John Plowman

John Plowman is an artist based in Great Cressingham, Norfolk, whose practice spans sculpture, installation, performance and drawing, exploring the dynamic between two and three dimensions and between the made and the yet to be made. His current sculptural work takes a 'Geo-Autobiographical' approach, locating a personal memory in a particular place that in turn suggests an association with a particular object and a particular material. Drawing runs throughout the practice, present sometimes through its making and sometimes through its absence.

He studied at Eastbourne College of Art (1975-77) and Leicester Polytechnic (1977-80), followed by further study at Goldsmiths' College, London (1985-87). Recent solo exhibitions include 'Awkward Sculpture' at Black Barn Contemporary, Norfolk (2023) and 'A Life Drawing' at Nottingham Castle and Art Gallery (2015), with earlier presentations at the RIBA Architecture Gallery and the Usher Gallery. His work has featured in numerous group exhibitions, among them 'Antimonumental' at Thameside Studios Gallery and 'Salon des Etrangers' in Venice (both 2024), and he has held residencies at Atelierhaus Salzamt in Linz, Austria (2015) and Kunstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral in Bad Ems, Germany (2001).

Alongside his studio practice Plowman works as a curator, through projects including Beacon Art Project and Beacon Bureau, 'Homeless Sculpture' at The Whitworth, Manchester (2016) and 'Mistaken Presence' (2012-13). With the graphic novelist and comics scholar Dr Nicola Streeten he runs The Grange Projects, an artist-led residency programme based in a former Georgian rectory in the rural village of Great Cressingham, Norfolk.