Painting As a prospective student lacking the necessary entry qualifications, Childish was accepted into art school four times on the strength of his paintings and drawings. He did a foundation year at Medway College of Design (now the University for the Creative Arts) in 1977–78, and was then accepted onto the painting department of Saint Martin's School of Art in 1978, before quitting a month later. He was re-accepted at St Martin's in 1980, but was expelled in 1982 for refusing to paint in the art school and other unruly behaviour. At Saint Martin's, Childish became friends with Peter Doig, with whom he shared an appreciation of Munch, Van Gogh, and blues music. Doig later co-curated Childish's first London show at the Cubit Street Gallery. In the early/mid 1980s Childish was a "major influence" on the artist Tracey Emin, whom he met after his expulsion from Saint Martin's when she was a fashion student at Medway College of Design. Childish has been cited as the influence for Emin's later confessional art. Childish has exhibited extensively since the 1980s, and was featured in the British Art Show in 2000. In 2010, a major exhibition of Childish's paintings, writing, and music was held at The ICA London, with a concurrent painting show running at White Columns Gallery in New York City. In October 2012, alongside Art Below, Childish presented his work at the exhibition Art Below Regents Park in Regent's Park Tube station to coincide with Frieze Art Fair, one of the most important international contemporary art fairs that takes place each October in London.
Painting As a prospective student lacking the necessary entry qualifications, Childish was accepted into art school four times on the strength of his paintings and drawings. He did a foundation year at Medway College of Design (now the University for the Creative Arts) in 1977–78, and was then accepted onto the painting department of Saint Martin's School of Art in 1978 before quitting a month later. He was re-accepted at St Martin's in 1980, but was expelled in 1982 for refusing to paint in the art school and other unruly behaviour At Saint Martin's, Childish became friends with Peter Doig, with whom he shared an appreciation of Munch, Van Gogh, and blues music. Doig later co-curated Childish's first London show at the Cubit Street Gallery. In the early/mid 1980s Childish was a "major influence" on the artist Tracey Emin, whom he met after his expulsion from Saint Martin's when she was a fashion student at Medway College of Design. Childish has been cited as the influence for Emin's later confessional art. Childish has exhibited extensively since the 1980s, and was featured in the British Art Show in 2000. In 2010, a major exhibition of Childish's paintings, writing, and music was held at The ICA London, with a concurrent painting show running at White Columns Gallery in New York City. In October 2012, alongside Art Below, Childish presented his work at the exhibition Art Below Regents Park in Regent's Park Tube station to coincide with Frieze Art Fair, one of the most important international contemporary art fairs that takes place each October in London.