Stuart Buchanan Semple (born 12 September 1980) is a multidisciplinary British artist working across painting, sculpture, happenings, technology and activism. He is well known for his sociologically engaged works that often discuss youth politics, accessibility and democracy.
[Hayes, David (2013]
"Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
", October 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.[Fairweather, Shona (2007)]
Aesthetica Magazine "Stuart Semple 80s Influences & Popular Youth Culture"
" Aesthetica Magazine", October 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2014. Semple's work has strong links with
Richard Hamilton's Pop Art, but has a contemporary emphasis on latent fear and threat rather than Hamilton's consumer culture and glamour.
[Kucharek, Jan-Carlos (2015]
"RIBA Journal" "It is the quietest of these artists' contributions on the social impact of regeneration in cities that talk the loudest"
RIBA Journal, 9 March 2015, Retrieved 11 March 2015.
Life and career
Semple was born in
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
, Dorset. He studied Advanced Art and Design at
Bournemouth and Poole College
The Bournemouth and Poole College (BPC) is a well established educational provider which delivers further education, higher education and community based courses in Bournemouth and in Poole on the south coast of England. It is one of the ...
, and Painting and Printmaking at
Bretton Hall College
Bretton Hall College of Education was a higher education college in West Bretton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It opened as a teacher training college in 1949 with awards from the University of Leeds. The college merged with the Univ ...
[ in ]Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. Semple speaks about the inspiration from his grandfather whose memory inspired a jumper Semple designed.[Finney, (2012]
"Sewing seeds – Artist Stuart Semple on his collaboration with Aubin & Wills"
, " Marylebone Journal", December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2015. Semple's mother also took him to the National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
and he described that moment being the main catalyst in becoming an artist when he saw Van Gogh's Sunflowers aged 7.[Smith, Dominic (2011)]
"Interview: Stuart Semple"
" Soundsphere",16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2015.[Agnew Mary (201]
"Stuart Semple on How It's Hard to be a Saint in the City"
"ARTINFO China", 17 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
In 2004, art dealer Anthony d'Offay
Georges Anthony d'Offay (born January 1940) is a British art dealer, collector and curator. His was born to a Seychellois father.
Life and career
Georges Anthony d'Offay was born in January 1940 in Sheffield to a French father.
He began dealin ...
flew his portfolio to New York and persuaded him to move to London.[Buck, Louisa (2004)]
"Bending The Momart Wreckage"
''The Art Newspaper
''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments ...
'', September 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2008. A 2007 solo exhibition saw $1 million sales within the first five minutes[Hoggard, Liz, (2010]
"Stuart Semple 'I'm Afraid To Swallow'"
''Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'', 28 April 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010. and a recent London exhibition had presales to a Foundation of $1 million.[Westall, Mark (2013). , "FAD", October 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2014.]
In 2010 Semple disclosed in an interview with ''The Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' he had had a sudden near death experience in 2000 following an allergic reaction
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...
. Semple referenced the event in an artwork painted that year; "This is the flatline of my ECG showing where I officially died, my vital signs zeroed completely." Semple identifies the experience as being the catalyst that motivated him to dedicate his life to making art.[Jeffreys, Tom (2011]
"Mental Health and Art as Therapy – an interview with Stuart Semple"
, " Spoonfed", 6 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
In 1999 Semple became one of the first artists to utilise the Internet and the potential of digital and created an early online community on eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
who followed drawings he posted up each night.[ Semple's continual appropriation of digital mediums put him in ]The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
's Ten Best Art Auctions alongside Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
, Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...
and Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
.[Hazelton, Claire (2013]
"The 10 Best Art Auctions"
"The Guardian", 25 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
In 2012 Semple was the first visual artist to release a body of work on iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
called "EXIT" that was commissioned to be a fully digital experience. His desire to create and distribute this series via iTunes was so that it could be directly accessed affordably in every household worldwide which built on his exploration of the internet and accessibility to contemporary art.[Hazelton, Claire (2012]
"Coffee With Stuart Semple on Fame, Allergies, Charity, Politics and eBay"
" The Overflown", 23 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2014[Grafling, Friedrich (2013]
"POP POP POP- Interview Stuart Semple"
, "NDKS", February 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2014. The digital artwork "The Effect" which was exhibited during the Suspend Disbelief exhibition is viewable and possible to own on Sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
.
Semple is quoted in ''The Art Newspaper
''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments ...
'' "Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
is such a direct medium" as a way for artists to share their work in an article about how social media can become a new exhibition space.[ In 2015, Semple created a new series of 5 browser based artworks as websites and offered each site for sale on eBay to create a way for digital art to be simply viewed, bought and sold using hosting.
On the eve of the 2010 general election, the BBC spent the day reporting live from Semple's studio and opening night of his "Happy House" exhibition. The narrative in the collection of works was seen as a prediction and warning of how the country could be affected by the financial situation and policies towards culture.][Witherspoon, Jane (2010)]
"Artist Stuart Semple: It's actually quite mental"
"BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
", 5 May 2010. Retrieved from news.bbc.co.uk, 15 June 2010.
in 2013 alongside working with galleries.
continue debating the traditional gallery model and discuss how dealers and galleries place Semple works in important collections but also the agents and management that handle copyright and licensing.
In January 2012 Semple opened the new North Light Centre for Art and Design at
and judges a yearly competition of the student's works. Semple has spoken at