FIGURATIVE PAINTING OF THE 20TH CENTURY
-
1992
- Israel, Jerusalem, The Israel Museum
- UK, London, Sothebys
LIFE INTO PAINT
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1992
- Israel, Jerusalem, The Israel Museum
- UK, London, Sothebys
FOR A WIDER WORLD
-
1991
- Argentina, Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes
- Bulgaria, Sofia, Cyril Methodius Foundation
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Musee National D'histoire Et D'art
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1990
- Ussr, Kiev, Ukrainian Museum Of Fine Art