London artist, illustrator, sculptor and graphic artist Joe Fenton is known for his monochrome style. With the help of graphite, ink and dark acrylic on a white background he creates incredibly detailed oversized art works. He studied at Wimbledon College of Art and then continued with a brilliant career. First, he illustrated fairy tales for children and later modeled concepts and costume templates for movies, for example for ‘Brothers Grimm’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’! But he always set his focus on his pictures. When painting, he is mainly inspired by early Renaissance painters such as Hieronymus Bosch, who became famous for his religious paintings dealing with hell and apocalyptical scenes.
In his paintings, you will also find influences of different historical, architectural styles of the Orient, East Asia and the European Baroque. His works are full of small, twisted characters that fill the painting and let it almost look overloaded. The longer you look at his illustrations, the more you’re going to discover in them. They are all based on three-part works, similar to those constructed on church altars. Deities of different religions majestically perch around a small, demon-like entourage.
The whole thing is defined by a comic-like, modern style, which forms a great contrast to the gloomy subject and the monochrome colors. Every little creature in his paintings is drawn very in a detailed manner and is full of little highlights. It seems that each and every object in his works received the same amount of dedication; typical of the Dutch Baroque, which was also known its extremely detailed depictions. The frame elements, which were integrated into the picture, have remained true to their oriental models. They look like they are from an Arabian bathhouse. In addition to paper, he also paints guitar cases and prints his designs on T-shirts. Indeed, looking at these magnificent artworks, Joe Fenton resembles a modern and artistic incarnation of Hieronymus Bosch.
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