Slawn, a young Nigerian artist based in London, is shaking up the art world with an approach that is as provocative as it is successful. With no classical training and self-declared inability to paint, his works sell for up to 40,000 dollars. His style, somewhere between graffiti and caricature, has caught on with collectors and luxury brands.
At just 24, Slawn has already designed the Brit Awards statuette and the FA Cup trophy. His stamp has also led to collaborations with firms such as Louis Vuitton, Rolex and Nike, which have opted for his irreverent aesthetic. His success is based both on the freshness of his strokes and his ability to move between art, fashion and pop culture.
Far from the traditional canons, his exhibitions are true phenomena: in one of them, he sold 1,000 canvases in a few hours. His studio, where he organises unconventional events such as boxing matches, has become a meeting point for urban creatives.
Slawn does not seek to please the art world, but to mock its rules. With an irreverent attitude and discourses that question the authority of academic knowledge, he has positioned himself as one of the most sought-after emerging African artists of the moment.
Source: theguardian.com; sothebys.com