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Leon Morrocco b. 1942

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  • Biography
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  • Leon Morrocco RSA was born in Edinburgh in 1942. In 1959 Leon enrolled at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art,... Leon Morrocco RSA was born in Edinburgh in 1942. In 1959 Leon enrolled at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art,... Leon Morrocco RSA was born in Edinburgh in 1942. In 1959 Leon enrolled at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art,...

    Leon Morrocco RSA was born in Edinburgh in 1942. In 1959 Leon enrolled at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, before continuing to the Slade School of Art, London (1960-61), and Edinburgh College of Art (1961-65). After art school, he was awarded the Andrew Grant Scholarship and an Italian Government Scholarship to the Accademia di Brera, Milan. Allowing him to travel around Greece, Turkey and Italy, these awards catalysed the itinerant lifestyle that would define his career.


    Elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy at the unusually young age of 29, Leon was Lecturer in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art from 1965 to 1968 before taking up a similar position at Glasgow School of Art from 1969 to 1979. Driven by a desire for travel and adventure, in 1979 he left Scotland to become the Head of Fine Art at the Chisholm Institute, Melbourne. Leon and his family would live in Australia for 12 years. In 1984 he left academia and focused solely on his own practice. Following several successful exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney, in 1992 he returned to the UK, living in London and embarking on a series of solo shows with the John Martin Gallery that have continued for over twenty five years. In 1998 they published the first monograph on his life and work, Leon Morrocco: Journeys and Observations, with a second book published in 2017 ‘A Painter’s Journey’ with introduction by the poet Liz Lochhead. A major exhibition of his work was held at the Royal Scottish Academy in August 2022

    His work is held in notable public and private collections, including The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The Scottish Arts Council, Leeds City Art Gallery, The Nuffield Foundation and Queensland Art Gallery

  • "Leon Morrocco’s art is concrete... His lucid and powerful drawings are a delight. Their discipline brings a sense of order to his painting that allows him to work successfully on a really grand scale".
     The Scotsman
  • Works
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Leon Morrocco, Elephant Passing a Temple, Jaipur, 2012

    Leon Morrocco b. 1942

    Elephant Passing a Temple, Jaipur, 2012
    Oil on canvas
    34 x 36 ins
    86.5 x 91.5 cm
    £ 12,600.00 inc. vat
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  • Exhibitions
    • Paintings & Works on Paper 1968 - 2022

      Paintings & Works on Paper 1968 - 2022

      Leon Morrocco at Spirit Studios Suffolk 21 Jul - 16 Sep 2023
      At last summer’s Edinburgh Festival the Royal Scottish Academy held a retrospective to celebrate Leon Morrocco’s 80th birthday which attracted over 60,000 visitors. With nearly 150 works from six decades,...
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    • Further Shores: Paintings & Drawings since 1967

      Further Shores: Paintings & Drawings since 1967

      Leon Morrocco 28 Jun - 29 Jul 2022
      Leon Morrocco exhibition - Further Shores, Paintings & Drawings since 1967 looks at the various travels that have informed and shaped his outlook as a painter over the last 60 years. The exhibition is a result of archiving project taking place over the last few years which have brought together some exceptional, unseen paintings that detail the chapters of Morrocco’s itinerant life, with work that came from drawing expeditions to Cuba, the Mediterranean Coast and across India.
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    • Paintings from the Alpes-Maritimes

      Paintings from the Alpes-Maritimes

      Leon Morrocco 21 - 26 Jun 2022
      Artist Leon Morrocco's latest exhibition of work from his time in the Alpes-Maritimes.
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    • Looking Out to Sea

      Looking Out to Sea

      Leon Morrocco 25 Jun - 31 Jul 2020
      Leon Morrocco exhibition Looking Out to Sea from 2020 at John Martin Gallery.
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    • A Painter's Journey

      A Painter's Journey

      Leon Morrocco 30 Aug - 8 Sep 2017
      Leon Morrocco exhibition A Painter's Journey celebrating the launch of the artists book Leon Morrocco: A Painter's Journey
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    • What The River Knew

      What The River Knew

      Leon Morrocco 30 Jun - 6 Aug 2016
      Artist Leon Morrocco exhibition What The River Knew from 2016 at John Martin Gallery
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    • Leon Morrocco - Drawing the River Part 2

      Drawing The River Part 2

      Leon Morrocco 27 Jun - 26 Jul 2014
      Leon Morrocco exhibition 'Drawing The River Part 2' from 2014 at John Martin Gallery
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    • Leon Morrocco

