Artist (MOPH) is an internationally exhibited and award winning artist, having exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, Vienna and London with many works in private collections. He has been shortlisted and won prizes from the Winter Pride at the Tobacco Docks to the Churchill Design Award held at The War Rooms in Whitehall.
Within MOPH's paintings you will see glimmers of his obsession with alternative fashion and vintage film. He creates fun, tantalising, ironic portraits that he calls ‘Pop expressionism'. He loves using bright colours, sometimes even reflective paint that makes the work change as you move around it. Finding vintage and gothic frames is a love of the artists and in his opinion the frame is part of the artwork, and so he restores and re-colours them often using a vibrant palette, the effect is dazzling to the eye.
The artist takes inspiration from artists such as Barnard Buffet, Modigliani, George Condo, as well having an interested in tudor and naive art.
Artist Statement
My current practice is primarily character-centered. I create introspective portraits and dreamlike landscapes, often inspired by old sepia and black-and-white photography, as well as flea market findings and film. When I come across an object or image that makes my mind pause, it is as if the world has stood still for a moment—I know I have to paint.
In my process, I often use imagery as a starting point, but I paint mainly from imagination and memory. An object or photograph serves as a seed, something small I can build from to create a larger vision.
I work with pastels, oils, and acrylics, and I am currently experimenting with coloured pencils and inks.
Many artists have influenced me over the years, but there are a few I carry with me: Bernard Buffet, Modigliani, Margaret Keane, and George Condo.
