BIOGRAPHY

Teather spent his childhood in rural Norfolk, surrounded by religious imagery and books on historical painting. Expected to pursue an academic path, he instead ran away to London where his taste for both contemporary art and the bohemian life were nurtured through periods ofstudy in London at Central St Martins and Chelsea College of Art & Design. As a student, the young artist often favoured time scrutinising masterpieces in the capital’s major museums over time in the lecture hall.

Upon completing his studies and feeling disenchanted with the conceptual art that dominated art schools at the turn of the millennium, Teather began establishing his practice as a painter in the East London art communesof the early noughties.  He came to wider attention in spring 2007 when he was selected from international applications to be the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for Aberdeen Arts Centre. Following his time in Scotland,the artist returned to Norfolk where he spent over 3 years as the Artist-in-Residence for the Anteros Arts Foundation, based in their Bergh Apton venue and subsequently Norwich, before setting up a permanent studio inthe city’s cultural quarter. In 2012, as a recipient of the Ruth Katzman Scholarship, he visited New York, USA, where he took part in The Vytlacil Campus Artist-in-Residence Program.

Over the last fifteen years, he has been the recipient of numerous grants and bursaries, with his paintings and drawings featuring in over 200 gallery exhibitions across the UK and overseas. Recent venues to display hiswork include Underdog London, RJD Gallery New York, Red Dot Miami, London Contemporary Art, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Vermont’s Catherine Dainich Gallery, Hollywood’s Sur Le Mur Gallery, Norwich CastleMuseum, Edinburgh’s Open Eye Gallery, RH Gallery New York and Eton Contemporary Fine Art. He has been guest artist for events such as Artrooms London, Artwars and Malonny Art Forum, Lithuania, supported bythe British Council.

He has featured in many international art prizes, including being a finalist for the London Contemporary Art Prize, Mayfair’s “Cork Street Open Exhibition,” and short-listed for the “Celeste Prize.” In more recent yearshe has been invited to judge major art prizes including the Dubel Prize. His artwork has been widely showcased in publications including The International Drawing Annual, Wall Street International, Grazia, Artists andIllustrators, London Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Artist Magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, American Art Collector and The Antiques Trade Gazette. He has also provided art criticism and articles ontechnique for award-winning books, magazines and television.

Teather’s work is held in a number of notable collections in the UK and overseas. His unique paintings have attracted many discerning collectors, holding the sales record for events including the Other Art Fair globally.Work has been acquired by Colchester Museums, Matthew Bourne (choreographer/ director), Peter Stephen (Lord Provost of Aberdeen), the Aude Gotto Collection, The Wolterton & Mannington Estate and The ModernArtist’s Gallery. Commissioners for projects include Arts Council England, the City of Aberdeen (under curatorial care of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums), Norfolk County Council, Ali McMordie (musician) andAna Silvera (singer). His painting of the musician Richie Edwards is on permanent display at theIrishRock and Roll Museum, Dublin.

Also a musician, Teather has fronted a succession of bands over the last ten years, the latest been the Vicars of Stiffkey: a psych-rock band that signed to Off With Their Records with their debut album released in 2017.The artist’s interest in theatre and music has often influenced his painterly style and led to a variety of other collaborations. Guest appearances in his paintings have been made by theatre groups such as Les EnfantsTerrible, Hocus Pocus Theatre, plus the singers Ana Silvera and Andrew Plummer. His wife, the visual artist and performer Dot Howard, is also a recurrent muse within the works.

In 2010, Teather collaborated with members of the art collective Other Other Other to create a performance themed around gallery etiquette, performed at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (and later revived in 2015 atFirstsite). This was followed by a performance in 2011, conceived by Teather and developed in collaboration with the performer Holly Bodmer titled “The Reappearance of The Remarkable Disappearing andReappearing Maudeline Spacks.” The event was subsequently awarded an Arts Council England grant for it’s development and re-staging as part of Norfolk and Norwich Festival’s 2012 Beta Programme.

The artist has taught on drawing courses at The University of Arts London, Leeds College of Art & Design and currently is an Associate Lecturer at Norwich University of the Arts. His workshops have featured in theTimes Educational Supplement and, in 2008, he was awarded a staff award, in recognition of his contribution as a demonstrator for the university’s Drawing Workshop. He was made a Fellow of the Higher EducationAcademy in 2017.

In 2010, he co-founded The Chelsea Collective, an international art group made up of postgraduate alumni of Chelsea College of Art and Design, which has exhibited in the UK and USA.  From 2011, he joined the boardof Directors of the Anteros Arts Foundation, before leaving the role in 2015 to co-found Art Fair East, a major art fair for the East of England.