Fresh off a mini street-art tour of New York and Philadelphia, 25-year- old Artist Ant Carver will be exhibiting works in a solo London exhibition at Hoxton Basement, from 2nd – 4th December 2016, with a private view taking place on Friday 2nd December from 6 – 9:30pm.
In the past few years, Carver’s distinctive spray and oil paint portraits have become a familiar feature on walls throughout East London, and in street art events including UpFest in Bristol and Birmingham’s City of Colours festival. For his latest pop-up show, titled ‘Paradise’, the Hackney Wick based painter has chosen to look further afield for inspiration.
From December 2nd , Carver will showcase a series of new works depicting people from all over the world. Retaining his characteristic combination of graffiti techniques and detailed oil paint portraiture, Carver’s latest exhibition further develops his ambition to create beautiful art. Like previous exhibitions, there are still a fair few paintings of models. Looking at the preview pieces though, it’s clear that the idea of beauty presented in these works has progressed from his earlier exhibitions. Painting subjects include two Indian Sadhus, Gangadas Baba and Yogi Baba, and an Ethiopian woman from Hamar.
“I’m always trying to improve my art technically,’ Carver explains. ‘I’m not creating art that needs three sentences of text to make sense. Hopefully people respond immediately to the image, the detail, and the colour.” That’s not to say the current political and social climate hasn’t had an impact on the young artist’s work. Carver hopes to create a positive, uplifting experience for visitors to the exhibition. “I wanted to produce paintings where the visuals bombard the viewer, to create a momentary distraction from all the anxiety and fear that’s around right now. That’s a kind of paradise I think we could all do with.”
Join us for the official opening on Friday 2nd December, from 6.30pm where Ant will present original artworks from the project, with limited edition prints also available for sale direct from his website. All works are produced by theprintspace, and available to buy through thehub.
