Iain Andrews è un artista britannico nato a Birmingham nel 1974, che attualmente vive e lavora a Manchester, Regno Unito. Dopo la Laurea in Pittura presso l'Aberystwyth University of Wales prosegue gli studi conseguendo un diploma post-laurea in Arteterapia presso la Sheffield University. Questo dualismo tra arte e psicologia ha giocato un ruolo cruciale nel plasmare la sua pratica artistica, permettendogli di integrare una comprensione profonda della psiche umana nelle sue opere.

Il lavoro di Andrews è caratterizzato da un approccio unico che fonde elementi pittorici dell'arte astratta contemporanea con tecniche tradizionali della pittura rinascimentale e vittoriana. I suoi dipinti sono noti per il forte contenuto narrativo e simbolico, che spesso riflette temi del mutamento. Nel corso degli anni la critica ha accolto favorevolmente il lavoro di Andrews, con recensioni positive su importanti piattaforme come il quotidiano britannico TheGuardian e la BBC.

John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith, celebre critico d'arte britannico e giornalista ha descritto le opere di Andrews come "la sostanza dei sogni" sottolineando come esse riescano a catturare ciò che si muove attraverso la coscienza in uno stato contemplativo, tra il sonno e la veglia. Lucie-Smith afferma che non c'è un altro giovane pittore britannico che riesca a farlo in modo altrettanto efficace.

Le opere di Iain Andrews sono state esposte in mostre personali e collettive in tutto il mondo tra cui la 58^ Biennale di Venezia"Personal Structures’ runs at the Paper Pavilion, Palazzo Mora”, Warrington Museum Londra -UK-"Mythopoeia", International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, Alaska "Paint Fiction", Tate Liverpool -UK- “Beautiful Things”, Kyoto, Japan Art Spot "Thing Worlds” National Gallery and Museum of Poland,Gdansk "Made in Britain - British painting in the 21st century”, Hefei Museum of Modern Art, Anhui, China, "TaoHuaTan International artists” Bowes Museum Durham -UK "New Light art prize exhibition” National Pastime Theatre, Chicago -US-"International Beethoven Project”.

Nel corso della sua carriera ha ricevuto numerosi premi come National Art Open, il Jackson’s Art Prize nel 2023 e il Marmite Painting Prize nel 2011.

La ricerca di Iain Andrews dimostra come l'arte possa essere un potente strumento di esplorazione psicologica, intrecciando il suo talento artistico con una profonda comprensione della condizione umana affermando l’interesse continuo per il mondo delle fiabe che lo hanno da sempre affascinato per la capacità di catturare quei sentimenti profondi tramite un linguaggio universale che riesce a parlare non solo alla mente, ma anche ai sensi e alle emozioni più primitive. 

Nel 2026 ha presentato la sua prima mostra personale in Italia presso Galleria Gaburro di Milano intitolata Iain Andrews. Whispers from the Red Room e a cura di Cesare Biasini Selvaggi.

Mostre personali

2026 Iain Andrews. Whispers from the Red Room, Galleria Gaburro, Milano, Italia

2024  Forthcoming – James Freeman Gallery, Londra, UK

2023  Diorama (with David Hancock) - The Parsonage, Manchester, UK

2022  Teraphim – (with Carlos Zapata), James Freeman Gallery, Londra, UK

2020  New Paintings, Gallery 339, Cao Chang Di, Pechino, Cina

2018   Iain Andrews, Hay Hill, House of the Nobleman, Londra, UK

2015   Changeling, University of York College Gallery, York, UK

2014  Review : Iain Andrews, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK

2013  Il Teatro dei Leviatano, Man and Eve, Londra, UK
The Language of Paint (with Richard Kenton Webb), The Atkinson Gallery, Somerset, UK

2012   Mythopoeia,  Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, Warrington, UK

2011   Manchester Contemporary (solo presentation with man and eve), Manchester, UK

2009  Iain Andrews (with Geneive Figgis), Queen Street Studios, Belfast, UK
Theoria, Gallery 286, Londra
The Pilgrimage of Lost Children and Other Stories, Bankley Mill, Manchester, UK

2008 The Edge of Figuration, Tregoning Fine Art, Derby, UK

Mostre collettive

2025 Giorgio Gaburro. Trent'anni di Galleria, Galleria Gaburro, Milano, Italia

2024  Human, Galleria Gaburro, Milano, Italia
Divine Comedies, James Freeman Gallery, Londra
Dreams and Nightmares, Boomer Gallery, Londra
Assembly, Rye Creative Centre, Sussex
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Arts University Gallery, Bournemouth and Arts University, Plymouth

