Dr Jack Dawson
Biography
Dr Jack Dawson studied Ceramics at Newcastle College of Art - graduating in 1970. He subsequently ran his own studio in the Scottish Borders during the 1970s and was an active member of the Scottish Craft Centre, exhibiting extensively in Britain and abroad. Jack was also elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (Scot) in 1977. In 1981 he was awarded a BA(Hons) History of Modern Art and Design from Newcastle Polytechnic, and followed this with a post-grad MLitt in History of Art from the University of Glasgow, and a PhD at the University of Sunderland.
Research Interests
Jack's primary research interest is in 20thC Scandinavian Glass, critical and theoretical approaches to Contemporary Applied Art and Craft, and the role of the artist `in' industry. Art in industry was the central theme of his PhD which was titled The Role of Art and the Artist in Industry: Finnish and Swedish Glass in the Twentieth Century. Jack has been the curator of a number of exhibitions including the Art and Craft of the Etcher 1870 -1930, 1991. For the Year of the Visual Arts, 1996, he curated the most comprehensive exhibition of Finnish Post War Glass 1945 - 1996 and was author of the accompanying book. In 2000, he curated a major exhibition of Swedish glass Innovation and Diversity: 75 Years of Swedish Glass Art with a book of the same title, and which toured venues in Britain and Germany. Jack also researched and curated the Sunderland Glass Connections exhibition in 2001, and was author of Art in Industry: 20thC Swedish Glass for the IIRG online journal Gateway to Glass. He is also the author of a major monograph on the Finnish glass artist Oiva Toikka Oiva Toikka: Glass and Design published in Finland in English and Finnish editions, 2007. Jack has lectured widely on Scandinavian glass both at home and abroad.
Research Activities
Jack's current research is focused on the iconic glass artist/designer Tapio Wirkkala with a view to publication and a major exhibition, and on more recent developments in Scandinavian glass to include Denmark and Norway - again with a view to publication.