Dom Pattinson is one of Britain’s most sought-after street artists with celebrity patrons including Liam Gallagher, Davina McCall and most notably George Clooney, who snapped up a canvas as a wedding gift for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s nuptials this summer.
The Suffolk-based artist is exhibiting at Hampstead’s Zebra One Gallery until the New Year - and raising money for Bob Geldof’s latest fundraising campaign to fight Ebola.
A limited edition Ebola print with prices starting at £100 will be available to buy at the gallery in Perrin’s Court.
But for someone whose work usually sells at around £6,000, Pattinson is oddly known for giving his creations away.
It was a “free art” campaign in New York where he hid pieces of his work around the city that grabbed the attention of Hollywood movie star Clooney.
“On every painting I gave away, there was a piece of paper where I put the gallery’s contact details,” says the 45-year-old.
“He saw the work in New York and contacted the gallery for the wedding gift.”
The painting called Hope features a young girl in a raincoat holding a collapsing flower.
“The hope image was originally done reflecting personal issues in my life at the time,” he says. “When I was struggling to maintain my job as a teacher and growing career as an artist whilst also being a single father of four.”
In late November, ahead of his latest show, Pattinson celebrated his return to London by embarking on a similar trail between Euston and Hampstead – leaving 10 pieces of artwork that centred around the theme of equality - in public areas for people to take home.
He then exhibited for three days on the site of the Utopia Studios in Chalcot Road, Primrose Hill - where Geldof recorded the Band Aid single - before moving the exhibition to Hampstead.
“It’s about making it free and accessible,” says Pattinson.
“The work itself is a message that I feel very strongly about but I like people to have their own interpretation of what’s implied.
“To connect with the work at their level and to see something very personal to them.”
Pattinson’s drive to help the fight against Ebola by donating some proceeds to the latest Band Aid charity is also intensely personal.
“It is a disease that will wipe out the human race if something isn’t done about it,” he says.
“Ebola has the potential to wreek havoc throughout the world unless funds are made available to find new cures, prevent spreading and to educate societies where it is rife. I’m aiming to do my bit.”
His work typically moves between printmaking and painting, and he often uses repetitive
images and hand-written slogans to create his unique urban blend.
Info from zebraonegallery.com
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