Black Christ by Paul Baines
Paul Baines is set to be the next big name in the UK arts scene, his works have already been making waves in the arts media both home and abroad, due to some rather prominent and unmissable factors. His focus on the most recent of news stories, for instance the recent collapse in the economy, and his choice of entertainment and political icons such as Barack Obama and Brangelina (the celebrity symbiosis of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt).
In the wake of the much publicised "street arts" scene of recent years which has primarily been dominated by the infamous Banksy and Obey Giant (Shepard Fairey) amongst others, a new breed of artists are beginning jostle for position in the mainstream and fringe arts media.
Paul Baines (http://paulbaines.co.uk) has been particularly noted as a frontrunner due to both his unique and deferential style, somewhat reminiscent of Pop Art greats such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and his controversial choice of subject matter.
Paul Baines is quickly accumulating a strong following from all sectors of the arts scene including graffiti fans as well as more traditional buyers and collectors in the industry seeking new names for exhibitions in London, Paris and Montreal in 2009/2010. His works are seen to create a new bridge between the vanguard of "graffito" and the traditions of Pop and Post Modern art for the coming years.
His most infamous work is entitled "Black Christ", available, as are all his works in the "Indoor Street Art" series as large scale limited edition prints. This particularly iconic piece depicts President elect Barack Obama as Christ, complete with crown of thorns. This, as with all his works, shows an enormous amount of confidence in both bold colour and line, superb composition and a tendency to "hit them where it hurts".
Even his detractors have described his oeuvre as "graffiti for the soul". He has various interviews and exhibitions lined up for the coming year and is most definitely a new and exciting artist worth keeping an eye on!
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
