Professor Louis Nixon
Louis’ role is to provide strategic and operational leadership of Research and Knowledge Exchange (KE) and to lead the University’s engagement with industry and build its reputation as a centre for world-class research in creative arts and technologies.
My research and practice encompass painting, sculpture, installation and experimental film, often presented as multi-media installations in galleries and public spaces. I have a particular interest in creativity and technology and I am currently a Co-Principal Investigator on two large international research projects Building Platform Technologies for Symbiotic Creativity in Hong Kong and Future Cinema Systems.
As a practicing artist I have exhibited widely in the U.K, Europe, and Asia. Recent projects include Off-Earth (2015-2021) at Osage in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Space Museum. Off-Earth is a film which explores human presence in space through objects that have been accidentally dropped or deliberately placed in space by the people who have travelled there.
Recently completed funded projects include www.dropped.space which is a visual and material study and a set of films which explore the problem of space debris
I supervise PhD students in Contemporary Art and before joining Norwich University as Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange, I was the Director of the Academy of Visual Arts and co-convener of the Augmented Creativity Lab in Hong Kong (from 2018) and Associate Dean for Research (20014-18) and the Head of the School of Fine Art ( 2007-14) at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University, London.
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Grants and awards
- 2021 Future Cinema Systems (FCS) Co- Principal Investigator. Innovation and Technology Support Programme. Hong Kong.
- 2021 Building Platform Technologies for Symbiotic Creativity in Hong Kong. Co- Principal Investigator. University Grants Committee (UGC) Theme Based Research Grant.
- 2019 Dropped, visualizing space debris through sculpture and film. A human centred taxonomy of space. Principal Investigator. Hong Kong Research Grants Council
- 2018 HKBU Research Grant.
- 2000 London Arts Board. Individual Artist Award
- 1996 Arts Council England. Publication Award.
- 1995 Foundation for Sports and the Arts. project grant.
- 1989 Boise Travel Scholarship
- 1989 Robert Ross Scholarship
- 1988 British Institution Fund (Awarded by the Royal Academy School)
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2021 Dropped, Osage Art Foundation. Hong Kong + screening at Hong Kong Space Museum.
- 2020 Beyond Matter, 1A Space, Hong Kong
- 2012 Island. Southard Reid, London
- 2010 Across the Border, Dispari & Dispari, Italy.
- 2005 Flag, Economist Plaza, Piccadilly London. Contemporary Arts Society
- 2005 Everywhere Nowhere, Atelier 25 Reggio Emilia, Italy
- 2001 Rolling Barrel. Station. Bristol
- 2001 The Sound of Air, Gloucester Cathedral
- 1999 Artist of the Day, Flowers East, London
- 1999 Tourist, Space Explorations. London
- 1999 Tuning In, Customs and Excise Building, Exmouth Dock
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2021 City A. City as Medium. Hong Kong Science Museum
- 2021 Top Picks. Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2021 1A Space, Art Basel. Hong Kong
- 2021 Future Memories: Utopia, Dystopia, Nature. SCM Gallery. Hong Kong
- 2020 Art Machines: Past / Present. Harry and Indra Banga Gallery. Hong Kong
- 2020 Hong Kong Spotlight, Art Basel. Hong Kong
- 2020 Drawing As The Core. Koo Ming Kown Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2019 We Are Publication, The Hold, Stanley Picker Gallery, London
- 2014 De Colore, William Wright Artists Projects, Sydney, Australia
- 2012 Royal Academy Summer Show. Royal Academy London
- 2010 Cabin: Codex, 100 artists books. Visual Research Centre, DJCAD
- 2010 Vette, Palazzo Frisacco, Tolmezzo. Italy
- 2008 Two Become One, M50 Moganshun Road, Shanghai China
- 2006 Armenia Biennial, Gumry, Armenia
- 2006 Out-Or, Poznan, Poland. Video Installation
- 2006 London Orbital, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston
- 2005 Art Caucasus, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 2005
- 2005 Kontakt-Kontext, Inner Spaces, Poznan, Poland
- 2005 Frankly, ON Gallery Poznan, Poland
- 2005 International Exhibition of Artists Flags, Centre of Visual Culture, Serbia
- 2004 Values, 11th Biennial of Visual Arts. With ArtLab. Pancevo. Serbia
- 2004 Un Cuscino Per Sognare, Parco Esposizioni Novegro. Milano
- 2003 Don’t start from the good old things but the bad new ones, Whitechapel Project Space. London
- 2002 Crossings, 10th Biennial of Visual Arts. Belgrade. Serbia
- 2001 Don’t go to Work, Rhodes and Mann. London
- 2001 Station to Station, Spacex. Exeter
- 2000 Von Gimborn Arboretum, Utrecht. Netherlands
- 2000 Century City, Tate Modern, London. Space Explorations (Archive and Publications)
Selected Publications & Catalogues
- 2021 Creating a Global Cultural City via Public Participation in the Arts: Volume 2: Conversations with Hong Kong’s Leading Arts and Cultural Administrators. Book Chapter. Ed. Patrick Lo. Nova.