2023  Resurrection, James Freeman Gallery, Londra
Jackson's Painting Prize, Oxo Gallery, Londra
X -10 years of Contemporary British Painting, Newcastle Contemporary Art, Newcastle
Rising Artists - Jackson's Painting Prizewinners, Affordable Art Fair and Bankside Gallery, Londra
Paint Fiction, International gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
AIR Open, AIR Gallery, Altrincham
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Trinity Buoy Wharf, Londra
Paint, Brownston Gallery, Devon

2022  Carnivals of Clouds, Janet Rady Fine Art, Londra
Manchester Open, HOME, Manchester
Sunny Art Prize, Sunny Arts Centre, Londra
Paradoxes, Quay Arts Centre, Isle of Wight
A Generous Space II, Walsall Art Gallery, Walsall
A Modest Show’ (collateral show to BAS), Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
Paint Edgy, Ropewalk Gallery, Barton Upon Humber
Paper After All, Cambrian Art Academy, Conwy, Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester
Swamp Legends, Terrace Gallery, Londra

2021 TrinityBuoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Cooper Gallery, Dundee
Thing Worlds, Art Spot, Kyoto, Giappone
Emergence, Rise Art, Londra
Momento Mori, AIR gallery, Altrincham 
Artworks Open, Barbican Arts Group, Londra

2020 Manchester Open, HOME, Manchester 
London Art Fair (with James Freeman Gallery), Londra
Waving in the Distance, Terrace Gallery, Londra
BEEP Painting Biennale, Elysium gallery, Swansea
Vitalistic Fantasies, Elysium gallery, Swansea
yes/no, online exhibition with Contemporary British Painting
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Londra

2019  Angels, James Freeman Gallery, Londra, UK
Exeter Contemporary, Phoenix gallery, Exeter, UK
Manifest,  Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester, UK
Personal Structures-Identities, Paper Pavilion, Palazzo Mora, Biennale di Venezia, Venezia, Italia
CBP, Norwich Cathedral, Norwich
New Paintings, Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester
Made in Britain – British Painting in the 21st century, National Gallery of Poland, Gdansk, Polonia
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Drawing Projects, Wiltshire

2018 New Painting, The Crypt, St Marylebone Church, Londra, UK
Tao Hua Tan Artists, Hefei Museum of Modern Art, Hefei, Anhui, Cina
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing prize, TBW, Londra and touring U.K
Fresh Paint, Messums Gallery, Wiltshire
Myth, Material and Metamorphosis, Messums Gallery, Wiltshire
Chaiya Art Award, Oxo Gallery, London, ‘GMCC Arts Prize’, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport
New Lights Art Prize, Huddersfiled Art gallery, Bankside Art gallery and Tullie House Museum and Art gallery
Tracing Paper, Paper Gallery, Manchester, UK

2017 New Lights Art Prize, Bowes Museum, Durham
Testcard P, St Marylebone Crypt, Londra
Bankley Open, Bankley Gallery, Manchester
Mardi gras Requiem, Project Space Plus, University of Lincoln
Contemporary British Painting, Yantai Art Museum, Yantai and touring to Artali Gallery, Nanjing and Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanchino, Cina
Strange Little Things, Bankley Gallery, Manchester 
GMCC Art Prizewinners exhibition, Chamber of Commerce, Manchester
Antennae, Lubomirov Angus Hughes, Londra

2016 Correspond, Artworks Gallery, Halifax and touring to London, Liverpool, Rye and Winchester, UK
GMCC Art prizewinners exhibition, Chamber of Commerce, Manchester, UK
Sixty, Lubomirov Angus-Hughes, Londra, UK
Anthology, Van der Plas Gallery, New York, USA
New Work, The Manchester Contemporary, Manchester, UK
Telling tales, Collyer Bristow, Londra, UK
Miniature World, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK

2015   How the Light gets in, Hay on Wye, UK
Griffin Gallery Open, Griffin Gallery, Londra, UK
Open call Bankley, Bankley Gallery, Manchester, UK
National Open Art Competition, RCA, Londra UK

2014  Lost Paradise, Central Library of Castro Pretorio, Triennale di Roma, Roma, Italia
@Paint Britain, Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich, UK
Contemporary British Painting, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, UK
(DETAIL) , H Project space, Bangkok,(June),Transition gallery, London (September) and Usher gallery, Lincoln (2015) – curated by Andrew Bracey
Open Up North, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, UK

