Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1947 Johannesburg, South Africa

Year of Migration to the UK: 1960

Other name/s: Robin Klassnik OBE

Biography

Gallerist and artist Robin Klassnik was born on 28 January 1947, in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a family of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who had left their homeland in search of safety and stability. Klassnik moved to London in 1960, where his passion for the arts began to take shape. He pursued his artistic education at Hornsey College of Art, followed by Leicester College of Art, where he studied fine art, graduating in 1968. Despite focusing on painting during his studies, Klassnik quickly realised he was not suited to the medium, later describing himself as spatially dyslexic and struggling with visualising forms in space (Backspace interview). This challenge prompted him to explore other forms of artistic expression, particularly sculpture, photography, and film, which became central to his artistic career.

After completing his studies, Klassnik moved to London, where he secured a Space Studio in St Katharine's Dock, near the Tower of London. It was in this creative environment that he truly began to develop as an artist, abandoning painting and immersing himself in sculpture, 8mm film, and experimental forms of art. His work during this period was often collaborative, with his first significant project involving fellow artist Peter Moderate. Together, they created a ‘walk-through painting’ for a project called Pavilions in the Park in Croydon, which invited artists to produce works in portable structures. This marked the beginning of Klassnik's fascination with the intersection of art and space, a theme that would recur throughout his career. In the early 1970s, Klassnik exhibited at prominent venues, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), the Whitechapel Art Gallery, and the Paris Biennale. His innovative piece The Yellow Object, shown at the ICA in 1972, attracted attention and established his reputation as an artist willing to push boundaries. For the project, Klassnik distributed large brown envelopes to households around Crouch End, receiving over 1,200 objects in response. These objects were then placed in a shop window, forming a participatory, community-based installation that blurred the lines between art, everyday life, and commerce. During this time, Klassnik also became involved in mail art, a practice that led to a pivotal friendship with Polish artist, Jaroslaw Kozlowski. Kozlowski invited Klassnik to exhibit at his alternative gallery, Akumulatory 2, in Poznań, Poland, in 1975. This experience had a profound impact on Klassnik, particularly Kozlowski's commitment to giving artists full control over their exhibitions, allowing them the time and space to develop their work before opening to the public; this approach became the foundation for his own venue, Matt's Gallery.

In 1979, Klassnik transformed his studio space in Martello Street, London Fields, in east London, into a gallery, naming it after his dog, Matt E. Mulsion. Matt's Gallery was not born out of a grand plan, but rather a natural evolution of Klassnik's desire to offer artists a space in which to experiment and present their work in an open, supportive environment. The gallery was established with a clear purpose: to provide artists with the time and space to develop new ideas, experiment with different mediums, and present their work to the public once they felt ready. From its inception, Matt's Gallery sought to break the traditional gallery mould by prioritising artists' needs over commercial success or high-profile exhibitions. Artists were given full control of how their work was presented, attracting both emerging and established figures, such as Richard Wilson, Susan Hiller, Mike Nelson, and Lindsay Seers, whose careers were shaped by the gallery. Klassnik, drawing from his own artistic background, emphasised the need for a 'dress rehearsal' approach, allowing artists the time to refine their work free from rigid deadlines (Backspace Interview). After suspending its programme in 1991 to find new premises, Matt's Gallery reopened in 1993 at Copperfield Road, Mile End, with two purpose-built spaces. This structure enabled artists to work on projects while another exhibition was running, giving them the freedom to experiment without pressure.

Over the years, Matt's Gallery has remained a beacon for innovative and experimental contemporary art. Its willingness to take risks on emerging artists, combined with a hands-on, collaborative approach, made it unique in London's art scene. Despite the commercialisation of art in the 1990s and 2000s, Klassnik remained committed to supporting artists over market demands, earning the gallery a reputation as a 'utopia' for creativity (The Guardian). In 2014, Klassnik was awarded an OBE for his contribution to contemporary art. Throughout its history, Matt's Gallery has evolved while maintaining its core values, relocating from Decima Street in 2016 to Webster Road in 2018, and ultimately to Nine Elms, Wandsworth, in south west Londobn, in 2022, where it continues to host cutting-edge exhibitions. Robin Klassnik's work is not represented in any UK public collections, though Tate archives hold matterial relating to Matt's Gallery.

Related books

Benedict Drew, Chris Rawcliffe, Robin Klassnik, Tim Dixon and Jonathan P. Watts, Direct to Your Fucking Head (London: Matt's Gallery, 2022)
Tabitha Steinberg, ‘In Pictures: 40 Years of No-Nonsense Exhibition-Making at Matt’s Gallery’, Frieze online, 20 September 2019
Sarah Rowles, ‘12 Gallerists: 20 Questions: a Collection of Interviews with 12 London Gallerists’ (London: Q-Art, 2013)
Michael Curran and Robin Klassnik, Michael Curran: Look What They Done to My Song (London: Matt's Gallery, 2007)
Same Old Story: Willie Doherty, Katherine Wood, Robin Klassnik, Liam Kelly (Colchester:  Firstsite, 1997)
Keith Ball, ‘Yello: Everything Talks with Robin Klassnik’, Everything, No. 14, June-July 1994
Jean Fisher, Matt's Gallery (London: Serpentine Gallery, 1984)
Robin Klassnik, Postal Sculpture (London: Robin Klassnik, 1973)

Selected exhibitions

Robin Klassnik, Yellow Postal Sculpture, Matt's Gallery, Copperfield Road, London (1999)
Arts Council's Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London (1982)
Whitechapel summer show '79 (1979)
Artworks with Paintings, Correspondence and Works On Paper, by Jeff Instone, Robin Klassnik and Mike Porter, Playhouse Gallery, Harlow (1978)
ICA, London (1972)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Robin Klassnik]

Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.

Robin Klassnik gallerist