Iain Whitecross (1936-2019)
Iain Whitecross was born in the UK in 1936. He studied economics in London but later moved to Paris where he began to paint full time. After his first solo exhibition there, he received a commission from an American corporation and came to the US, where he settled in New York city.
Stimulated by the drama of the first space flights, he became involved with Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT), a budding movement whose intent was to bridge the gap between science and the arts and promote collaborations that might influence the new technologies toward peaceful and humanitarian ends.
In the late seventies Whitecross started an ambitious project, a large cybernetic sculptural environment to be called The Electronic Garden. The work which took over five years to complete was first shown at the OK Harris Gallery in New York city and subsequently at the Museum of the Hyde Collection in upstate New York in 1992. A paper on The Electronic Garden was presented to the International Society of Electronic Artists (ISEA) in 1993 and a second installation of nine interactive wall sculptures, The Seasons and Other Cycles of Life was exhibited in 1996 at Images du Futur in Montreal during the ISEA biennial.
In 2001 Whitecross returned to painting with Reef Dreams. This series was inspired by his fascination with and concern for the coral reefs where he has dived for many years and was exhibited at the Atea Ring Gallery in Westport, NY in 2006. Later work continued this close focus on the unfamiliar or the unexpected in the natural world and has been exhibited in five shows at the Atea Ring Gallery, Lichenous Liasions in 2008, Lichens 'n Ice in 2010, Shore and Snow in August, 2011, Shadow, Shore and Snow in July 2012, and Nature Nearsights in July, 2013.
Earlier projects include Magnifications, a group of spray paintings based on microscopic views of plants, Advertisements for War, a suite of serigraphs created during the Vietnam War and Finds, a collection of wood and stone sculptures.
Over the years he has participated in many group and solo shows in the US and abroad including at the Brooklyn Museum, the Portland Museum, the Graham Gallery and the Galerie du Damier and was the recipient of fellowships from the Wurlitzer Foundation and the Macdowell and Millay Colonies. His work is in private collections in Belgium, France, England, Sweden, Australia and the United States.
His last works were influenced by the war in Iraq and the pillaging of the Archeological Museum in Baghdad.
Iain Whitecross passed away on February 17, 2019.
