Antony Micallef

Art

Born in Swindon, England and a graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Plymouth, some of Micallef's work illustrates many contemporary cultural aspects and connects them with the human experience.

His use of neutral colors and depictions of the human form delve beyond pop culture and bring to the surface many of the things that operate underneath the cultural construct.

Aspects of Micallef's work examines our dichotomous relationship with consumerism, questioning how we can despise multi-national brands yet still allow ourselves to be seduced by them. He frequently uses the union of two opposites to make an intriguing chemistry.

Micallef's practice has been summarized as 'critical pop', exposing the darker side of our consumerist society and the human condition.

His painting style has been compared to Francis Bacon and is seen as an amalgamation of influences from the old masters such as Caravaggio and Velázquez to more modern contemporary photographers and graphic artists.

His depiction of the human body and mark making echo his teachings from John Virtue, a former student of Frank Auerbach. The rawness of expressionistic painterly marks is a stark contrast to the more graphic elements which surfaces throughout his work.

From 18 June 2007 Sotheby's catalogue:

Having won second prize in the BP/Amoco Portrait of the Year awards in 2000, Anthony Micallef moved away from strict portraiture preferring to combine his exquisite draughtsmanship with a dark and passionate exploration of colour and contemporary expressionism as a means of dissecting what he sees as the frivolities of pop culture. He says, "The trouble with pop imagery is that it doesn’t really go deeper than the surface, you have to drag it down and challenge it to make it interesting. When you put two contrasting images together it causes friction and that is the bit I’m interested in." In the present work, the dark, Bacon-esque smears to the face conjure unlooked for associations when combined with the delicately alluring roses, the juxtaposition revealing at once the saccharine seduction of colourful pop imagery and consumerism alongside its dark and troubling underbelly. This complexity and brutal beauty explain why Anthony Micallef has become one of the most promising young artists working in Britain today.

In 2012, to accompany the AKA Peace Exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Art Below showcased selected works from the AKA Peace series on the London Underground including Micallef's. "AKA Peace," originally conceived by photographer Bran Symondson and now curated by artist Jake Chapman, was an exhibition of new works made for The Peace One Day Project 2012, bringing together a group of Contemporary Artists, all of whom agreed to transform a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle, refashioning it into works of art.

Penguin Books cover

Micallef in 2017 has had his work selected for the Penguin books publishing of Albert Camus The Outsider for its front cover.

Social media

Micaellef embraces social media and the ability to get his artwork out on mass but also rails against the selfie edited life portrayed in most social platforms, his portraits looks to strip past those same edited portrayals to expose the raw nature of self.

Controversy

London Underground had commissioned Micallef for a piece of artwork to depict one of the stations of the cross however in the last minute became subject to censorship for the use of the tagline 'kill your idol' found in the artwork.

"To my dismay I found out at the last minute the London Underground have decided to pull the piece from the show apparently because of the title ‘Kill your idol’ in the middle of the panel in the painting."[1]

Micallef's most recent controversial piece is the political satire of Donald trump using cigarette packets as his canvas, rendering the Republican nominee now President on the front of a cigarette packet bearing the now familiar "Smoking kills" tagline.

Micallef, is bringing home the threat that Trump poses to society. As he explains, "I thought a warning sign of the imminent danger of a narcissistic sociopath fitted aptly into the concept." having been displayed as part of the group show the controversial 'Why I Want To Fuck Donald Trump' exhibition at New York’s Joshua Liner Gallery in 2016.

The Trump Pieces by Antony Micallef had been used for both the protest Marches In L.A and In Washington D.C for the Women's March after the Inauguration of the 45th President.

The Image Had also been used for the Placebo Concert in Mexico 2017, again in protest to the New president. Also a fake news story image of the 43rd President George Bush painting the image had gone viral and used in the publication of the Big Issue.

Critical Reception

Paul Moorhouse the Head of Collection Displays (Victorian to Contemporary) and Senior Curator 20th Century Collections at the national portrait gallery essay 'The Brutality of Appearance: Antony Micallef’s Self-Portraits' , explores the physicality, the fleshliness and violence of Micallef's work,

"While maintaining an illusionistic intimation of space and background, his portraits present a figure as if it has been subjected to an intense trauma"[2] all the while contextulising him within the canon of art history and the painted portrait.

In 2011 a piece by Andrew Perry for Telegraph said "Antony Micallef’s riotous paintings are a gleeful attack on consumerism." Also calling Antony "one of Britain’s most electrifying young painters".

In a piece by editor Dylan Jones of GQ magazine in 2015 Antony is hailed to "change the face of modern portraiture". the piece describes Antony and his work as raw and painterly giving particular praise to the honesty of his portraits and the connection between him and the painter Frank Auerbach stating,

"Surely if there is a man to whom Auerbach should pass his torch then it is Micallef".

Solo exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

Press and Publication

Scholarly Articles