Description
Stuckism (/ˈstʌkɪzəm/) is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art. By May 2017, the initial group of 13 British artists had expanded to 236 groups in 52 countries.
Childish and Thomson have issued several manifestos. The first one was The Stuckists, consisting of 20 points starting with "Stuckism is a quest for authenticity". Remodernism, the other well-known manifesto of the movement, opposes the deconstruction and irony of postmodernism in favor of what Stuckists refer to as the "spirituality" of the artist. In another manifesto they define themselves as anti-anti-art which is against anti-art and for what they consider conventional art. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Billy Childish
Co-founder of Stuckism in 1999 alongside Charles Thomson, co-authoring the original 20-point manifesto and championing raw, expressive figurative painting against conceptualism.
Charles Thomson
Co-founder and driving organizational force of Stuckism who painted iconic satirical works and led annual demonstrations against the Turner Prize at Tate Britain.
Ella Guru
American-born painter and musician living in London who joined the original group of 13 Stuckists in 1999, known for her vibrant, theatrical figurative portraits.
Philip Absolon
Original member of the 1999 Stuckist group whose highly personal, surreal figurative paintings depict everyday anxieties and institutional realities like unemployment offices.
Joe Machine
Founding core Stuckist painter whose visceral, direct depictions of sailors, violence, and British folklore established the movement's gritty, unpretentious aesthetic.
Paul Harvey
Prominent Stuckist painter and graphic designer known for pop-inflected, hard-edge figurative canvases celebrating celebrities, historical figures, and everyday urban life.
Famous Artworks
The Stuckists Manifesto
Billy Childish and Charles Thomson · 1999
Published in London / Stuckism International Archives - Printed manifestos and broadsheets
Job Club
Philip Absolon · 2000
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool Collection - Oil on canvas
Fun Facts
The name 'Stuckism' originated as an insult when conceptual artist Tracey Emin angrily told her ex-boyfriend Billy Childish: 'Your painting is stuck, you are stuck! Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!' - which Childish and Charles Thomson proudly adopted as the name for their pro-painting movement.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
For over a decade starting in 2000, the Stuckists staged dressed-up clown protests outside Tate Britain during the annual Turner Prize award ceremonies, carrying placards reading 'The Death of Conceptual Art.'
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Shop
