British Art Superstar Stuart Semple Launches International Solo Exhibition in Milan, to Coincide with MiArt Fair

At the age of 27 Stuart Semple launches his first international solo exhibition in Milan, Italy to coincide with the MiArt fair. With celebrity's such as Sienna Miller, Debbie Harry, Boy Geroge, Dhani Harrison and Uri Geller all proud owners of Stuart Semple's artworks, the usual spectacle that Semple has become renowned for is inevitable. Although Stuart Semple's canvases regularly fetch up to $250,000 in top international galleries this will be the first time outside London that he will show a substantial body of work in a solo show.

London, UK (PRWEB) February 15, 2008 -- At the age of 27 Stuart Semple launches his first international solo exhibition in Milan, Italy to coincide with the MiArt fair.

With celebrity's such as Sienna Miller, Debbie Harry, Boy Geroge, Dhani Harrison and Uri Geller all proud owners of Stuart Semple's artworks, the usual spectacle that Semple has become renowned for is inevitable.

Although Stuart Semple's canvases regularly fetch up to $250,000 in top international galleries this will be the first time outside London that he will show a substantial body of work in a solo show.

'Stuart Semple : Pop Disciple'

27 March - 8 May 2008

Aus18 Galleria

Via Ausonio, 18

20123 milano

+39.02.8375436

Monday - Friday

10.00 - 13.00 / 15.00 - 19.00

Galleria Aus18 (http://aus18.it) is proud to present 'Stuart Semple (http://stuartsemple.com): Pop Disciple', a show of new works curated by Stefano Castelli. For the first time Brit artist Stuart Semple will be displaying a solo show of his works in Italy to coincide with this years Miart fair. As the home of fashion and style, Milan is a fitting home for Semple's new body of work, featuring drawings, paintings and printmaking. 'Stuart Semple: Pop Disciple' may be one of the most complete examples of his oeuvre to date and will be accompanied by a full colour catalogue.

"l'erede di Damien Hirst"- Pia Capelli, Libero

"Il Basquiat del nuovo millennio" - Leonora Sartori, D Magazine

Semple's career catapulted after the opening of his 2005 sell out show at Martin Summers Fine Art Gallery in London. Since then the artist has sold over £2 million worth of work in less than 2 years.

Stuart Semple's latest collection demonstrates his belief that we are all pop disciples, victims of a pervasive consumer mentality. The new works whilst bright and approachable are in essence a Technicolor melancholy. Here, Stuart borrows images from movies, fashion shoots, song lyrics and nostalgia towards his youth.

As global terror, fear and conflict reach epidemic proportions. Semple's collage like canvases make a valid point that consumer culture, far from being the remedy promised, is an irreverent distraction that causes us to distance ourselves from the root problem, our lack of community.

Semple addresses isolation in a disposable consumer culture by injecting his work with a dose of humanity. Neglecting the function of technology, Semple re-creates printing techniques, mimicking details normally generated by silk screens and lithography by hand. Mechanisation and fast printing may churn out images, but Semple doesn't reduce the artistic process to achieve the desired effect. The repetitive graphics of advertisement and the free hand style of mark making, acknowledge predecessors including Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Triggered by memory, Semple recalls phrases from the pop lyrics of his childhood. Images with the words 'Material World' and 'Goodbye Ruby Tuesday' jump from the background. The words and images generate a dialogue, where what is described co-exists as a picture in the viewer's mind.

This series of works address the idea of reproduction and photography's role in this process. Semple concedes identity is formed by a need to view reflections of the self and further defined by having similar media references. Inspired by the soundtrack of his teenage aspirations, Semple is a digital DJ, found in the process of sampling fragments of popular culture. The resulting track tells the tale of an artist that is both a product of his environment and an active manufacturer of culture.

Although over recent years Semple has received an astonishing amount of success and recognition for his work not only in the UK but worldwide, he remains an enigmatic figure at the edge of the contemporary art world, enabling him the flexibility to transmit his ideas without typical limitations.

"All I'm trying to do is make paintings that make you feel exactly how you do when you listen to certain pop songs" says Semple.

For more information visit the official Stuart Semple website (http://stuartsemple.com)

Editors Notes

At just 27 years old, Stuart Semple (http://stuartsemple.com) is a young British artist who has made an astonishing critical and commercial impact on the art world. His enterprise Stuart Semple industries has developed into many elaborate disciplines and places him as a trailblazer for his generation.

Graduating in 2000 from Bretton Hall in Painting and Printmaking, Semple has shown internationally with both solo and group exhibitions. Most recently, Semple presented his groundbreaking solo exhibition 'Fake Plastic Love'. Held in the Boiler House of the Truman Brewery. During the Frieze art fair in 2007, Semple displayed nine gigantic billboard scale paintings in a stunning blacked out 8000 square foot warehouse. It not only attracted record-breaking visitor numbers and critical acclaim but also sold over $1Million dollars within the first hour of opening. Stuart has also exhibited at Biennial's in Liverpool, Mexico and Sao Paulo.

In 2007 Semple also curated and featured in a group show at the Anna Kustera Gallery in New York entitled "The Black Market", with his long time collaborator, NYC fashion house, 'Ju$t Another Rich Kid'.

After the devastating events of the Momart warehouse fire, the artist made headlines worldwide by repackaging the burnt remains from the fire (including Tracey Emin's tent and melted Damien Hirst bronzes) into a memorial sculpture. In 2005 Semple jumped security at London's Saatchi Gallery and hung his own work 'British Painting Still Rocks' in one of the galleries, in opposition to Charles Saatchi's Statement that 'The YBAs would be nothing more than a footnote in the history of art'.

Semple works in London's East End and his studio is a creative hub that both reflects and harnesses the talents of the dynamic people who pass through. The comparison with Warhol's The Factory is inevitable, and kindly met; the creative process off-canvas has enabled Semple to work in design, launch his own fashion house 'Noi Wear' and most recently direct his first music video for the Subliminal Girls top twenty single 'Hungry Like the Wolf'.

Celebrity endorsement of Semple's work is testament to its popular and vital appeal, with pieces owned by Dhani Harrison, Debbie Harry, Sienna Miller and Boy George. He has also spurred critical acclaim from art establishment luminaries: Jay Jopling of White Cube and the Gagosian's Milicent Wiilner and publications such as The Financial Times, Elle Italia, ARTnews, Arte and others.

Galleria Aus18 (http://aus18.it) was founded in 2005, since then it has become widely recognized as a home for artistic experimentation.

The gallery's dedication to providing its artist's freedom from certain ruling dogmas has enabled it to launch young talents and produce shows without prejudice. Aiming to highlight the artist's individual tendencies whilst keeping a footing within the trajectory of art history.

For more information visit the official Stuart Semple website (http://stuartsemple.com)

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