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Stuart Semple

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Anish Kapoor
Stuart Semple in 2007
Born
Stuart Buchanan Semple

(1980-09-12) 12 September 1980 (age 44)
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
NationalityBritish
EducationBournemouth and Poole College: Painting and Printmaking, Bretton Hall College: Fine Art
Known forPainting
MovementPop Art, Contemporary Art
Children1
Patron(s)Philip Niarchos, Langen Foundation, Getty Foundation
Websitestuartsemple.com

Stuart Semple is a British artist and activist who works with sculpture and painting.[1][2]

Life and career

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Semple was born in Bournemouth, Dorset. He studied art and design at Bournemouth and Poole College, and painting and printmaking at Bretton Hall College in Yorkshire.[1][3] He first wanted to become an artist after his mother took him to see Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the age of 7.[4][5] In 2000, after a life-threatening allergic reaction, he decided to pursue a career as an artist.[6][7] He later referenced the electrocardiography flatline he experienced in a 2010 painting.[8]

In 2002 he had his first major London solo exhibition, "Stolen Language – the art of Nancyboy", at the A&D Gallery.[9][10] In 2009, he auctioned off Nancyboy-themed artworks to raise funds for the UK charity Mind, after his grandmother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.[11][12] After the 2004 Momart warehouse fire, he was commissioned to create a memorial with the debris, titled Burn Baby Burn.[13][14] In 2005, Semple produced an exhibition in East London, titled Post Pop Paradise. Also that year he placed a painting he created at the Saatchi Gallery, avoiding security in doing so, as a protest against comments Charles Saatchi made.[15][16][17][18]

In 2006 Semple's exhibition "Epiphany" at Martin Summers Fine Art in London questioned the role of religion in modern life[19] in a series of in-your-face paintings that alluded to popular culture, graphic media, advertising and social issues.[20]

Semple began posting drawings he created on eBay in 1999.[21][22] In 2012, he published an extended play on iTunes featuring paintings and a short film.[23][24] In 2013, he created Jump, a 10 by 10m bouncy cloud trampoline, for Australia's Federation Square's public art programme.[25] In 2014, his exhibition "Anxiety Generation" was featured in Tatler magazine.[26] That same year, he joined talent agency Next Management.[27] He has also been featured on the BBC,[28][29][30] and has spoken at the Institute of Contemporary Arts[24][31] and Amnesty International.[32]

In 2004, art dealer Anthony d'Offay flew Semple's portfolio to be shown in New York City.[13] A 2007 solo exhibition saw $1 million sales within the first five minutes.[8] In 2013, a London exhibition had presales to a charitable foundation of $1 million.[33] That same year, he was featured in The Guardian's list of Ten Best Art Auctions.[34] In 2015, he created a colouring book for adults to raise funds for Mind.[35]

Stuart Semple, HappyClouds

Business ventures

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In 2016, Semple came into conflict with the artist Anish Kapoor when Kapoor purchased exclusive artistic rights to the super-black material Vantablack.[36] He released a paint titled "PINK – the world's pinkest pink paint", banning Kapoor from purchasing the paint.[37][38] In June 2024, Semple officially changed his name to Anish Kapoor.[39]

In 2021, Semple released a pigment called TIFF Blue, aiming to "democratise" Tiffany Blue, a shade of blue trademarked by Tiffany & Co.[40] The same year, he also released a pigment called Incredibly Kleinish Blue with a similar intention of democratising International Klein Blue, which is patented by Yves Klein.[41][42] In 2023, Semple released a pigment called Pinkie, aiming to democratise Barbie Pink.[43][44]

FREETONE colours swatch

Freetone (or Sempletone) is an Adobe plugin, created by Semple in 2022 in response to the licensing fallout between Pantone and Adobe Inc.[45][46] Freetone is a collection of 1,280 colours that mimic the Pantone colour palette with a similar set of number codes.[47][48] Semple barred any employees and associates of Adobe or Pantone from buying, using or downloading Freetone.[48][49]

Activism

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Semple has supported Amnesty International and has created artworks for the Freedom of Expression Campaign.[50]

