Michael Porter: 17-28 April 2023

Michael Porter was born in 1948 in Derbyshire, a county renowned for its rugged natural beauty. There, he made the most of his surroundings, walking the dales and climbing the local gritstone. At the age of 15 he attended nearby Nottingham College of Art and later Derby College of Art, completing both undergraduate and post-graduate studies at Chelsea School of Art. He finished his academic training as Fellow in Fine Art at Gloucestershire College of Art in 1973. From 1974 he worked in the same studio in Hackney, East London until his move to Cornwall in 1997. During this period he lectured in most major art schools in London and the provinces, as well as several throughout Europe.

His work has been regularly exhibited in museums and contemporary galleries in London, Europe and America. Porter has received numerous major awards, including the National Gallery Artist-in-Residence, the Lorne Award (London University), the Odin Award (RWA), an Honorary Doctorate from Derby University, and, more recently, Honorary Fellow of University College Falmouth. For over 30 years he has worked exclusively from the landscape, always using locations that have long been familiar to him, as the paintings incorporate both time past and time present.