2013  Beautiful Things, Next Door projects, Tate Liverpool 
Tip of the Iceberg, Contemporary Art Society, Londra

2012  The Wreck of the Imagination, Sarah O’ Kane Fine Art, Lewes 
International Beethoven Festival, Chicago, USA
Polemically Small, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
60 Drawings, Bankley Gallery, Manchester 
Put your money where your eyes are, Castlelfield Gallery, Manchester 
Pulse Art Fair,  New York (con Man e Eve), USA
Collectible, Zeitgeist Arts Projects, Londra, UK
A Private Affair, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston
Digital Romantics, Dean Clough, Halifax

2011   National Open Art Competition Prizewinners, Pallant House, Chichester
Something Borrowed, Cultivate, Londra
The Manchester Contemporary (solo presentation), con Man e Eve, Manchester
The Return : House of the Nobleman, Boswall House, Londra 
Configured, Signal Gallery, Londra
Jerwood Drawing Prize, Londra e varie altre sedi 
Contemporary Approaches to Watercolour, Mall Galleries, Londra
Polemically Small, curated by Edward Lucie Smith, Garboushian Gallery, LA, USA
Desire, Portman Gallery, London - The Open West, Gloucester Art Gallery, Gloucester

2010  The Marmite Art Prize, Tameside, touring to Coventry e Londra in 2011
Crash Salon, Charlie Dutton Gallery
The Borrowed Loop, Man and Eve, Londra
Summer Show, Tregoning Fine Art, Derby

2009  Salon 09, Matt Roberts Arts, Londra
New Artists, Newdays Gallery, Surrey
Top 100, Jealous Gallery, Londra 
British Art in the Twenty First Century, Opera Gallery, Ungheria

2008  Marmite Art Prize, Studio 1.1, Londra
Top 100,  MCPS/PRS Alliance building and various venues, Londra
New Blood Art Fair, Londra
Budapest Art Fair, Budapest, Ungheria 
Horse Power, Liverpool Biennale, Edge Hill Station, Liverpool 
International Artists, Opera Gallery, Ungheria
Add Balance to the Equation, Lloyd Gill Gallery, Somerset 
Night Thoughts, Royal West of England Academy, Bath 
Imaging the Bible, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth

2007  From Bacchus to Barbie, Signal Gallery, Londra
Derby Open, City Art Gallery, Derby
Sefton Open, Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport
SOA Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, Londra

2006 Derby Open, Derby City Art Gallery, Derby

2005  Stations of the Cross, St.Mary’s, Stoke Newington, Londra
Art Of Imagination, touring European Exhibition – Galerie Venere, Italy -  Lofthouse Galerie, Germany -  Silos Gallery, Spagna
Challenge the Nail, Salon des Arts, Londra

2004  Candid Arts Trust, Londra

2003  Art and Vision, touring exhibition – Williamsburg Art centre, New York – Gallery 37, London – Kircudbright, Scozia
Religion, Art and War, Salon des Arts, Londra

2002  Eyepoppers, City Art Gallery, Gloucester 
Art of Imagination, Gallery 37, London and Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham, Rutland

Competitions, Prizes and Awards

2023    Jackson’s Art Prize – Prize winner, London, Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize

2019    GMCC Arts Prize, runner up, Manchester

2018    New lights Art Prize, Shortlist, Chaiya Art Award, Shortlist, Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, shortlist,

2017    GMCC Arts Prize, runner up, Manchester

2016    Anthology, 1st Prize winner, Van der Plas Gallery, New York,
             GMCC Arts Prize, runner up, Manchester

2014    Open up North, 1st Prize winner, Kendal

2012     Nominated for Northern Art Prize

2011     TOWRY Regional prize – North of England, National Open Art Competition
              Marmite Painting Prize, 1st Prize winner, Londra
              Jerwood Drawing Prize, Londra

2010    Jerwood Painting Fellowship, Shortlist

2009    Best of British, Finalist, Saatchi Gallery, Londra
              Abbey Scholarship Fine Art, Shortlist, British School of Rome

2007    Sir Leslie Joesph Young Artist Award, Finalist  - Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea                             
             Celeste Art Prize, Shortlist, Londra

2002     LUKAS Drawing Prize, Londra

Public Collections

The Progressive Collection, Ohio, USA, Warrington Art Gallery

St Paul’s The Crossing, Walsall, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

Priseman/Seabrook Collection, Yantai Art Museum, Cina

Private collections in the U.K, Bolivia, Denmark, U.S.A, Cina e Hong Kong.

Residencies

2024       Xenia Creative retreat, Basingstoke

2019       Beijing, Cina

2018       Hua Tan International Artists Residency, Anhui, Cina
               Tracing paper, Manchester

2011        Jacob’s Island, Londra