Winston Branch OBE
Winston Branch OBE is one of the leading British painters of his generation, with a practice defined by his relentless pursuit of painterly abstraction and luminous use of colour. A graduate of the Slade School of Art, Branch was a key member of the pioneering Caribbean Artists Movement in 1960s London and the significance of his long and illustrious career was recognized in 2024 when he was awarded an OBE for his contribution to the visual arts.
Born in Saint Lucia, Branch’s early life was shaped by the symbolism of Catholic ritual, which instilled in him both a fascination with the unseen and a resistance to conformity. He has described painting as an instinctive act and his canvases often channel the tension between raw spontaneity and the deep structures of art history.
From early on in his career, Branch’s work has won recognition and awards, including the prestigious British Prix de Rome (1971), the German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship to Berlin (1976) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1978). He has exhibited widely since the 1960s, including the 11th and 23rd São Paulo Art Biennial, Museo de Arte Moderno in São Paulo, the 4th Bienal de Pincture de Cuenca, Modern Art Museum (Cuenca, Ecuador), the Biennale de Paris, Musée National d’Art Moderne, the Oakland Museum of California, the Alliance Francaise de San Francisco, the Berkeley Art Museum and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
His paintings are held in numerous public and private collections internationally, includingTate Britain, London, The Crocker Art Museum, California, The DeYoung Museum, The University of California Berkeley Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, Mott-Warsh Collection, The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York, The Arts Council of Great Britain, London, The British Museum, London, The Contemporary Arts Society, UK, Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Hamburg Kunst-Halle.
Winston Branch is represented by Varvara Roza Galleries in collaboration with Goodman Gallery.
Born in Saint Lucia, Branch’s early life was shaped by the symbolism of Catholic ritual, which instilled in him both a fascination with the unseen and a resistance to conformity. He has described painting as an instinctive act and his canvases often channel the tension between raw spontaneity and the deep structures of art history.
From early on in his career, Branch’s work has won recognition and awards, including the prestigious British Prix de Rome (1971), the German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship to Berlin (1976) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1978). He has exhibited widely since the 1960s, including the 11th and 23rd São Paulo Art Biennial, Museo de Arte Moderno in São Paulo, the 4th Bienal de Pincture de Cuenca, Modern Art Museum (Cuenca, Ecuador), the Biennale de Paris, Musée National d’Art Moderne, the Oakland Museum of California, the Alliance Francaise de San Francisco, the Berkeley Art Museum and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
His paintings are held in numerous public and private collections internationally, includingTate Britain, London, The Crocker Art Museum, California, The DeYoung Museum, The University of California Berkeley Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, Mott-Warsh Collection, The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York, The Arts Council of Great Britain, London, The British Museum, London, The Contemporary Arts Society, UK, Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Hamburg Kunst-Halle.
Winston Branch is represented by Varvara Roza Galleries in collaboration with Goodman Gallery.