Jack Knox was a Scottish painter and teacher.
Born in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire in 1936, Knox studied at Glasgow School of Art 1953-57, with teachers such William Armour and David Donaldson, before spending a year at the Paris atelier of the French painter André L'hote. Combining what he took from this experience with the impact of seeing the first show of American Abstract Expressionists in Europe in 1959, he began a diverse career which saw constantly changing styles, from gestural abstraction to still lifes and portraits.
In 1965 he was appointed lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art where he worked alongside fellow artists such as Alberto Morrocco and David McClure. Using a stream of consciousness approach, in this period he focused on producing his Studio series of canvases using mixed media, followed by a series of symbols on white canvases. Regularly taking students to Amsterdam, a trip here in 1972 was the source of a major development in his work, when upon leaving an exhibition on Colour Field painting at the Stedelijik Museum feeling disappointed, he found himself subsequently revived at show of seventeenth-century Dutch still life painting. Eventually visiting the museum café afterwards, Knox discovered inspiration in the cheeses, hamburgers and beer for sale there. He continued to paint domestic still life depictions of food and drink for the rest of his career.
He relocated back to the west coast in 1981, taking the position of Head of Painting at Glasgow School of Art where he painted in the spacious studio situated within the historic Mackintosh building, provided with the post. The artist had been elected into the Royal Scottish Academy two years earlier and during his time teaching at Glasgow, 'the School experienced a second Golden Age', taking a talented group of students - Steven Campbell, Ken Currie, Peter Howson and Adrian Wiszniewski, known as the 'New Glasgow Boys' under his wing, as well as teaching artists such as Jenny Saville and Alison Watt. Knox retired in 1992, eventually relocating to his final home and studio in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee where he worked until his death in 2015.
Featured in plenty of group shows in Scotland, as well as abroad, Knox also had numerous solo exhibitions, including at Serpentine Gallery, London and Civic Arts Centre, Aberdeen. His work can be found in many public collections, including Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Aberdeen Art Gallery, and the Arts Council Collection.
