Peter Unsworth was born in County Durham in a family of miners in 1937. Suddenly orphaned at the age of 21, he and his brother decided that their respective futures lay elsewhere, so they left the North of England to pursue their artistic dreams. Peter Unsworth studied at Middlesbrough and, following his graduation, enrolled at the prestigious St Martin’s School of Art in London. He also designed sets and costumes for the Royal Ballet Company (1967–1970).
Artistically, Unsworth embodies an artistic Britishness by furthering many staples that have marked the artistic evolution of the British Isles. A subtle romanticism persists in his depiction of figures and situations. One should not expect sublime landscapes where nature recalls the meaninglessness of mankind but rather eerie compositions in between the natural and supernatural, the memory and the dream. Unsworth paintings possess a sense of dynamic potential, as if they captured an experience of a moment in time just before a threatening revelation. As such, his work could be placed in the wake of Johann Heinrich Füssli, who also played with dreamlike images that challenged the concept of reality.
Ibiza holds a geographical and cultural importance in the artist’s career. Unsworth and his family moved there in 1971. He exhibited extensively on the island during the many years they stayed there. They moved back to England (Norfolk) in 1990, but returned to Ibiza in 2002 for eight more years.
Unsworth’s exhaustive list of solo exhibitions includes: Galerie Ellen Richard, Zurich (2012); Portal Gallery, London (2006); Centre Cultural de Sant Joan, Ibiza (2003, 2010); Frame Gallery, Norwich (2001); Unit 21, Dublin (2000); Es Moli Gallery, Ibiza (2000); Quay Arts, Newport, Isle of Wight (1999); East West Gallery, London (1998, 1999, 2001); Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1994); Galerie Knapp, Baden-Baden (1993); Galerie Munsterberg, Basel (1986); Laloux Dessain, Brussels (1986); Galeria el Mensajero, Ibiza (1982); Galerie XX, Hamburg (1981); Middlesbrough Art Gallery (retrospective) (1980); Gallerie Wittepoppentoren, Hasselt, Belgium (1977), Gallery New Smith, Brussels (1976); Galleria Vinciana, Milan (1968); Galleria Carbonesi, Bologna (1968); Piccadilly Gallery, London (1963, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991)
Unsworth lives and works in Norfolk.
