Artists
D*Face
D*Face completed a degree in Illustration and Design and worked as a freelance illustrator/designer at an agency whilst honing his street work. D*Face held his first major London solo exhibition, “Death & Glory”, at Stolen Space Gallery, which sold out on the opening night in October 2006. Following, his exhibition “Eyecons” at the O Contemporary in Brighton in March 2007 resulted in another sell out show. D*Face was the owner and curator for the Outside Institute, a contemporary art gallery in London that focused on street art. In 2005 the Outside Institute moved and re branded to become the Stolen Space Gallery. The gallery has been at the forefront of the London contemporary art scene for the past few years and D*Face has been considered by some as one of the top curators currently in London. “I run a gallery called Stolen Space which was originally an umbrella for my own art and other artists. I liked the idea of artists "stealing space". I wanted to provide a creative melting pot where artists could be represented fairly and have a gallery that is artist run and led.”
His aim is to encourage the public not just to 'see', but to look at what surrounds them and their lives. One of D*Face’s most celebrated icon is the D-Dog, a bomb like figure with two tiny wings on the sides. Recent examples of D*Face’s satirical and dark humour include his chosen ‘collaboration’ with H.R.H Queen Elizabeth II on a series of bank notes and the portrait of Pope Benedict XVI to commemorate his instatement.
His favourite medium of art to use at the moment is screen printing, he mentioned during his interview with UKAdapta: “I think that my art translates well with this medium, as I am trying to achieve a very clear and clean look which can be very time consuming if you try painting in that way. However, the creative process isn't just about painting canvases or producing graphic imagery, for me it's about exploring other methods from 3D sculptures, to making ice sculptures in the Arctic Circle. Everything to me can be seen as open ground for experimenting because if you don't explore and try out new methods, you will never know what is wrong for you and what works best with your style.”