Stuart Semple A POUNDING OUTSIDE POUNDLAND (or how my nose got its wonk) 2010

In 2011, Semple was made an ambassador for mental health charity Mind.[51] He initiated the Creative Therapies fund within the organisation which he launched with Stephen Fry and Melvyn Bragg and curated the exhibition "Mindful",[52] which included works from Jake & Dinos Chapman, Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin, Mona Hatoum, Sarah Lucas and Sebastian Horsley.[53] He has since launched a number of fundraising art projects for Mind.[54][55][56] The Creative Therapies fund backs mental health projects in the United Kingdom.[57][58]

He has also advocated for artists' rights in the United Kingdom,[59][60] humanitarian aid,[61][62][63] and world peace.[64][65][66]

Exhibitions

[edit]
Title Year Location Ref
Fake Plastic Love 2007 London [2]
Everlasting Nothing Less 2009 London, Milan [67]
Happy Clouds 2009–2014 London, Dublin, Moscow [11][68][69]
Happy House c. 2010 [70][71]
It's Hard To Be A Saint In This City c. 2012 [5][72]
Suspend Disbelief 2013 [73][74][75]
My Sonic Youth 2015 Los Angeles [76]
Something Amazing 2016 United Kingdom [77]
Semple, photographed with "Kurt Lied"

Curatorial projects

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In 2007, Semple co-curated and featured in the 'Black Market' at the Anna Kustera gallery in New York with Just Another Rich Kid.[78] Semple curated exhibitions "Mash Ups, post pop fragments and détournements" at The Kowalsky Gallery in 2008 for the Design and Artists Copyright Society[79][80] and 'London Loves The Way Things Fall Apart' (2009) and "This Is England" (2011) for Galleria Aus18, Milan.[81]

Semple curated "This Is England" (2010) initially held at The Aubin Gallery (which he directed in association with Aubin & Wills and Shoreditch House) featuring artists Sarah Maple, Nicky Carvell, David Hancock and Richard Galloway which then toured to Milan.[82]

