ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Stuart Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist whose practice spans painting, performance, internet art, and installation. His works adopt a sociological lens to explore themes of youth politics, mass culture, image, technology, and anxiety. Often activist in nature, his broader projects frequently strive for fairness, equality, and access, particularly within the arts.
Semple has enjoyed numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and has presented projects at international institutions, including the Denver Art Museum, The Whitworth, Barbican, Hong Kong Arts Center, and Dulwich Picture Gallery. He is the author of “Make Art or Die Trying,” published by Quarto. Semple regularly speaks on art and mental health, with appearances at Oxford University, The Southbank Centre, Frieze, RCA, and the ICA
Selected works:
Artist Job Centre
Installation in London during lockdown, 2020
I Should Be Crying But I Just Can’t Let It Show, 2018
spraypaint, foam and steel installed in Denver, 2018
My Sonic Youth installation view, Fabien Castanier Gallery
Los Angeles, 2015
Angel of the Mourning
Digital print, spraypaint, watercolour, vinyl, collage and oil pastel on Saunders Waterford Paper 120 x 150 cm, 2015
EVERYBODY SEES YOU’RE BLOWN APART
Acrylic, charcoal, chalk, vinyl and paintmarker on canvas 220 x 220 x 7cm, 2009
PINK (multiple), 2016
Open edition Plastic jar, powdered paint & sticker 4.5 x 6 x 4.5 cm 2016 onwards
A POUNDING OUTSIDE POUNDLAND (or how my nose got its wonk)
Acrylic & charcoal on canvas 240 x 170 x 7 cm, 2010
My Brain Hurts Like A Fucking Warehouse
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 120 x 120 x 7 cm, 2014
Don’t Let Me Down
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 200 x 200 x 7cm, 2013
S.C.U.M (Valerie), 2015
Digital print & gesso on cold press watercolour paper 150 x 120 cm
Real Gone Kid
acrylic, charcoal, gold and gesso on canvas 120 x 120 x 7 cm, 2014
Technicolour Hiroshima
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 200 x 200 x 7 cm, 2014
Happy Cloud
Vogue x Moncler Piazza della Scala, Milan, 2009
My Sonic Youth
installation view, Fabien Castanier Gallery, 2016
The first CUT was the deepest
acrylic on canvas 270 x 150 x 7 cm, 2013
Ding Dong (Maggie’s Dead)
laquer, fibre glass, shoes, neon on mdf 150 x 100 x 70 cm, 2009
Riders On The Storm
acrylic, charcoal, indian ink, china marker on Canvas 200 x 200 x 7cm, 2013
Freak
acrylic on foam, dimensions variable, 2012
My Sonic Youth, project space
Fabien Castanier Gallery Los Angles 2016
MY LONELINESS IS KILLING ME, 2015
Digital print, acrylic, marker, spraypaint, vinyl, graphite & india ink on cold press watercolour paper 150 x 120 cm
Dancing On My Own
vinyl, plastic, rubber, perspex, ink, spraypaint on metal 2019
YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH
Digital print, acrylic, vinyl, china marker, foil & stickers on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper 76 x 56 cm 2014
Let Forever Be
acrylic, canvas on metal dimensions variable, 2018
Knocked Up, 2008
Selected works:
Artist Job Centre
Installation in London during lockdown, 2020
I Should Be Crying But I Just Can’t Let It Show, 2018
spraypaint, foam and steel installed in Denver, 2018
My Sonic Youth installation view, Fabien Castanier Gallery
Los Angeles, 2015
Angel of the Mourning
Digital print, spraypaint, watercolour, vinyl, collage and oil pastel on Saunders Waterford Paper 120 x 150 cm, 2015
EVERYBODY SEES YOU’RE BLOWN APART
Acrylic, charcoal, chalk, vinyl and paintmarker on canvas 220 x 220 x 7cm, 2009
PINK (multiple), 2016
Open edition Plastic jar, powdered paint & sticker 4.5 x 6 x 4.5 cm 2016 onwards
A POUNDING OUTSIDE POUNDLAND (or how my nose got its wonk)
Acrylic & charcoal on canvas 240 x 170 x 7 cm, 2010
My Brain Hurts Like A Fucking Warehouse
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 120 x 120 x 7 cm, 2014
Don’t Let Me Down
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 200 x 200 x 7cm, 2013
S.C.U.M (Valerie), 2015
Digital print & gesso on cold press watercolour paper 150 x 120 cm
Real Gone Kid
acrylic, charcoal, gold and gesso on canvas 120 x 120 x 7 cm, 2014
Technicolour Hiroshima
acrylic & charcoal on canvas 200 x 200 x 7 cm, 2014
Happy Cloud
