We live in a world full of talented people and at Enter Gallery, we see that magic every day – whether it’s via Brighton’s incredible artistic community, the artists we enjoy long-running relationships with who keep reinventing their work, or exciting up-and-coming talent that we can’t wait to share with you.
It’s one of the joys of our job to discover artists we think our customers will connect with, so today we wanted to take a moment to celebrate all of the excellent contemporary artists we’ve welcomed to Enter Gallery in 2023….
JANUARY
Sarah Morris
While visiting Miami Art Week in 2022, our buying team were struck by the work of British-American artist and filmmaker Sarah Morris – an artist known for exploring the politics, psychology and architecture of our world via abstract, geometric paintings.
We launched Morris with her Lunar Series – a set of 12 silkscreen prints depicting the phases of the moon during 2020, a truly unusual moment in modern history, and a period when time really did seem to lose all meaning.
The Lunar Series is available as a set or as individual pieces. Explore the series here.
FEBRUARY
Mr Preston
Tattoo culture has a huge influence on the art world, so we were excited to bring the monochrome wall art of tattoo artist and illustrator, Mr Preston, to Enter Gallery in February.
Mr Preston pioneered the naïve tattoo style, which makes appointments at his Manchester studio, Heartless Hands Club, particularly tricky to come by. His melancholy black and white art prints are a modern take on the memento mori, combining lyrics from bands like The Smiths and Talking Heads with skeletons longing for connection.
APRIL
Ola Volo
In April, we welcomed Kazakhstani-Canadian illustrator and muralist, Ola Volo, to Enter Gallery. Volo captured our attention with her empowering murals which are inspired by the folklore tales that Volo was raised on, and that always put women proudly centre stage.
Alongside releasing Terra as a limited edition print, we thought Brighton needed a Volo mural of our own, so we invited her to town to paint her first mural in the UK. Over three (thankfully dry) days, Volo brightened up Over Street by the train station with a piece inspired by her Queen’s Court series. The artwork is now available as a limited edition print here.
JUNE
Ben Frost
We had a bumper influx of artists in June, starting with Ben Frost - an Australian artist who subverts big name branding to offer a blistering commentary on consumer culture, and how perceptions are manipulated by advertising.
We launched Frost with the last remaining artworks in his acclaimed Packaging Paintings – a collection that explores consumer drug culture and the impact it has on our lives. The few remaining pieces sold out in just one morning. Rumour has it, a couple might appear in our Rare Print Show which is happening in January, so watch this space…
Layla Andrews
Layla Andrews is a Brighton and London-based artist, writer and activist. Her dynamic portraits and anthropomorphized animals have captured imaginations around the world, with the likes of Stephen Fry and Barack Obama both being collectors of her work.
Andrews’ art is inspired by the colours and culture of St Helena - a remote island off the west coast of Africa where her Grandfather was born. Characterised by a palate of reds, mustards, olive greens and peach, Andrews creates imaginative paintings, sculptures and textiles infused with narrative.
View artworks by Layla Andrews.
Caroline Chinakwe
In June, we also brightened the walls of Enter Gallery with the powerful digital collages of Caroline Chinakwe – a Nigerian-born, London-based artist whose background in fashion permeates each piece. Speaking of her journey, Chinakwe told us:
“I wanted to create art that represented me. All of the styling work I’d done up until this point was very western. Discovering this way of creating art allowed me to collage the way I wanted to style people, and the passion just grew.”
We launched Chinakwe with works from her first two collections, This Is Me, and Colourism, both of which capture the beauty and strength found in black culture and style.
View artworks by Caroline Chinakwe.
JULY
The Cameron Twins
In July, we welcomed identical twins and artistic collaborators, The Cameron Twins, to the gallery. The pair have been making waves with their bright-yet-twisted pop art pieces that explore themes of duality, repetition, and memory via cleverly incorporated nods to our shared childhoods.
Each work is infused with a palpable sense of nostalgia, helped by the inclusion of beloved childhood toys and ephemera from the Twins’ own upbringing. Speaking of their works, they explain:
“We’re not only collaborating with each other, we’re collaborating with our past selves too. We want people to see their childhoods in our work, but also want to write ours in.”
View artworks by The Cameron Twins.
AUGUST
Vintage Shuffle
Salisbury-based 3D collage artist, Vintage Shuffle aka Diane Hampstead, joined us in August to launch her exciting collaboration with Brighton’s most infamous resident, Fatboy Slim. After an off-the-cuff mention in a podcast interview that Cook would be her dream collaborator, Hampstead unexpectedly found herself on the phone to the DJ, who offered to give her his extensive collection of festival wristbands to create a series of artworks with.
The result was EAT SLEEP RAVE, a series of original collages and limited edition art prints that sold out fast at one of our most packed out gallery events of 2023. Since then Vintage Shuffle, has continued to delight Enter Gallery patrons with optimistic artworks that celebrate music, film, and popular culture.
View artworks by Vintage Shuffle.
SEPTEMBER
Arthur
Another artist bringing a welcome dose of positivity to the gallery in 2023 was London-based graffiti artist, Arthur – an artist known for energetic abstract works bursting with colour and movement.
We snapped up Arthur fresh from Who the Fuck is Arthur? - his smash hit debut solo show in London. His series of artworks combines the graffiti hand-style he has honed over 25 years on the scene with his unique use of Perspex.
Justine Smith
Justine Smith also joined the Enter Gallery fold in September, bringing us her thoughtful and intricate collages which explore the concept of money and how it permeates almost every element of our lives.
Over the course of her 20 year career, Smith has created everything from maps and flowers to weapons and designer logos, showing us the powerful connotations of currency. Speaking of what drew her to working with this medium, Smith told us:
“Money is an interesting material because it’s not a neutral piece of paper in the same way that a flier or an advert torn from a magazine is neutral. It’s history, culture, society. Money instantly sets off a series of thought processes in people when they look at it. It’s such a central part of our lives. We’re all working for it. We all need it. We can’t get by without it. It can be seen in a negative way or a positive way – it’s a very loaded material to work with.”
View artworks by Justine Smith.
OCTOBER
Hello Marine
In October, we welcomed Hello Marine to Enter Gallery – a Paris-born, Brighton-based artist whose modern reimaginings of the classic still life offer a joyful dose of playful escapism. Colour is central to Hello Marine’s work, with the artist revealing that she draws palette inspiration from the sights, sounds and residents of our vibrant seaside city.
We loved learning about Hello Marine’s intuitive approach to painting, and how play is always prioritised over planning to maintain a sense of childlike exploration in her creative practice.
View artworks by Hello Marine.
Ben Slow
Also joining us in October was Ben Slow – a British Copenhagen-based artist known for abstract stylised portraits infused with an autobiographical edge.
Slow began his career as a street artist, creating photorealistic murals of beloved local characters. His recent move from street to studio has afforded him space for experimentation, with each complex work brought to life via a combination of digital techniques and hand-finishing to add texture and complexity.
View artworks by Ben Slow.
DECEMBER
Dan Faine
We rounded off 2023 by welcoming Dan Faine to Enter Gallery. Faine is the printmaking talent behind Dark Matter Studios – a boutique print studio that’s created work for everyone from Peter Blake to Yinka Ilori.
Following his success at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition, we introduced Faine to the gallery with his surreal furniture collection in which the colours and composition of each piece are based on iconic works of art from the likes of Edward Hopper, Bridget Riley and Frank Stella.
With planning for 2024 well underway, we can’t wait to reveal more about the new artists we’ll be welcoming to the gallery in the new year. Sign up to our mailing list, and you’ll be the first to hear about new arrivals.
