Antony Micallef biography
Antony Micallef is widely recognised as one of the finest painters in contemporary art today. His ambitious and opulent canvases examine this generation's complex relationship with consumerism and indulgence. Expressionist scenes of hedonistic excess, shop window seduction and international travel mix with spiritual iconography and lavish brush strokes. Described as "Caravaggio meets Manga", this potent cocktail has unsurprisingly seen Antony become one of the most compelling living painters. He describes his work as "like watching a Disney movie which slowly turns into violent pornography [...] The trouble with pop imagery is that it doesn't really go deeper than the surface, you have to drag it down and challenge it to make it interesting".
Antony was notably trained by the notoriously austere landscape painter John Virtue. While his mentor's influence can certainly be seen, especially in early monochrome works such as Kiss at Tower Bridge, Antony has by contrast passionately embraced colour.
The artist's oeuvre also takes in charcoal self-portraits – the lauded Head series – and grandiose reboots of mythological scenes such as A Study of Icarus. He even exhibited a series of large bronze nickel-plated sculptures, The Idol Kids of Today, in the colonnade that forms the entrance to London's Royal Academy of Art. The sculptures also appeared in Lazarides' notable Hell's Half Acre exhibition.
His career landmarks include coming runner-up in the BP Portrait Prize; the wildly successful solo exhibition, Impure Idols, on Hollywood Boulevard, and inclusion in AKA Peace, a group exhibition at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts curated by Jake Chapman. He has also exhibited at Tate Britain, and was included in a Banksy-curated exhibition in Bethlehem.
Born in Swindon, UK 1975
Lives and works in London
Education
BA Fine Art, University of Plymouth, UK
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016 Raw Intent Pedar Building, Hong Kong
2015 Self, Lazarides Rathbone, London
2012 A Little Piece Of Me, The Outsiders London
2011 Happy, Deep Inside My Heart, Lazarides Rathbone, London
2009 Becoming Animal, Lazarides Rathbone, London
2007 Impure Idols, Lazarides pop-up, Hollywood, USA
2006 It's a Wonderful World, Lazarides Charing Cross, London
2006 Antony Micallef, Eyestorm, Milan, Italy
2005 National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 Why I Want To Fuck Donald Trump, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York
2016 Still Here, A Decade at Lazarides, London
2015 Contemporary Istanbul, Lazarides, Istanbul
2014 MTV Re:Define, Goss Michael Foundation, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas
2014 Art14 London, Lazarides, London
2013 Copelouzos Family Art Museum, Athens, Greece
2013 Nowa Sztuka, National Museum Warsaw, Poland
2013 Brutal, The Strand, London
2013 Art 13, Olympia Grand, London
2013 Artwars, Saatchi Gallery, London
2012 Bedlam, Lazarides pop-up, The Old Vic Tunnels, London
2012 Peace One Day, The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
2011 Cabinet de Curiosities, Bertrand & Gruner. Geneva, Switzerland
2011 The Minotaur, Lazarides pop-up, The Old Vic Tunnels, London
2010 Hell's Half Acre, Lazarides pop-up, The Old Vic Tunnels, London
2010 Terminal 5, Lazarides Rathone, London
2010 Eurotrash, Lazarides pop-up, Beverly Hills, USA
2010 Grifters, Lazarides Rathbone, London
2009 Tunnel 228 (Curated by Punchdrunk), The Old Vic Tunnels, London
2009 Grow Up, Lazarides Rathbone, London
2009 Outsiders Selection, The Outsiders Newcastle, UK
2009 Outsiders Walsall, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall
2009 Journey, (supported by the UN and Roddick foundation), Washington Place, New York
2008 GSK Contemporary, The Royal Academy, London
2008 Curwen Studio Limited Edition Print Show, The Tate Britain, London
2008 The Outsiders New York, Lazarides pop-up, New York
2008 Outsiders, The Outsiders, London
2007 Santa's Ghetto Bethlehem, Manger Square, Bethlehem, Palestine
2006 Another Fucking Collective, Arcaute Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico
2006 Mystery Portrait Exhibition, National Portrait Gallery, London
2005 44 Boards: Human Rights Coalition, ManHan Gallery, Ohio
2005 How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Alphabet Gallery, London
2005 Millenaris Park, Budapest, Hungary
2004 A.D Gallery, California, USA
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