John Hoyland to open Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery

An exhibition dedicated to the work of the late abstract painter, John Hoyland, will open Damien Hirst’s highly anticipated Newport Street Gallery in Lambeth, south London, on 8 October 2015.

John Hoyland to open Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery

The first major John Hoyland exhibition since 2006


Power Stations
consists of paintings by John Hoyland dating from 1964 to 1982, from Damien Hirst’s personal collection. It will be the first major solo exhibition of John Hoyland’s work since 2006.

Spanning six individual gallery spaces, the exhibition will highlight a pivotal period in the abstract artist’s career, which included his first solo museum exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery in 1967, and, twelve years later, his defining retrospective at the Serpentine Gallery in 1979–80.

Renowned for his bold use of colour and scale, John Hoyland was strongly influenced by the American Abstract Expressionists of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He received critical acclaim early in his career and has since been regarded as one of Britain’s greatest abstract painters.

Beverley Heath-Hoyland: “He’d see colour everywhere”


Speaking to Artimage, Beverley Heath-Hoyland - John Hoyland's wife and muse - said: “A lot of people think that abstract painters just throw paint at the canvas, but in fact, John often worked out what he was going to do beforehand. He was previously a figurative painter. When he went on vacation for instance, he would always do sketchbooks. In London he'd go around, he'd photograph the pavement, he'd photograph anything, all shapes and sizes. He'd just see colour everywhere.”

She added: “Damien [Hirst] was a fan of John's work. He was taught about it while at art school. He found it fascinating and loved it. He also found it amazing that he's not celebrated in the same way we celebrate non-figurative painters from other parts of the world.”

On selecting John Hoyland as the subject for Newport Street Gallery's inaugural exhibition, Damien Hirst said: “In my eyes, John Hoyland was an artist who was never afraid to push the boundaries. His paintings always feel like a massive celebration of life to me.”

Power Stations open to the public from Thursday 8 October 2015 until Sunday 3 April 2016. Entry to the exhibition is free.

For further information, visit Newport Street Gallery’s website.

Browse related images


Hundreds of images by Damien Hirst and John Hoyland are available to license from Artimage. Our licensing fees go back towards supporting the important work of these artists and their estates.

Browse a selection of John Hoyland’s images below or view all images here.

22.6.63

15331 3508 

14.11.65

15333 3508


Mirror Mirror 1.8.87

15371 3508 

Baskerville 10.7.79

15358 3508 

The Golden Night 24.4.06

15373 3508


Sheet of eight compositional sketches (2), c. 1965

8021 3508 

Platter No 5, 1985

15347 3508


Lamia 4
, 1994

15367 3508 

View all images by John Hoyland

To apply for a licence, you can submit your image request online, email [email protected] or call 020 7553 9095 to speak to a member of our team.

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Images from top: John Hoyland, 1992, Nicholas Sinclair © Nicholas Sinclair. All rights reserved, DACS 2015; 22.6.63, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; 14.11.65, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; Mirror Mirror 1.8.87, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; Baskerville 10.7.79, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; The Golden Night 24.4.06, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; Sheet of eight compositional sketches (2), c. 1965, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Image: © Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre; Platter No 5, 1985, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills; Lamia 4, 1994, John Hoyland © Estate of John Hoyland, All Rights Reserved, DACS 2015, Photo: Colin Mills.