On Friday 27th September, we’re bringing you The Mix – a group show of original artworks created especially for Enter Gallery from an incredible selection of our most in-demand artists.
As part of the show, we’re also introducing new artists to Enter Gallery, and today we’re delighted to be introducing the first of the three…
If you’re not yet familiar with the art of SYMBLE, it’s only a matter of time. The career of this South London born artist is on a rapid upward trajectory that’s seen his stylistic reimaginings of legendary motifs from art history acquired by high-profile collectors, from art world royalty, to real life royalty.
In today’s blog, we’re chatting to SYMBLE to learn more about his inspirations, his first forays into the art world, and to discover how several of his artworks ended up in the collection of one of the most notorious artists of our generation, Damien Hirst.
Pop Art Perspective
In his art, SYMBLE riffs on classic pop and street art made infamous by the likes of Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy.
These popular motifs, from Warhol’s coco-cola bottles, to Banksy’s rats, and Basquiat’s crowns, are combined with nods to icons from popular culture, be that Snoopy, Storm Troopers or the Monopoly Man.
SYMBLE's love of depicting cartoon characters can be traced right back to his earliest days of picking up a pencil. As a child, drawing became an outlet, and after winning multiple art competitions SYMBLE's parents urged him to study technical drawing to hopefully transform his natural talent into a career in architecture. While his studies certainly honed his skills, SYMBLE reveals:
“I always wanted to be an artist, not an architect. I just loved drawing cartoons.”
Raising the Bar
For years, SYMBLE kept his art to himself as he worked on honing his unique style. It wasn’t until he did a drawing for his daughter, that he realised the potential he had to make art professionally…
“I’d always liked drawing as an activity but wasn’t taking it seriously. I rarely showed my work to anyone unless they were family. When my daughter took a drawing I did for her into school for Show and Tell, she came home and told me the teacher had asked lots of questions about it. Was I an artist? Did I trace it? It inspired me to take it more seriously.
After that, I started taking photos of my work and putting them on snapchat. People couldn’t believe that I was the one making them. They wanted to know if they could buy them and from there it just kept on rolling.”
Wise Choices
For The Mix, SYMBLE is providing four large original paintings from his Life Is What You Make It series. As well as demonstrating his love of his artistic idols and how their influence has elevated his own artistic practice, these artworks all feature the encouraging message of the series’ title.
Speaking about what this title means to him, and what he hopes to convey through the collection, SYMBLE reveals:
“I believe that if you’re going to do something, you’ve got to make it benefit people and yourself. Some days will be good and some days will be bad, but you should always try your best. Everyone has their own dreams and their own life, so my hope is that these paintings will help them draw whatever inspiration they need to live life on their own terms, make good decisions, and make every day count.”
The Rat Race
The show will also feature four works from SYMBLE's Rat Race Against Time series, each of which feature Warhol’s banana and the same rats that so captivated Banksy, and iconic French street artist, Blek Le Rat. Speaking of the meaning behind these works, SYMBLE reveals:
“We’re all in the rat race in some way or other. It’s unavoidable. The banana represents not slipping or getting caught up by the demands of modern life.”
Both series’ featured in the show demonstrate how SYMBLE is bringing the work of his artistic inspirations to the attention of a modern audience. He tells us:
“Artists like Warhol, Haring and Basquiat – they were the first to really bring art to mainstream attention. It was such a key period in history, which is why it endures. If you were to ask me about my art, I wouldn’t be able to tell you about it without telling you about Warhol, or Lichtenstein or Basquiat. I want to have those conversations and to chat to people that don’t know about the history of art.”
It’s All Bananas
With his passion of provocative art, it’s little wonder SYMBLE loved Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan - an Italian visual artist who made headlines in 2019 when he duct taped a banana to the wall of Miami Art Basel.
The work drew instant attention around the world as critics debated whether the installation constituted ‘real art’. It also quickly garnered comparisons to Andy Warhol’s 1967 Pop Art Fruit.
SYMBLE was instantly inspired by Cattelan’s work, especially when he heard the news that Damien Hirst had tried to buy it but it had already sold for $120,000. SYMBLE reveals what happened next, and how this led to his own full circle moment with Hirst. …
“It was a banana stuck to the wall and it sold for so much! I couldn’t believe it. It inspired me to do a painting of the banana, but because I was so busy, I forgot about it. Two years later Damien Hirst posted a picture of the banana from Miami Art Basel and it reminded me to do my own version. I came out with the banana with the paint splashed on it, which evolved into my series, It’s All Bananas. The original painting that I did is now one of the pieces that Damien has in his collection.”
Key Collectors
Having your art in the collection of one of the most infamous artists of the 21st century is no mean feat. We were interested to discover more about how this came to be. SYMBLE reveals:
“I think Damien Hirst is one of the only artists today who has similar levels of notoriety to artists like Basquiat and Warhol. He’s self-made like them and you just know that if he’d lived at the same time, they would have been rubbing shoulders. I went to his recent exhibition and we just got talking. I showed him some of my art, and he took a few pieces. I go to his studio now and again and he’s there for me if I need advice.”
It’s not just Hirst that has recognised SYMBLE as an artist on the rise. His work is also in the collections of many high-profile art collectors, including footballers, Jesse Lingard, and Paris Saint-Germaine’s, Achraf Hakimi. He’s also made an impact in the worlds of music and fashion, with UK rapper, Giggs and the man behind Britain’s leading streetwear label, Mikey Trapstar, owning his artworks.
If you’re interested in joining these esteemed collectors, RSVP here to join us at The Mix on Friday 27th September.