In 2011 Semple curated the Mindful exhibition in the 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2) Old Vic Tunnels featuring artists including Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin, Mona Hatoum, Mat Collishaw, Sebastian Horsley, Sarah Lucas, Barney Bubbles, Liliane Lijn, Tessa Farmer and Semple. It coincided with a gala dinner at The Imperial War Museum hosted by Stephen Fry and Lord Melvyn Bragg to raise funds for the Mind creative therapies fund.[83][84]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hayes, David (2013).Financial Times 'Personal style: Stuart Semple', "Financial Times", October 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b Fairweather, Shona (2007). Aesthetica Magazine "Stuart Semple 80s Influences & Popular Youth Culture", "Aesthetica Magazine", October 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Bretton Hall press section"[permanent dead link‍], University of Leeds, 18 July 2004. Retrieved from leeds.ac.uk, 21 April 2008.
  4. ^ Smith, Dominic (2011). "Interview: Stuart Semple", "Soundsphere",16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b Agnew Mary (2012)"Stuart Semple on How It's Hard to be a Saint in the City" Archived 31 January 2015 at archive.today "ARTINFO China", 17 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  6. ^ Jeffreys, Tom (2011) "Mental Health and Art as Therapy – an interview with Stuart Semple" Archived 1 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Spoonfed", 6 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Talking about mental health with Stuart Semple", Mind, 6 March 2014. Retrieved from Mind.org 27 May 2014.
  8. ^ a b Hoggard, Liz, (2010) "Stuart Semple 'I'm Afraid To Swallow'", Evening Standard, 28 April 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  9. ^ Finney, (2012) "Sewing seeds – Artist Stuart Semple on his collaboration with Aubin & Wills" Archived 15 January 2015 at archive.today, "Marylebone Journal", December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  10. ^ A&D exhibition list, "aanddgallery.com". Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  11. ^ a b Dunne, Aidan (2014) "Stuart Semple, Cloudy with a chance of artistic smiley faces", "The Irish Times", 6 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  12. ^ Volt Magazine "Keep It Semple". Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  13. ^ a b Buck, Louisa (2004). "Bending The Momart Wreckage", The Art Newspaper, September 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  14. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (2004). Daily Telegraph "New art rises from wreckage of warehouse," Daily Telegraph, 18 July 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  15. ^ "Artist protests at Saatchi show", BBC online, 5 July 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  16. ^ Reynolds, Nigel (2005). Daily Telegraph "Saatchi rumbles protest painting"[dead link‍], Daily Telegraph, 6 July 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  17. ^ "Artist protests at Saatchi show,"[dead link‍] The Times, 6 July 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  18. ^ Leitch, Luke. "Brit painter in protest at 'banned' Saatchi art", Evening Standard, 5 July 2005.
  19. ^ "What's On", "Art Newspaper", April 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  20. ^ Gleadell, Colin (2006). "Market news: Mark Rothko, Tyeb Mehta and more..."[dead link‍], Daily Telegraph, 4 April 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  21. ^ Federico, Cherie (2010) Aesthetica Magazine "Stuart Semple Popular Culture and the Aesthetic Discourse" "Aesthetica Magazine" 1 April 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  22. ^ Mills, Jack (2012)."STUART SEMPLE: Post Adolescent Idealistic Phase", "Wonderland Magazine", 14 June 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  23. ^ Exit - EP by Stuart Semple, retrieved 25 November 2019
  24. ^ a b "Culture Now: Stuart Semple in Conversation with Josh Spero" Institute of Contemporary Arts 13 November 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  25. ^ "JUMP - Federation Square". www.fedsquare.com.
  26. ^ "Stuart Semple's private view" "Tatler",18 November 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015
  27. ^ Ruiz, Cristina (2013). "Move over galleries: artists sign with agents – Stuart Semple joins an agency" Art Newspaper, February 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  28. ^ "Stuart Semple Blue Peter Happy Clouds", Youtube.com, 6 August 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  29. ^ "Matt, Beth, Tim and Ashby are four GCSE Art students from Essex. Brit artist Stuart Semple visits their school to see how they turn their ideas into great pieces of art.", BBC, 20 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  30. ^ "Stuart Semple – Introduction", BBC, 21 May 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  31. ^ "Stuart Semple Interviewed by Josh Spero at The ICA", "Joshspero.com "27 November 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  32. ^ "Making Noise For Mental Health Tonight". Amnesty.ie. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014.
  33. ^ Westall, Mark (2013). "Stuart Semple, Suspend Disbelief Grosses over $1 Million"[usurped], "FAD", October 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  34. ^ Hazelton, Claire (2013)."The 10 Best Art Auctions" "The Guardian", 25 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  35. ^ Semple, Stuart (2015) "My Happy Colouring Flip Book", Amazon.co.uk, 2 July 2015.
  36. ^ Delaney, Brigid (26 September 2016). "'You could disappear into it': Anish Kapoor on his exclusive rights to the 'blackest black'". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  37. ^ "The war over the world's pinkest pink is getting ridiculous". The Independent. 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  38. ^ Dazed (13 February 2017). "Artist takes on Anish Kapoor with 'Better Black' paint". Dazed.
