John Riddy

John Riddy was born in the United Kingdom in 1959. He studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art and began working with Frith Street Gallery (London) in 1993. One of the most distinctive voices in British contemporary photography, John Riddy has consistently worked in series, using methods and formats that allow for silent and complex descriptions. His work echoes that of the medium's earliest practitioners, exploiting still images to render the everyday as both factual and transcendent. The particularities of place and the urban environment have been constant subjects, whilst the starting point for many of his series has been the relationship between photography and the history of art and architecture. Typically eclectic examples are the autobiography of John Ruskin, the woodblock prints of Hokusai and the photographs of Gustave le Gray. A survey exhibition 'John Riddy: Photographs' was held at the De Pont Museum in 2019. Solo exhibitions and publications include 'John Riddy' at Camden Arts Centre (2000), 'Views from Shin-Fuji' at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2006), 'Of Things Placed' (2015), 'Palermo' (2013), 'Low Relief' (2009), 'Praeterita' (2000) and 'Rome' (1999).

'John Riddy: Photographs', a monograph presenting all of Riddy's major series was published by Steidl in 2019. Other books include 'John Riddy' published by Camden Arts Centre (2000) and 'Praeterita' published by Oxford University (2000). His work is held in numerous permanent collections including Tate, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Stedelijk, The Art Institute of Chicago, De Pont, The Rubell Family Collection, The British Council Collection and The Art's Council of Great Britain.