Vogue x Moncler Piazza della Scala, Milan, 2009
My Sonic Youth
installation view, Fabien Castanier Gallery, 2016
The first CUT was the deepest
acrylic on canvas 270 x 150 x 7 cm, 2013
Ding Dong (Maggie’s Dead)
laquer, fibre glass, shoes, neon on mdf 150 x 100 x 70 cm, 2009
Riders On The Storm
acrylic, charcoal, indian ink, china marker on Canvas 200 x 200 x 7cm, 2013
Freak
acrylic on foam, dimensions variable, 2012
My Sonic Youth, project space
Fabien Castanier Gallery Los Angles 2016
MY LONELINESS IS KILLING ME, 2015
Digital print, acrylic, marker, spraypaint, vinyl, graphite & india ink on cold press watercolour paper 150 x 120 cm
Dancing On My Own
vinyl, plastic, rubber, perspex, ink, spraypaint on metal 2019
YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH
Digital print, acrylic, vinyl, china marker, foil & stickers on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper 76 x 56 cm 2014
Let Forever Be
acrylic, canvas on metal dimensions variable, 2018
Knocked Up, 2008
More:
Recent exhibitions, commissions, publications and press
PLACEBO x STUART SEMPLE
...
work #22855 – “SOMETHING ELSE’, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 30th July 2022
...
“SOMETHING ELSE”, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 30th July 2022
...
work #22812 – “FOREVER CHANGED”, curated by Stuart Semple, 2022
...
work #21240 – The Stuart Semple Show, podcast launched 2021
...
Stuart opens concept store ‘Pot Shop’
For as long as I can remember I’ve dreamed of opening my own little arty spot in my hometown of Bournemouth. Our friend the man Jamie James has taken some great photos so I wanted to share them.Growing up here was pretty tough because there wasn’t much of a visual...
New Documentary now Streaming on Amazon
A new short documentary exploring Stuart Semple's public artwork is now streaming on Amazon prime. It asks if art can be a tool to bring us together, reduce fear and help us feel safer and more connected. It looks at some of Stuart's happiness projects from around...
Now on – major London exhibition – Dancing on My Own, selected works 1999 – 2019
Dancing On My OwnStuart Semple, Selected Works 1999 - 2019Curated by Lee CavaliereBermondsey Project Space183 – 185 Bermondsey StreetLondon, SE1 3UW 8 August - 7 September 2019Tue – Sat: 11.00 – 18.00 Stuart Semple’s work straddles the line between art and activism. A...
All about the cheddar – new sculpture installed in London using Black 3.0
ALL ABOUT THE CHEDDAR Powder coated steel, Black 3.0 paint rope, axe, spray paint. Stuart Semple, 2019 If you'd like to use Black 3.0 in your own work & help us share it with *all artists you can do that RIGHT HERE MORE IMAGES: [gallery link="file"...
I Should be crying but I just can’t let it show….
Stuart's latest sculpture 'I should be crying but I just can't let it show' has been installed in Denver on 16th Street between Champa and Stout. I SHOULD BE CRYING BUT I JUST CAN'T LET IT SHOW Expanded polystyrene foam, acrylic paint and steel. 5m x 8m x 3 m Stuart...
HAPPINESS HQ IS OPEN NOW IN DENVER
We've built a Happiness HQ at the Dairy Block in Denver! As part of the wider Happy City project in Denver, we teamed up with our friends Nine Dot Arts, The Syrup Room and the Dairy Block. Together we created Happiness HQ a space where visitors can participate in...
EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE DROP
EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE DROP May 18th - June 10th 2018 Union Station, great hall, Denver The Emotional baggage drop is a participatory installation that mimics a physical baggage drop. The difference being that here visitors are invited to leave behind an emotional burden....
Join me in London for a big HUG – the Hug Huddle 🙂
MONDAY 26th MARCH - London 5.30-6.30pm - Denver 10.30-11.30am Hi Everyone, I've sorted us out with a space in the center of London to come together and hug. So if you fancy joining in and sharing a moment of connection in public space then we'll be at Potters Fields,...
Art for Barbican
Stuart joins Gavin Turk, Richard Wilson, Marie-Claire Porter and others to support the Barbican Center Trust. Leading British artists have come together to create unique artworks around bespoke ceramic plates to help raise funds for the Barbican Center trust. The...