David Saunders

David Saunders (born 1936) is an English artist, teacher and musician. Over his long career Saunders's work has undergone some changes but is best known for his systematic and constructivist style which he practised from the late 1960s to the mid 1990s. He is mainly exhibited and appreciated in the UK and Europe, where his work is held in many national collections.

Early life and education Saunders was born in 1936 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Although he left school at 15 without formal qualifications he briefly attended A.S Neill's Summerhill School where his interest in art was nurtured. After leaving school he took evening classes in Graphic Design at Manchester School of Art and quickly found employment in an advertising agency. After one year he moved to London where he found a post in a prestigious agency in Mayfair. While working there he took evening classes in drawing held by Vivian Pitchforth at St Martin's School of Art.

He was conscripted into the army and stationed on Salisbury Plain, where he enjoyed painting while not on active service. After being discharged, he returned to St Martin's to study painting full time under Frederick Gore, after which he was accepted into the Royal Academy Schools, studying under the distinguished portrait painter Peter Greenham from 1959 to 1962, and where he gained a Master's degree.

In 1968, at the Arts Council of Great Britain Thirtieth Open Exhibition for Painting and Sculpture in Cardiff, Saunders and Steele won the Purchase Prize. This event began a long collaboration between both artists and, one year later, Saunders was one of the founding members of the Systems Group,

David Saunders maintains his interest in experimental art, and continues to exhibit new works around Europe and Britain.

Art historian Alan Fowler discusses David Saunders' earlier work in his 2006 PhD thesis "Constructive Art in Britain 1913 - 2005". Saunders is also mentioned in Alastair Grieve's 2005 book "Constructed Abstract Art in England After the Second World War: A Neglected Avant-Garde".

Music Saunders was one of the very few visual artists interested in experimental music. Both Saunders and Steele played tenor horn and trombone respectively, on the Portsmouth Sinfonia's first LP, "Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays the Popular Classics", released in 1973 by Columbia Records.

In 1973, Saunders was invited by Clive Langer - of Deaf School fame - to play tenor horn in his band.

Saunders has also been associated with the Ross and Cromarty Orchestra.

Selected exhibitions

Solo 1965: First solo exhibition at the Artists' International Association gallery, London 1960: Tomorrow's Artists, Grabowski Gallery, London 1966: Undefined Situation, Howard Roberts Gallery, Cardiff 1967: Survey 67, Camden Arts Centre, London

Works in public collections Prints: British Museum, London Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague Museum of Modern Art, New York City Rijksmuseum Meermano, The Hague Stanford University, California Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Paintings: The Clwyd Fine Arts Trust, Wales National Library of Wales National Museum of Wales, Cardiff New York Public Library Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich The South Bank Collection, London Southampton City Art Gallery Stadtmuseum und Kunstsammlung, Jena Tate Gallery, London