      Kolkata, Chennai, Goa

      Leon Morrocco 4 - 20 Nov 2010
      Leon Morrocco exhibition from 2010 Kolkata, Chennai, and Goa
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    • From Mumbai to Madurai

      From Mumbai to Madurai

      Leon Morrocco 9 - 31 Oct 2009
      Leon Morrocco Exhibition from 2009 From Mumbai to Madurai
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    • Havana

      Havana

      Leon Morrocco 1 - 30 Sep 2006
      Leon Morrocco exhibition from 2006 - Havana
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    • Leon Morrocco

      Rome Paintings

      Leon Morrocco 1 - 31 Jan 2003
      Leon Morrocco exhibition of Rome from 2003
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  • Videos
    • Paintings & Drawings of the Alpes-Maritimes

      Paintings & Drawings of the Alpes-Maritimes

      Leon Morrocco June 10, 2022
      Artist Leon Morrocco in his studio discussing his work ahead of his exhibition Paintings & Drawings of the Alpes-Maritimes at the John Martin Gallery.
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    • Drawing the River with Leon Morrocco

      Drawing the River with Leon Morrocco

      Leon Morrocco March 11, 2022
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  • Biography
    Leon Morrocco in his studio
    Leon Morrocco in his studio
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    Solo Exhibitions

    2023  Painting & Works on Paper, Spirit Studios,Suffolk

    2022 Paintings from Alpes - Maritimes, John Martin Gallery, London

    2022 Further Shores: Paintings & Drawings since 1967

    2022 Long Road Home, Royal Scottish Academy 

    2020 Looking Out to Sea, John Martin Gallery & Portland Gallery, London

    2019 Unseen India, Jaipur, Jodphur and Kolkata, John Martin Gallery, London
    2017 A Painter’s Journey, John Martin Gallery, London
    2016 What the River Knew, John Martin Gallery, London
    2014 Recollection, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh
    2014 Drawing the River Part 2, John Martin Gallery Chelsea, London
    2013 The London River, John Martin Gallery, London
    2012 Paintings & Works on paper, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    2011 Paintings from India, Edward Cutler Gallery, Milan
    2010 Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, John Martin Gallery, London
    2009 From Mumbai to Madurai, John Martin Gallery, London
    2009 Strade di Roma, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    2007 Morrocco’s Morocco at Art London, John Martin Gallery, London
    2007 The Sketchbooks & Paintings of Leon Morrocco – Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    2006 Havana, John Martin Gallery, London
    2005 The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    2003 Roman Paintings, John Martin of London & John Martin Chelsea
    2000 Leon Morrocco, John Martin Gallery, London
    1999 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    1998 Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
    1998 John Martin Gallery, London
    1997 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    1996 John Martin Gallery, London
    1995 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    1994 Loomshop Gallery, Fife
    1994 Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
    1993 Portland Gallery, London
    1993 Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
    1993 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
    1992 Australian Galleries, Melbourne
    1991 Portland Gallery, London
    1989 Australian Galleries, Melbourne
    1986 Australian Galleries, Melbourne
    1986 Bonython-Meadmore Gallery, Sydney
    1984 Australian Galleries, Melbourne
    1982 Stuart Gertsman Galleries, Melbourne
    1979 Glasgow School of Art
    1978 Stirling Gallery, Greenock Arts Centre
    1078 University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
    1976 University of St. Andrews
    1975 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
    1973 The Loomshop Gallery, Edinburgh
    1971 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
    1965 Douglas & Foulis Gallery, Edinburgh
    1965 French Institute Gallery, Edinburgh
    1965 Traverse Theatre Gallery, Edinburgh

    Public Collections
    The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
    Scottish Arts Council
    Leeds City Art Gallery
    Lillie Art Gallery
    The Nuffield Foundation
    Australian Government Collection
    Queensland Art Gallery

    Publications

    Leon Morrocco: A Painter's Journey, 2018
    Leon Morrocco: Journeys and Observations, London: 1998 (ISBN 1 902761 006)

  • Publications
    • A Painter's Journey

      A Painter's Journey

      Leon Morrocco Liz Lochead & John Martin Gallery, 2017
      Hard Back with Case , 175 pages
      Publisher: Unicorn & John Martin Gallery
      ISBN: 978-0-9932195-8-0
      Dimensions: 27.5 x 23 x 2.5 cms
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