Culture Now: Stuart Semple

Sempleʼs works can be found in major international collections including the Getty, Langen, David Roberts and Niarchos foundations and exhibited recently at the Goss-Michael Foundation. Sempleʼs paintings are housed worldwide in Moncler flagship stores and on the walls of One Hyde Park. Stuart Semple has held successful solo exhibitions in Italy, Hong Kong, London and New York has been well received during international art fairs including Art Basel Miami, Hong Kong Art Fair, Frieze and Art Chicago. He has also been featured across the media including BBC, Esquire, The Art Newspaper, Vogue, The Telegraph, Observer, i-D, and Art Review.

After a traumatic near death experience at the age of 19, Semple found catharsis through his work and produced over 3000 pictures by the age of 21 which he sold via eBay. Since selling his early work to Debbie Harry and being persuaded to move to London by legendary art dealer Anthony d'Offay, Semple went on to create his seminal performance HappyCloud from London's Tate Modern in which he flooded the London skyline with thousands of pink smiley clouds at the height of the recession.

As an ambassador for Mind, Semple initiated a creative therapies grant fund within the mental health charity and curated the exhibition and fundraiser Mindful hosted by Stephen Fry and Lord Melvyn Bragg. He has also founded the Aubin Gallery, a 3000 square foot space in East London which was dedicated to nurturing British talent. This year Stuart Semple became the first artist to release his new born digital body of work exclusively on iTunes. For the first time in history it is possible to download exclusive art instantly from the world's biggest digital store alongside musical artists and movies. Semple has also collaborated with Lady Gaga, The Prodigy and The Futureheads and is the creative director of new British band Officers.

Semple is a member of the Design and Artist's Copyright Society Creatorsʼ Council and is on the advisory board of the International Child Art Foundation. He has also been on the judging panel for the Cork Street Open and the expert panel for CoolBrands. Semple writes for various publications, recently being made the guest art editor of Whoʼs Jack, the art editor of Phoenix Magazine and has presented for the BBC. His large scale canvases and installation works which deal with concepts of fear, nostalgia and isolation have been exhibited in solo exhibitions worldwide, most recently It's Hard To Be a Saint in This CIty in Hong Kong and Everlasting Nothing Less in Milan.