Biography

Chris Vine studied at the Bradford Regional College of Art, looking at the work of Rene Magritte, Saul Steinberg, Anthony Earnshaw, Roland Topor and the films of Luis Bunuel.

After lecturing in art (Cumbria and London) he became a freelance artist / illustrator in 1983.
‘Much of my work revolves around humour and visual language. I use visual figures-of-speech; mixed metaphors, contradictions, palindromes, paradoxes and clashing cliches, to describe the real and imagined.’

Exhibitions include;

Dean Clough Galleries, Halifax
Cleveland Art Gallery - ‘Drawn to Humour’
Museum of Humour and Satire, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Association of Illustrators – Images 13 and 32 Exhibitions and tours
European Illustration 15 Exhibition, National Theatre Gallery, London
Hourglass Gallery - ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’, Paris
View Two Gallery, Liverpool
Godfrey and Watt Gallery, Harrogate
Zillah Bell Gallery - ‘Bricklaying at Babel’, Thirsk
Slaughterhouse Gallery, Liverpool
Chelsea Arts Club

Commissioned work includes;

Cook School, Radio Times, Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph Magazine, Guardian,
Saturday Night (Toronto), Illustrated London News, BT, JWT, Y&R, HBOS, Collins, Cassells,
Larousse, Octopus and Arrow Books.

In 2006, he illustrated 'The Girl Who Swallowed the Wind', a children's story by Carol Rutter, published by Northern Broadsides Theatre Company. He has completed a major painting commission for Liverpool 2008, European Capital of Culture.

He is currently undertaking a major commission to illustrate all 37 Shakespeare plays. His work has also been selected for the Association of Illustrators 'Images 33' exhibition in 2009.