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John Dugger

John Dugger (1948-2023) was born in Los Angeles. He studied in Chicago before arriving in Europe in 1967, where he became part of the London avant-garde. He created participatory art events in London, working and exhibiting with artists such as David Medalla, Lygia Clark and Helio Oiticica; and designed a pavilion for Documenta 5 at the invitation of Harold Szeeman.

In the 1970s, influenced by his travels in China and Asia and his passion for mountaineering, Dugger's practice shifted away from participation art towards banner making. His banners have been commissioned by the Dalai Lama and the House of Commons and are in many public collections, including Tate, London. In  2007, he exhibited drawings and Expeditionary Mountain Banners at England & Co. Two of his early banner works were exhibited recently at the Antwerp Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition This Could Happen to You: Ikon in the 1970s, which includes works by John Dugger, was held recently at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.

The exhibition at England & Co in 2010: John Dugger: Ergonic Messenger focused on his works and projects from the 1970s and was accompanied by a 36-page illustrated catalogue that includes an essay by Guy Brett.

In June 2012, John Dugger exhibited with England & Co at Pinta: The Latin American Art Fair in London, where his large Chile Vencera! banner, first hung in Trafalgar Square in 1974, was on display in the main exhibition space. In July 2012, his Sports Banner from 1980 was featured as Tate's Work of the Week to coincide with the opening of London's Olympic Games.



BIOGRAPHY   
 
Constructions & mixed media   Drawings & works on paper   Prints   Sculpture   

ALL



Study for the Gates of Freedom sculpture i - Details


Study for the Gates of Freedom sculpture i 1974
13 x 9 inches
Mixed media on paper
Ref: JD036
Lo Shu Magic Square Tortoise - Details


Lo Shu Magic Square Tortoise (The Original Magic Square Tortoise) 2012
Various
Multimedia with Original Mathematical Formulae

© John Dugger



Docklands Banner - Details


Docklands Banner 1978
69.5 x 88 inches
Appliqued strip banner

Chile Vencera - Details


Chile Vencera 1975
63.5 x 35 cm
Silkscreen print on cotton
Un-numbered edition of 50 (only about 8 copies known to have survived). Produced to be sold to Trade Union branches to raise funds for Chile. One was exhbited at Tate.

Study for Star Weavers - Details


Study for Star Weavers 1975
12 x 9 inches
Mixed media on paper
Ref: JD038
The Gate of Freedom – The Masses - Details


The Gate of Freedom – The Masses 1973
18 x 24 x 1.5 inches
Sand cast (by the artist) bronze, plus wooden base

Festival of Films from China - Details


Festival of Films from China 1971
28 x 20 inches
Screen-printed poster for Classic Cinemas designed by John Dugger

Anti-Nuclear Banner for the GLC - Details


Anti-Nuclear Banner for the GLC c 1982
73 x 98.5 inches
Appliqued banner with mixed fabrics and photomontage Nuclear Overkill by Peter Kennard.

Chile Vencera Banner - Details


Chile Vencera Banner 1974

Mixed media strip banner

Study for Rains Retreat (16 possible variations) - Details


Study for Rains Retreat (16 possible variations) 1969
12.5 x 9 inches
Ink on paper
Ref: JD052
'Grenade' - Details


'Grenade' c 1972
9.5 inches high
Stoneware vase

Pioneers of Part-Art, MOMA, Oxford - Details


Pioneers of Part-Art, MOMA, Oxford 1971
49.5 x 33.5 inches
Exhibition poster designed by John Dugger and David Medalla

Model for an Underground Hospital with Woven Roof - Details


Model for an Underground Hospital with Woven Roof 1972-73
Approx 24 x 31 inches
Plastic tubing, scaffolding, grey postal bags
Archive image


Sonar Dorje, Paris - Details


Sonar Dorje, Paris
5.25 x 8.25 inches
Ink and coloured pencil on paper
Ref: JD043
People Weave a House!<br> - Details


People Weave a House!
Designed by John Dugger and David Medalla 1972
28 x 19 inches
Exhibition poster

Sports Banner - Details


Sports Banner 1980
48 x 78 inches
Mixed media strip banner

Tate collection, London.



