IAIN MACLEAN – THE ARTIST - A SUMMARY

Iain Maclean was born in Kabwe, Zambia in 1949, to a Scottish father and Polish mother and his earliest artistic influences were a mixture of African and European art.

He lived for while in Zimbabwe, but returned to Zambia where he lived ten frighteningly close miles from the Congo border until 1969.

He moved to England in 1969 to study fine art at Goldsmith’s College. They were struck by his curiously distorted figurative work – reflecting his then love of Francis Bacon, organic African carvings, Picasso and Rodin.

He worked evenings backstage at London theatres to pay his way through college. Eventually, lack of funds forced him to drop out, so he joined the advertising industry.

He had one exhibition at JWT in Berkeley Square in 1971 before destroying most of his work, when he threw many paintings and sculptures off New Cross Bridge.



IAIN MACLEAN – THE WORK

Iain Maclean was born in Kabwe, Zambia in 1949, to a Scottish father and Polish mother.
He lived for while in Zimbabwe, but returned to Zambia ten miles from the Congo border. Stories of rape, mass murder and even cannibalism were spread by refugees who fled the beleaguered country. His reaction to these and other events resurfaced many years later in his work.

He moved to England in 1969 to study fine art at Goldsmith’s College. They were struck by his curiously distorted figurative work – reflecting his then love of Francis Bacon, organic African carvings, Picasso and Rodin.

Like many students at the time, he moved away from figurative to more conceptual work. In his case, he started designing a series of “rooms” exploring the senses: smell, touch, sight, audio and even taste.

After one exhibition, he destroyed all his remaining work in 1971 … Read More