  39. ^ Cascone, Sarah (31 October 2024). "Stuart Semple Has Changed His Name to Anish Kapoor". Artnet News. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  40. ^ Wilson, Mark. "Tiffany has guarded its iconic blue color for decades. Now, anyone can buy it". Fast Company. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  41. ^ "INCREDIBLY KLEINISH BLUE ACRYLIC PAINT". Culture Hustle USA. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  42. ^ "Not Calvin, not Yves – Easy Klein is the latest pigment to democratise colour from artist Stuart Semple". Creative Boom. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  43. ^ Avi-Yonah, Shera (24 July 2023). "He's tried to 'liberate' colors for years. His latest: the 'Barbiest pink.'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  44. ^ Cascone, Sarah (17 July 2023). "Artist Stuart Semple Is Releasing a 'Barbie-Ish,' Ultra-Fluorescent Pink Paint to Protest Mattel's Trademark on the Color". Artnet News. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  45. ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris. "Adobe Just Held a Bunch of Colors Hostage". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  46. ^ "FREETONE - Pantone-ish colour palette for Adobe products by Stuart Semple". Culture Hustle. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  47. ^ DeFisher, Alison (12 December 2022). "Pantone colors have disappeared in Adobe". Stride Creative Group. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  48. ^ a b "Pantone alternatives mooted". Printweek. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  49. ^ List, Jenny (16 November 2022). "Interview: Stuart Semple On Pantone, Freetone, Colour, And Open Source". Hackaday. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  50. ^ HIRSCHMILLER, STEPHANIE (2011) "WRITE ON! Artist Stuart Semple does it in a Box(park) for Amnesty International" Harpers Bazaar 4 December 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  51. ^ "Mind news section", 8 September 2011. Retrieved on 8 September 2011.
  52. ^ [1] Archived 4 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine "Mindful Exhibition"
  53. ^ Gosling, Emily (2011) "Semple Minds", "Design Week", 31 August 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  54. ^ Khan, Karim (2013). "THE INTERVIEW: STUART SEMPLE", Hunger, 28 February 2013. Retrieved from Hunger.tv 10 June 2013.
  55. ^ "Get Involved - Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems". www.mind.org.uk.
  56. ^ "Time to Talk – Stuart Semple's designs for mental health" Design Week, 20 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  57. ^ Mind "Talking about mental health with Stuart Semple" 6 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  58. ^ "The Creative Therapies Fund", "Mind.org.uk"
  59. ^ ""dacs.org.uk" Debate on the Future Economy of Art".
  60. ^ Hutchinson, Jack (2012) "Is anything wrong with the Artist's Resale Right?", "a-n.co.uk"
  61. ^ Hazelton, Claire (2011) Flux Magazine "Freedom from Torture: The Art Auction – Interview with Stuart Semple" 18 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  62. ^ Morrison, Sarah (2011) "Britain's Art Pack Does It's Bit To Help", The Independent. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  63. ^ "STUART SEMPLE, Deep House Music, 2013", "Paddle8", 27 November 2013.
  64. ^ Croughton, Paul (2012)"Art of Darkness" "The Sunday Times"9 September 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  65. ^ "AKA Peace: Contemporary artists unite for Peace One Day" Archived 4 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine ,"ICA.org.uk", 12 September 2012.
  66. ^ Symondson, Bran (2012) "Photo Essay | Bran Symondson: AKA Peace exhibition" "Ceasefire Magazine". 26 September 2012.
  67. ^ Chambers, Christopher Hart (2009). "Stuart Semple: Everlasting Nothing Less" "Flash Art". Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  68. ^ Burgess, Kaya (2009). "Storm clouds give way to smileys over London" The Times, 25 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  69. ^ "Stuart Semple Moscow HappyClouds" Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, British Council.
  70. ^ Spero, Josh (2010). "Stuart Semple, Morton Metropolis" "[The Arts Desk]". Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  71. ^ Esquire "Stuart Semple: Hardcore and Happy House" Archived 5 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine "Esquire" 15 April 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  72. ^ Cheung, Ysabelle (2012).Time Out "Stuart Semple" Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Time Out 15 February 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  73. ^ Khan, Karim (2015).Hunger "Stuart Semple Suspend Disbelief" Archived 22 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  74. ^ "Stuart Semple. Suspend Disbelief", Wall Street Journal. September 2013.
  75. ^ "BBC" In pictures: Stuart Semple 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  76. ^ Hunger "Art & Culture THE INTERVIEW: STUART SEMPLE" "Hungertv.com" 12 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  77. ^ Battersby, Matilda (2016)."The art of infertility – artist Stuart Semple raises awareness of female egg donation" "The Independent" 26 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  78. ^ McClemont, Doug (2007). " Doug McClemont on The Black Market at Anna Kustera, New York" Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Saatchi Gallery, 25 July 2007. Retrieved from saatchi-gallery.co.uk, 12 November 2007. Link updated 1 July 2014
  79. ^ Coghlan, Niamh (2008) Aesthetica Magazine "Pop Art & Mass Culture Curated by Stuart Semple" "Aesthetica Magazine", 1 August 2008. retrieved 1 July 2014.
  80. ^ "The Kowalsky Gallery website" Archived 5 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  81. ^ Kingston University. "London Loves" retrieved from Kingston University website, 11 April 2009.
  82. ^ Davis, Laura (2010). Elle.com "Exciting New Gallery for Young British Artists" Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, "Elle.com", 21 May 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  83. ^ Kos Earle, Nico (2011). "Stuart Semple: Open Your Mind" Archived 19 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Glass Magazine, 23 September 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  84. ^ Jeffreys, Tom (2011). "Mental Health and Art as Therapy- an Interview with Stuart Semple" Archived 1 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Spoonfed.com", 6 September 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
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