Star Weaver - Details


Star Weaver 1972

Perspex, plastic tubing, steel eye bolt, rotary shackle, rope
Archive image

Photo Exhibition: On China’s Achievements in Socialist Construction - Details


Photo Exhibition: On China’s Achievements in Socialist Construction 1971
22 x 16.5 inches
Offset-litho printed exhibition poster designed by John Dugger

 Red (Banner) Studio (after Matisse) - Details


Red (Banner) Studio (after Matisse) 1980
60 x 49 inches
Mixed media construction in four parts

Edition 1/3



Wu Shu Kwan Banner - Details


Wu Shu Kwan Banner 1977

Mixed-media strip banner

Perennial unfolding - Details


Perennial unfolding 1970

Plastic tubing, nylon line, nylon webbing
Archive image

Body Conductor - Details


Body Conductor Manila 1968
6.75 x 6.75 inches
Ink and pencil on paper
Ref: JD049
Ergonic Cycle - Details


Ergonic Cycle The First Ergongic Sculpture c 1970

Photographic montage of the ‘planting and flowering’ cycle of The Perennial in action
Archive image

Body Conductor (Blanc, Rouge, Noir, Jaune) - Details


Body Conductor (Blanc, Rouge, Noir, Jaune) Manila 1968
6.75 x 6.75 inches
Ink and pencil on paper
Ref: JD050
Wu Shi Commune - Details


Wu Shi Commune 1975

Mixed media textile strip banner

Banner Peak - Details


Banner Peak 2002
110 x 140 inches
Mixed media banner (detail)

Perennial unfolding - Details


Perennial unfolding 1970

Time-lapse photograph of two Perennials in motion
Archive image


Tub Lotus with Body Conductor - Details


Tub Lotus with Body Conductor Paris 1970

Shaped washing tubs, silver fabric, Tibetan fabric tape, Body Conductor (corrugated rubber tube)
Archive image

Stone Caves - Details


Stone Caves 1972
8 x 5.75 inches
Mixed media on paper from China Notebook
Ref: JD044
Mt Wilson - Details


Mt Wilson 2007
52 x 65.5 inches
Mixed media banner

Curved Space Tubes - Details


Curved Space Tubes Paris, 1970

The artist with two Curved Space Tubes, with Rains Retreat sculpture and Suprematistic Map of the Heavens.
Archive image

In the cotton drying factory - Details


In the cotton drying factory 1972
8 x 6 inches
Mixed media on paper from China Notebook
Ref: JD046
Jetsound Dorigee - Details


Jetsound Dorigee 1970

Curved Space Tubes on lattice structure
Archive image

Figure in Doorway, China - Details


Figure in Doorway, China 1972
8 x 5.75 inches
Mixed media on paper from China Notebook
Ref: JD047
Rains Retreat - Details


Rains Retreat (complete complex) Paris, 1970

Architectonic model: wood boxes, interlocking wood hemispheres
Archive image


Tachai at Sunrise (China) - Details


Tachai at Sunrise (China) 1974
14.75 x 20 inches
Watercolour on paper

Rains Retreat - Details


Rains Retreat (single unit) Paris, 1970

Architectonic model: wood box, interlocking wood hemispheres
Archive image


View from Mont Bettaforca, Italy - Details


View from Mont Bettaforca, Italy

Mixed media on paper

Private collection


Ref: JD016
Body Conductor - Details


Body Conductor London 1970

Two Body Conductors in use
Archive image

Kangra Valley, India - Details


Kangra Valley, India Study in Blue ii 1992
8.5 x 11 inches
Mixed media on paper
Ref: JD021
Body Conductor - Details


Body Conductor 1969

The artist with Body Conductor on Hampstead Heath, London
Archive image

Kangra Valley, India - Details


Kangra Valley, India Study in Blue iii 1992

Mixed media on paper

Private collection


Ref: JD019
Windom - Details


Windom 1968

Windchimes, sail, wire with a piece of bone that makes tracings in the sand
Archive image

Windom - Details


Windom 1968

Stone counterbalance on Windom sculpture. Materials: bamboo, stone, fabric, cord, sand
Archive image