Tyson, Ian

Biography

Ian Tyson was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, United Kingdom in April 1933. Tyson grew up in Upton, outside of Birkenhead, but spent much time as a child with his grandparents near Wigan. He attended school in Wigan during the World War II and later attended his father's old school. It was there he was introduced to modern art and creating expressive and abstract art. After graduating, he worked as an apprentice engineer in the shipyards for two years. He decided, though, that his future was not in engineering, and continued making artwork independently, determined to attend Birkhead School of Art, where he remained for about two years.

In 1954, Tyson moved to London where he studied figure and life painting at the Royal Academy Schools for four years, in addition to attending etching and lithography evening classes. He then took a position in the printmaking department at the Camberwell School of Art and Craft, then about a year later, taught lithography at the Farmham School of Art from 1959-1966. His first solo show was in 1958-59 at the 1957 Gallery in Edinburgh. It was at Farnham where he met Ron King and in 1967 when King formed Circle Press, he joined him and started screenprinting. Shortly thereafter, he met Jerome Rothenberg through Stuart Montgomery of Fulcrum Press. When Rothenberg saw Tyson's visual interpretations of poetry he suggested one of his poems, which led to the first collaboration between the two and the second publication of Circle Press, SIGHTINGS I-IX & RED EASY A COLOR (1968).

In 1970, Tyson founded his own press in London, Tetrad Press, where he worked with contemporary artists and poets including Jackson Mac Low, Tom Phillips, Roy Fisher, and Larry Eigner. During this time, he created visual interpretations of his own texts including LETTERS FROM THE BLACK PALACE I-III (1971) and STANZA FROM THE GRAVE (1972). In addition to his printmaking and book works, he also created paintings and sculptures. Tyson operated Tetrad Press until 1995, whereupon he started ED.IT Press at his home in France.

He was a visiting professor at the Royal College of Art (1984), the University of Wisconsin, Madison (1969) and the University of California, San Diego (1992), and a Brinkley Fellow at the Norwich School of Art (1979-1980).

While he has continued to produced books arts and prints, he also has increasingly engaged in sculpture. Permanent installations of his sculptures are located in Drome and Séguret, France; London; and the University of East Anglia. In the course of his career, he has been featured in more than 32 solo exhibitions and 44 group exhibitions and his work can be found in more than three dozen public collections across North American and Europe.

From the guide to the Ian Tyson Collection, 1967 - 2006, (University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.)