Artist profile

John Carter RA is best known for his abstract sculptures. His work is frequently described as being a dialogue between painting and sculpture. It consists mainly of constructed “wall-objects”, often with a mathematical basis. Fully three-dimensional works have been less frequent in his output.

Carter was born in Middlesex in 1942 and studied at the Twickenham School of Art from 1958 and then at Kingston School of Art until 1963. A Leverhulme Travelling Scholarship took him to Italy, where he made his first abstract constructed works at the British School at Rome. On returning to England, Carter was engaged as an assistant to the sculptor Bryan Kneale and worked towards his first solo exhibition at Redfern Gallery, London in 1968. After winning two Arts Council Awards, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Warwick Arts Trust, London in 1983. Later, Carter participated in the international show Die Ecke at Galerie Hoffmann, Friedberg, Germany, where he made his first contact with European concrete and constructive artists.

He has since exhibited widely in Europe, Japan and the USA. John Carter held a teaching position at the Chelsea College of Art and Design until his retirement from the post in 1999. He now lives and works in London, where a solo exhibition of his work was held at the Royal Academy in 2013, entitled 'John Carter RA: Between Dimensions'.

Photo: Eamonn McCabe