See & Do

John Newling

The John Newling archive is an extensive record of project files, exhibition material and publications from an artist who explores the natural world and creates public art with a social purpose.

Black and white photo of a man painting a sign on a gallery wall, which reads

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Front cover of a book, a dark grey rectangle bordered by lime green. The title reads

An open book, with a page laid out in the style of a latter. The message reads:

A page of handwritten text, with several words highlighted in green. These have been used as nodes to draw shapes over the text. Tip-ex has been used on top to create three prominent word banners, which read 'causally necessitated Free will'.

Two books by John Newling, one with a white cover, the other with an orange cover.

Printed photo of an industrial-looking red brick wall, with large, red wooden double doors, with the paint flaking off. A sign has been mounted to the door, which reads:

Cover of the book 'The Noah Laboratory: Constructing Soil' by John Newling. A man, blurred by motion, has an arm outstretched towards a sculpture comprised of a large, horizontal cylinder; it looks like he is spinning it.

A blue exhibition flyer, with a photo of a man holding a large rabbit in front of a tourist information building. Text on the flyer reads

Cover of a black and white exhibition pamphlet, with eleven photos or a train station, a train, and views from a train window, laid out in a 3x4 grid. Text reads

A messy line drawing of two cones, one pointing up and the other down, drawn on top of each other. Text reads:

About the artist

John Newling was born in Birmingham in 1952 and has an acclaimed international reputation, creating projects and installing works in the UK and many other countries.

Based in Nottingham, Newling is a pioneer of public art with a social purpose. His works explore the natural world and the social and economic systems of society, such as money and religion.

He belongs to a generation of artists whose work evolved from Conceptual Art, Land Art and Arte Povera – art movements occurring during the 1960s that placed emphasis on the concept, process and site of the work, alongside material and aesthetic properties.

What’s in the collection?

The John Newling archive is an extensive record of project files, exhibition materials, correspondence, photographs and artist publications. It spans from the late 1970s to 2024, when the collection was given to the archive.