Solo Art Exhibition at The Brook, Wallington, South London

October 6, 2016 Matt Bannister

Compact solo exhibition of Croydon-inspired art and illustration by Matt Bannister at The Brook, Wallington.

I currently have a small solo exhibition at The Brook, in Wallington, Surrey. The display contains brand new and familiar art and illustrations of mine, all responding to the sights, characters and architecture of Croydon.

I have created two new acrylic paintings specifically for the exhibition, each featuring a different view of Croydon sprinkled with a few local characters. The people in all the works are inspired by the shoppers, children and commuters I've seen in the town.

Here's the bio blurb that I wrote to go alongside the paintings, drawings and prints:

"Matt Bannister is a Wallington-based illustrator and artist: obsessed with the quirks and shapes of architecture, people, and everyday objects. He creates bold, hand-drawn work full of detail and character. Be they city skylines, streets full of pedestrians or an illustration about the threat of cyber crime, his images are loose and graphic in style. Recent commissions include illustrations for innovation charity Nesta, two large bus sculptures for the TFL bus trails in London, covers for The Croydon Citizen, and branding illustrations for Universal Music. Prints and other products featuring his designs are sold through various outlets, including his own online store. “I take as much inspiration from a trip on a stuffy bus, as I do from a windy walk along the river. From Victorian brickwork and noisy markets to silent museums and sticky poundshops - all will have something that will catch my eye and give me an idea or three.”

There are pieces inspired by Croydon to be seen (and purchased). In addition to the framed originals and giclée prints on sale in the café, limited edition digital prints of some of the work are available to buy here.

The Brook is located at 84 Manor Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 0AD and is a great little place to relax with a coffee/cocktail/acoustic guitar/vegan meal. The exhibition will be up until the end of October 2016. Extra info about the exhibition can be found on my Twitter and Instagram feeds.

South London Art and Illustration Exhibition

June 20, 2016 Matt Bannister

The first solo exhibition of south London inspired art and illustration by Matt Bannister at Cafe Adagio, Croydon.

Matt Bannister's South London art exhibition poster

I'm pleased to say that I currently have a solo exhibition, called 'Rounded Corners', on the outskirts of Croydon, at Café Adagio. The display contains new and older art and illustrations of mine, all responding to the sights, characters and architecture of south London.

I created six new acrylic paintings (and some pen and ink illustrations) specifically for the exhibition, each featuring a different view of Croydon sprinkled with a few local characters. The people in the works are inspired by the shoppers, children and commuters I've seen nearby, so you may even recognise someone if you live in the area! The other pieces are influenced by a diverse range of south London places: brutalist architecture in Southwark, hungry shoppers in Borough Market, Victorian arches in Crystal Palace and brand new shiny tower blocks on Wellesley Road, Croydon.

Some of the framed Borough Market illustrations in the show have featured before on this blog, when I completed them back in September 2013. I still go there to ogle all the food.

Here's the bio blurb that I wrote to go alongside the paintings, drawings and lithography:

"Matt Bannister is an illustrator and artist obsessed with architecture and people. He creates bold and hand-drawn imagery full of character and is regularly inspired by the urban landscapes of South London. After studying fine art at university, he worked for the BBC for 13 years but has recently picked up the pen/brush/pixel and returned to creating his own work. Recent successes of his include two large bus sculptures for the TFL bus trail in Croydon, covers for The Croydon Citizen, and illustrations for Nesta and Universal Music. His imagery inspired by Crystal Palace is a popular favourite in the SE19 area too."

There are pieces inspired by Southwark, Crystal Palace and Croydon to be seen (and purchased). In addition to the framed originals on sale in the café, limited edition digital prints of some of the new Croydon work are available to buy here.

Café Adagio is located at 227 Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon, CR06RB and is a great little place to relax with a coffee. The exhibition will be up until at least 29th July (but may be extended). More info about the exhibition can be found on my Twitter and Instagram feeds or by using these links:

cafeadagio.uk

facebook.com/cafeadagiouk

instagram.com/cafeadagio

Buses on Film

February 22, 2015 Matt Bannister

To help promote the forthcoming auction of all the TFL Year of The Bus sculptures for charity, I've created a couple of enhanced 'slide shows' (with a bit of new footage) for each of my vehicles.

Croydon Layers from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.

Surrey Street Market from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.

For more details of the auction, visit the i-Bidder online site. The proceeds from all the sales of the buses (all sixty of them, not just mine) will go to Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum.

Year Of The Bus – Croydon Sculpture Trail – Olympic Park

February 6, 2015 Matt Bannister

The Croydon Bus sculptures have moved! They have joined the other buses at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, East London.

As required, I took a couple of friends with me to see how my buses were settling in with their new friends and views. Luckily, it was a perfect crisp and sunny day, so there were plenty of other bus-spotters at the park. To see all the other buses lined up across the (very long and wide) bridge near the Orbit was great. I was particularly impressed to overhear one of the volunteer guides (made famous by the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics) explaining the different types of fruit and veg on my Surrey Street Market design. They had obviously done their homework and read the blurb I wrote for the TFL website.

All the buses will be auctioned on 24th March, by Christies live and also on the online website i-bidder.com, for the following charities:

Kids Company, who provide practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children, young people and vulnerable families.

Transaid, an international development charity who identify, champion, implement and share local transport solutions to improve access to basic services and economic opportunity for people in Africa and in developing countries.

London Transport Museum, a popular Covent Garden museum highlighting the vital role transport has played in the life of the Capital. They also work with more than 150,000 children each year delivering essential travel safety education to keep our children safe, and they run programmes to help young people into employment.

Year Of The Bus – Croydon Sculpture Trail – The Streets

December 23, 2014 Matt Bannister

I made a pilgrimage to see my buses (again!), and to take some better photos.

painted sculpture of a London Routemaster bus

Whilst out in the winter sunshine, trying to eavesdrop on what other people where saying about my work, I realised that after 25th January - my buses will disappear! There is always a chance that someone (or an institution / company) might buy one in the charity auction in February, but as far as I'm concerned I'll never see my work again. Please stand clear of the closing doors.

..and finally, I discovered the other day that my work (along with all the other buses on the sculpture trail across London) also features on a tidy app for smartphones. The whole premise is that you use the GPS functions on your phone (and the app) to help you find every bus (whilst ticking them off and reading about the artist). Here are screen shots of my buses (naturally) from the Apple version. Available from the Apple App Store or Google Play

For a little glimpse into the past workings of my October brain, I've included here the original designs I submitted to Wild in Art. The 'Croydon Layers' design is very similar to the final bus, but the 'Surrey Street Market' one is more complicated than what eventually happened. A fast approaching deadline was the main influencing factor in making these changes, but I'm still very happy with what I eventually produced.