The son of a Baptist preacher, JJ Adams emigrated as a child from Plymouth in the UK to Cape Town in South Africa in the early eighties. Adams spent much of his youth around the studio of South African contemporary landscape artist Derric van Rensburg, where he discovered his love of bright colour and graphic art. JJ Adams studied graphic design at Cape College whilst working as an apprentice in `Wildfire Tattoos` a busy tattoo studio in central Cape Town.
He returned to the UK in 1998 where he furthered his study in commercial printing at the Plymouth College of Art and Design. He has worked as a freelance graphic designer and sign maker before finally breaking into fine art. JJ Adams uses a range of mixed media in his work from spray paint to hand painting acrylics, screen printing and digital matte painting as well as photography.
JJ is fast becoming one of the UK’s most talked about artists. Adams uses a range of new and mixed media in his work which varies from spray paint, and hand painting acrylics to screen printing, collage and digital matte painting.
Introducing contemporary artist #Onelife183! There’s nothing mysterious in this tag, it’s a nod to his inspiration, New York Graffitist Taki183 (who was most prominent in the late 60s and 70s).
Weekends as a child for #Onelife183 was spent with his grandfather who himself was a keen artist and became an inspiration for #OneLife183 in his early years. As a teenager, experimenting in street art carved out a foreseeable path and put him on the journey which he is now on, using these early life experiences to create the digital artwork you see today.
#OneLife138 is known for his distinctive pop paintings, each one featuring his trademark spray bottle (can you spot them?) and often the comic ‘pow’ or ‘pop’. Using complex collage techniques, each piece is a dynamic creation of mash up pop culture which work to critique the banal and the mundane. His artwork challenges mainstream media values and inspires a sense of freedom in life. Are you ready for the journey?
Winner: Best Selling Published Artist at the Fine Art Trade Guild Awards 2005 “The most popular living artist in the UK” BBC TV National News.
In 2002, Doug Hyde was a young artist painting pictures for his family and friends in his spare time. In 2005, he was named as the UK’s best selling published artist and described as the UK’s most popular living artist on a BBC TV national news broadcast. In 2014 Doug celebrated the 10th anniversary of this accolade and a decade of extraordinary success.
Neil Dawson’s cityscapes take inspiration from everyday images. Having grown up with a love for art, nurtured at school and at St Martins College in London, he forged a successful career in the City. He loved the buzz of the streets especially at night with headlights reflected on the wet tarmac, the energy of London buses and buildings reflected in the moonlit Thames.
Reading newspapers and seeing images of faraway cities on TV instilled a passion for travel, which in turn became a spring board to creating his stunning artworks. Experiencing new cultures, surroundings and events, he photographed madly and widely and returned home to create amazing and vibrant international cityscapes which had become part of his own life experience. In addition to London these cities include Edinburgh, Paris, New York, Sydney and Venice. Painting in oil, the moods of his work changes from vibrant and dramatic to calm and serene as days unfold into night.
Neil says “I am inspired by the energy and colour of cities. I love to paint iconic architecture and imagery – hoping to spark a connection with the viewer, recreating memories of happy times spent in these dynamic cities”.
Daniel’s striking statement pieces demonstrate a profound social commentary on the popular culture of the early 21st century.
His evolution as an artist was far from conventional; having started life as a graffiti writer, he went on to study Graphic Design and Electronic Media, and gradually moved into the area of fine art where he has now built an enviable reputation. He has always experimented with different mediums and is currently exploring a combination of digital, acrylic, watercolour and ink.
His recent work features celebrities and icons past and present, but in his distinctive style which he describes as ‘controlled chaos’, he renders these familiar faces somehow unfamiliar. Daniel’s innovative and spontaneous approach brings something completely new to his moderninterpretations and sets his portraits apart from those of his contemporaries.
Daniel’s work has been exhibited and sold in London, the USA and Canada. Has worked on projects in collaboration with high profile brands such as Nike, BT, HTC and Universal. Curated a successful show at legendary London nightclub Fabric, which showcased 15 years of fabric artwork from artists including Goldie, Inkie, Carne Griffiths, Russell Marshall, Benjamin Murphy and more, with all proceeds going to CALM.
At Hart Galleries we have a passion for the very best in contemporary art; from originals by international artists of distinction, to highly collectable and affordable signed limited editions. We also have a range of sculpture and ceramics to suit all tastes.
Our knowledgeable and experienced staff are always on hand for help and advice but if you just want to browse you are always welcome at our newly designed modern gallery space on the borders of Mill Hill and Edgware in North West London.
