Till & John Merlin Vere-Hodge
John Vere-Hodge was born in 1950 in Tanzania. He illustrated his first book before the age of nine and received art tuition from an early age among others from Roy McComish, the Scottish artist and educator.
In 1962, John's family moved to New Zealand, where he learnt woodcarving from an artisan in the town of Feilding. In 1963, back in England, John received tuition from established artists, such as Maurice Percival RA and Tristram Hillier RA. He subsequently trained as a woodcarver and sculptor with Jack Perkins.
Throughout his career, John has exhibited and sold on commission numerous drawings and paintings, mostly oil on wood or canvas. He produces his own media, which he mixes with pigment. He does not use tube paints or artificial ingredients. He has developed his own methods for example in saphonising oil to use as a thinner medium.
John has also worked on numerous large-scale murals for private collectors' homes, for businesses in the hospitality and healthcare sectors and for museums, such as the Landesmuseum Braunschweig in Germany. He has illustrated numerous books, ex libres and bookmarks for various publishing houses.
John has lectured widely at various universities and fine art education institutions throughout Europe, including the Landesmuseum Braunschweig, the University of Applied Arts Hildesheim and the South East Conservation Centre in Hastings, Sussex.
His knowledge of ancient painting and artistic techniques is such that he has consulted for the famous Dörner Institute in Munich (one of the foremost forensic scientific institutes in the world), the Landemuseum Braunschweig and the Vereinigte Werkstätten für Kunst im Handwerk, which later became the Neue Werkstätten.
A major solo exhibition of John's work will take place at the 16th Century Palazzo Bosio in Desenzano in Northern Italy in the first half of 2026.
The artist’s studio is on the shores of Lake Garda in Italy.
Selected Exhibitions
• Studio VII, Hastings, Sussex, England (1968-1969)
• Peter Hoare Limited, Upper Richmond Road, London (1969/1970)
• Cassio's, Marylebone, London (1970-1972)
• Stephen Long, Chelsea (1972)
• Ning A, Sloane Square, London (1973)
• Rachel Brand, Kensington, London (1974)
• Chelsea Painters at Chelsea Town Hall, London (1975)
• Galerie Mauern, Germany (1977)
• Galerie zwischen den Stühlen, Aschaffenburg, Germany (1994)
• Bormann-Museum Celle, Germany (2003/2004)
• Fritz-Winter-Gallery, Diessen, Germany (2009-2011)
• Galerie am Unteren Schloss, Pähl am Ammersee (2010)
• With Fritz-Winter-Gallery at Art Karlsruhe, Art Munich and Art Bregenz (various art fairs)
• Abitarte Gallery, Munich, Germany (2021)
• Palazzo Bosio, Desenzano (2026)
Additional Information
• Artist’s website: www.johnverehodge.com
• Artist’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/johnverehodge/