- 2021 Dropped. Exhibition catalogue. Text by Charles Merewether. Osage Gallery
- 2020 Art Machines: Past-Present. Curated by J Shaw & R Allen. CityU, Hong Kong
- 2020 Drawing as the Core. Koo Ming Kown Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2010 Across the Border: Louis Nixon, New Work. Text by Dean Kenning. Published by Dispari & Dispari Italy. ISBN 978-88-95600-02-4
- 2006 Fifth International Biennale Gyumry. Gyumry Centre for Contemporary Art
- 2006 Out-Or, Catalogue. Poznan, Poland
- 2005 Frankly, Catalogue. ON Gallery, Poznan, Poland
- 2005 Art Caucasus, Catalogue. Tbilisi, Georgia
- 2002 Crossings, Catalogue. 10th Biennial of Visual Arts. Belgrade. Serbia
- 2001 Rolling Barrel, Artists Book, Published by Art and Space, ISBN 09531689 06
- 2000 Von Gimborn Arboretum, Catalogue. Utrecht. Netherlands
- 1999 Tourist, published by Space Explorations, ISBN 09531689 1 3
- 1999 Furniture, published by Richard Salmon Gallery, London, ISBN 1873550 11 1
- 1999 Without Day, Proposals for a New Scottish Parliament. City Art Gallery Edinburgh. ISBN 0 74866277 4
- 1999 Tuning In, Customs and Excise Building, Exmouth Dock. Artist’s book and audio work.
- 1997 Space Explorations, texts by Penelope Curtis, Mel Gooding David Barrett and Mark Currah. Published by Space Explorations. ISBN 0-953168905
- 1997 Moving Targets, Louisa Buck. Tate Gallery Publishing, ISBN-10: 1854373161
- 1996 Moby Dick, Texts by Rita Salvaggio and Pier Luigi Tazzi. Published by John Hansard Gallery
- 1996 Live – Life, texts by Laurence Bosse and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris
- 1996 Commissioning Art works, Published by The Arts Council of England.
- 1996 Highlights: Design from Great Britain, Cologne. Published by the Museum of Applied Arts
- 1992 Space Explorations, Arts Council Film and Video Production
- 1992 UNTV, Video Publication, Including Gilbert and George
Selected Public Lectures, Talks and Conferences
- 2021 Panel Discussion “Cultivating Great Minds (Innovation in Pedagogy)” in the Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (QS APPLE) 2021 Conference and Exhibition.
- 2021 Dropped, public lectures and tours. Osage Gallery
- 2020 Beyond Matter: In conversation with Harald Kramer, 1A Space, Hong Kong
- 2014 Everything is somehow included. Panel Chair ICA London. With the Contemporary Art Research Centre, The Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy and the Visual and Material Culture Research Centre
Selected Articles and Reviews
- 2022 Louis Nixon ‘Dropped’. Art Asia Pacific
- 2020 Louis Nixon: Experimenting Beyond Matter, Art Asia Pacific. September
- 2012 11 Course leaders: 20 Questions. Published by Q, Art ISBN: 978-0-9564355-1-4
- 2009 Public Art China, Issue 1. ISSN 1674-7038, pp 8 -23
- 2007 ART, ISSN 1812-6634. pp 63-70
- 2001 Spotlight. Architects Journal. Article by Steven Spier
- 1999 High-Rise. Art Monthly, David Barrett, No.226
- 1996 One Million Cubic Feet. Time Out. Mark Currah. May 1996 (Issue 1342)
- 1996 Space Explorations. Flash Art. (Issue 195). December
PhD Supervision
Completions:
- Cornelia Erdmann (Academy of Visual Arts, HKBU 2021)
- Emma Hart (Kingston University 2013)
- Ailbhe Ni Bahrain (Kingston University, 2009)
Current students:
- Ron Yakir
- Nadim Abbas
- Li Xioaxiang
