Paul Noble

Paul Noble, a British artist, is renowned for his graphite drawings on paper, influenced by the gray skies of England's northeast coastline. His works often portray microcosmic cities and intricate urban landscapes, exemplified by his project "Nobson Newtown" (1996–2011). 

Biography of Paul Noble

Noble, born in 1963 in Dilston, Northumberland, pursued studies at Humberside College of Higher Education from 1983 to 1986 and at Sunderland Polytechnic from 1982 to 1983. In 1987, he moved to London and became one of the five founder members of the cooperative behind the City Racing Gallery (1988–1998), where he exhibited several times.

In the lively British art scene, Paul Noble carved a unique and unconventional path, gaining international acclaim for his ambitious drawing project "Nobson Newtown". Over a decade, Noble created a vast and monumental urban vision through his drawings, embodying roles of an architect and town planner, archaeologist and cartographer, social historian and activist, as well as creator and destroyer. This melancholic cityscape existed somewhere between Claude-Nicolas Ledoux's utopias, SimCity, and the post-apocalyptic landscapes often seen in the media.

A meticulous and devoted draftsman, Noble crafts intricately elaborate encrypted schemes, drawing inspiration from numerous sources. These include ancient Chinese scrolls and Japanese sculptures, Fabergé eggs and brick walls, eighteenth-century pornography, and animal rights literature, as well as the works of Hieronymous Bosch and Öyvind Fahlström. 

Noble's work was displayed at various galleries in London including the Cubitt Gallery, Chisenhale Gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Art, South London Gallery, Tate Gallery, and Whitechapel Art Gallery. He also exhibited at international venues such as the Museum of Modern Art and White Columns in New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia; Museum Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam; Migros Museum in Zurich; and Forde Espace d'art Contemporain in Geneva.

Noble participated in the 8th International Istanbul Biennial in 2003 and Manifesta 3 in 2000. His works are part of collections at The British Council in London, FRAC des Pays de la Loire in France, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Tate Britain in London. Also, Noble was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2012.