BIOGRAPHY
DAVID CREGEEN MA. M.Phil (Edin)
David Cregeen is British of Manx English and Scottish descent. He was educated in England, Canada and Scotland graduating from Edinburgh University in 1976 with a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology and Master of Philosophy.
Having concurrently completed a special course in sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art he moved to Florence where he studied at The Academia and the Scoula Libera del Nuodo. Returning to London in 1979 he collaborated with London’s leading contemporary Modern Dance company, Ballet Rambert for a number of years.
In 1980 he was commissioned by former Dutch Resistance to sculpt a posthumous head of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Leader of the Dam Buster who was shot down over Holland in 1944. The portrait head was presented to the 617 Squadron Association in Rotterdam in recognition of the contribution the RAF made to the liberation of Holland. The work from his period with Ballet Rambert formed the basis for his first solo exhibitions at The Mannan Festival of the Arts in 1981 followed by the Edinburgh International Festival.
In 1982 he won The Grollo d’Oro in Treviso, Venice, for a sculpture inspired by the ‘Chosen Maiden’s last solo in Rambert’s revival of ‘The Rite of Spring’. In I983 Cregeen took part in the exhibition Britain Salutes New York in New York In 1986 Cregeen took part in the GLC sponsored exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, ‘Humanism in Contemporary British Sculpture’.
The same year Dr Arthur M. Sackler, invited Cregeen to undertake the prestigous project he named Faces in History, a series of 20 portrait heads of leading personalities of our time. These included Queen Elizabeth II as Head of The Commonwealth, President Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, President Gorbachev, Stephen Hawking, and posthumously President Anwar Sadat, Maria Callas and Martin Luther King Jnr. ).
Working on the portrait head of Cem Dogan in the garden of the Studio in Southern Turkey
Since 1986 David Cregeen has had over 30 solo exhibitions world-wide including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Monaco, Istanbul and Side (Antalya).
In 1990 while working and exhibiting internationally Cregeen made his home and principle studio in Southern Turkey. In Turkey amongst other portrait heads he has undertaken a posthumous bust of President Turgut Ozel,1993, and in 1997 he sculpted the leading Turkish Businessman and philanthropist Sakip Sabanci for The Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul followed by a memorial to the Sabanci Family, eight portrait busts of the family and also one of Erol Sabanci for AK Bank at Sabanci Holdings, Istanbul in 2007.
In 2006 his solo exhibition at The Royal Commonwealth Society, London, held to commemorate The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, was viewed by the Queen. He is currently finalizing work for both ‘Faces in History’ and the forthcoming internationally touring exhibition ‘Eternal Image: A Journey: in Anatolia’ work inspired by and based on his time in this southern coastal region around Antalya and having been shown at The Pavilion Gallery The Royal Geographical Society, London, 2007.
In 2010 he took part in Istanbul European City of Culture creating a sculpture to commemorate the city.
Amongst those many other portraits he has sculpted from life are Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III), King Michael of Romania, and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.
His work is found in many public and private collections including The Royal Collection, London; The National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC; The Smithsonian Institution; The Arthur M Sackler Collections New York; Middle Temple, London; The Sakip Sabanci Museum Istanbul; Haci Omer Sabanci Holdings, Istanbul; Barclays Bank PLC; Banque PNB Paribas; Garanti Bankasi; The Universities of Edinburgh, Harvard and Bucharest; and The private collections of The Prince of Wales, King Michael of Romania, Prince Al-Waleed of Saudi Arabia, The Rt Hon and Mrs Tony Blair, The Rt Hon John Whitehead, Mukesh Ambani and John Studeniski.
Working on the portrait head of the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House, 2006
With Sakip Sabanci and the portrait head of him in clay at his office at Sabanci Holdings, Istanbul 2001
