Robyn Denny

Robyn Denny, Venice Biennale, 1966

About

Born in Surrey, England, Robyn Denny (1930–2014) was one of an internationally acclaimed group who transformed British art in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Inspired by the scale and energy of Abstract Expressionism emerging from the US, Denny developed his own unique language of painting and printmaking, which drew from popular culture, urban modernity and American films.

Graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1957, Denny was one of the organisers of the now legendary 1960 exhibition Situation which marked a dramatic shift away from the mainstream abstraction of the St Ives School to a new style of painting. In 1966, Denny represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and in 1973 was the recipient of a Tate retrospective, the youngest artist at the time to receive this honour.

In 1981 Denny moved to Los Angeles where he lived for much of that decade, the influence of the Southern Californian light bringing about a profound change in his work. From the 1990s until his death in 2014, Denny worked intensely on groups of monumental canvases and works on paper, many of which have never been exhibited before. In 2018, Denny was the subject of a posthumous exhibition at the Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange in Penzance.

Robyn Denny’s work can be found in the collection of public institutions such as Tate, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Arts Council of England; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Arts Institute, Chicago; the National Gallery of Australia, Sydney; the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven; the Scottish National Gallery for Modern Art, Edinburgh and the British Council. 

Vardaxoglou Gallery represents the Estate of Robyn Denny.

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Selected Works

  • Robyn Denny
    Mosaic (A), 1955-1956
    Mosaic, plaster, cement and paint on board
    43.1 x 50.8 cm
    17 x 20 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Mosaic (F), 1957
    Mosaic, plaster, cement and paint on board
    121.9 x 88.9 cm
    48 x 35 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Eden Come Home, 1957
    bitumen on board
    121.9 x 243.8 cm
    48 x 96 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Untitled (June 1957), 1957
    oil, stencil collage and monotype on card
    48 x 35 cm
    18 7/8 x 13 3/4 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Holiday at Home, 1958
    oil on board
    122 x 183 cm
    48 x 72 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    2A (13) (Austin Reed Maquette), 1958
    collage
    35.5 x 61 cm
    14 x 24 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Place 9, 1959
    oil on canvas
    214 x 122 cm
    84 1/4 x 48 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    The Austin Reed Mural, 1959
    oil and collage on board
    198.1 x 304.8 cm
    78 x 120 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    2B (21), 1959
    gouache on paper
    79 x 58 cm
    31 1/8 x 22 7/8 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Out-Line 1, 1962
    oil on canvas
    152.4 x 122 cm
    60 x 48 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Still, 1964-65
    oil on canvas
    214 x 183 cm
    84 1/4 x 72 ins

  • Robyn Denny, British Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 1966

  • Robyn Denny
    A Time, 1968-1969
    oil on canvas
    244 x 198 cm
    96 x 78 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Dumb, 1964-1965
    oil on canvas
    214 x 183 cm
    84 1/4 x 72 ins

  • Installation view, Robyn Denny, Tate Retrospective, 1973

  • Installation view, Robyn Denny, Wurttengergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart 1973

  • Robyn Denny
    Travelling 1, 1976-1977
    oil and oil crayon on canvas
    214 x 183 cm
    84 1/4 x 72 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    Going For a Walk, 1982-1983
    acrylic on canvas
    122 x 168 cm
    48 x 66 1/8 ins

  • Robyn Denny
    My Blue Heaven, 1985-1986
    acrylic on canvas
    244 x 198 cm
    96 x 78 ins

  • Robyn Denny’s permanent commission at Embankment Underground Station, London (installed 1985)

  • Robyn Denny
    Me and My Shadows (1), 2000-2003
    acrylic on canvas
    167.5 x 122 cm
    66 x 48 ins

Vardaxoglou Exhibitions

  • Mosaics

    Solo Exhibition

    3 September – 4 October 2025
    Vardaxoglou, London

    View Exhibition

  • Robyn Denny

    Solo Exhibition

    13 March – 11 May 2024
    Vardaxoglou, London

    View Exhibition

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

  • British Pavilion, 33rd Venice Biennale

    18 June – 16 October 1966
    British Pavilion, Venice, Italy

  • Robyn Denny at Tate (Retrospective)

    7 March – 23 April 1973
    Tate Gallery, London

  • Place

    September 1959
    Institute for Contemporary Arts, London, UK

Resources

  • Obituary in The Guardian

    Jeff Amos for The Guardian
    29 May 2014

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  • Obituary in The Telegraph

    27 May 2014

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