Celebrating 35 Years of Chiswick House's Artist in Residence

Barry Martin works from studio in The South Lodge

Barry Martin in front of his studio at The South Lodge

August 3, 2024

This year marks the 35th year that Barry Martin has been the artist in residence at Chiswick House.

Barry Martin’s works are in many public and private collections including The Tate Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Government Art Collection, The British Council, Heritage England, The Henry Moore Institute and Leeds City Art museum.

His studio is in The South Lodge in the gardens of Chiswick House Gardens. He is generally regarded as one of the most versatile and prolific British exponents of Kinetic Art in London in the Swinging Sixties and early 1970s.

He says he rescued the Decimus Burton designed building not just for the people of Chiswick but also for the nation. When he first took the former groundman’s home over, it was in a state of dilapidation, with fallen walls and in danger of total collapse having been left empty by the local council for over 30 years.

Theo Crosby, architect for Pentagram and good friend of the artist who designed Euston Station, The Crucible Theatre, South Bank, and redesigned Covent Garden, was eager to support the artist and undertook the architectural and building plans for the rebuilding. Research revealed an Elizabethan well and trough that may have served travellers and horses on the old west road out of London en route to Bath.

The renovated South Lodge has, over the years, seen some very distinguished visitors to Barry Martin’s studio, such as actors Timothy Dalton, Peter Egan, John Alderton as well as Ian Holm and Pauline Collins, whose portraits were undertaken by the artist.

Ian Holm and Nigel Havers admiring the artist’s portrait of Ian Holm at The South Lodge

Fellow artists have also come to the lodge including Sir Anthony and Lady Sheila Caro, who collected several of the artist’s works, and John Hoyland. Writers and critics who have visited range from Emeritus Professor Julius Bryant, Young Kim (Malcolm McLaren’s second partner) as well as chess Grandmasters Raymond Keene OBE and David Norwood. The Russian/ Moscow national junior under 14 chess team played a simul match against English Grand Masters at the lodge.

Royalty has also attended the studio with the visit of King Hussein’s younger brother, Prince Mohammed bin Talal of Jordan. A less elevated but equally appreciated visitor was the former leader of Hounslow Council John Chatt, who the artist describes as having been ‘very wise’.

Barry Martin’s glass sculpture ’Blooming Light and Colour’ inspired by Chiswick House and gardens and their association with Venice

Celebrations for the anniversary were somewhat dampened this week when on Tuesday (31 July), thieves broke into Barry Martin’s car when it was parked outside his studio. They took two bags containing art books and material for a new book to which the artist is contributing. However, of even greater importance were two early unique standard 8 films of the universally revered and acclaimed writer, author, academic, ferocious exponent of women’s rights, Dr Harriet Harris , most recently Professor of Architecture at Pratt University , New York , and previously Director of PhD studies at The Royal College of Art, London. The two original films show Harriet as a young girl already exhibiting her inventiveness and very original beginnings in the world.