Daniel Sturgis

Daniel Sturgis is a Research Professor in Painting at the Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon College of Arts, part of the University of the Arts London (UAL). He has held roles such as Programme Director, Course Director (BA Painting), and Acting Programme Director. His academic focus integrates historical painting traditions with contemporary discourse, emphasizing modernist abstraction’s evolution in the 21st century. Sturgis is a founding associate editor of the Journal for Contemporary Painting and has contributed to prestigious publications like Tate Papers, Burlington Magazine, and Texte zur Kunst.

Education: He holds a PhD from Oxford Brookes University (2008), MA Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London (1994), and a BA (Hons) Fine Art from Camberwell School of Art and Crafts (1989).

Research Interests: Sturgis explores the materiality of painting, transcultural dialogues between Korean and British abstract art, and the intersection of painting with digital media. He interrogates how historical frameworks shape contemporary artistic practices, particularly in abstract painting. His work challenges postmodern irony while upholding modernist rigor through geometric arrangements and visual intellect.

Grants & Collaborations: Recent grants include the Korean Cultural Centre Grant (2023) for a transcultural exhibition and the Economic and Social Research Council Grant (2022–2023) investigating materiality in contemporary Korean and British abstract art. He also led the ‘Bauhaus Open Stage’ project (2019) with the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.

• Awards: Research Fellow at Stiftung Arp e.V. (2024–2025).

Advising & Teaching: Supervised research projects including Cubism and Collectivism (Ella Jones-Moore), Expanded Collage Painting (Xiaoze Zhang), and Fluidity: Art-Oriented Meta-Ontology (Kefan Bai). He has served as external examiner for degrees at institutions like the Royal College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art.

Labs & Collaborations: Collaborates on exhibitions and symposia, including Transfer: Korean and British Abstract Painting and the Digital Document (2023) and the No Rules Symposium (2022) on Helen Frankenthaler’s legacy. His research often intersects with curatorial projects and artist residencies worldwide.