Oli Epp "Lady Luck", 2021, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 300 x 240 cm.
Oli Epp "Modern Man", Oil and acrylic on canvas, 180 x 195 cm.
Oli Epp “Snookered”, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 180 x 195 cm.
Oli Epp "Lucky Strike", 2021, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 195 x 180 cm.
Oli Epp "Phermone", 2021, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 195 x 180 cm.
Oli Epp "Copycat", 2019, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 155 x 125 cm.
Oli Epp "Trollin", 2019, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 115 x 115 cm.
Oli Epp "Grape Vape", 2019, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 225 x 160 cm.
Oli Epp "Fast Food", 2019, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 70 x 80 cm.
Oli Epp
Born in 1994
Lives and works in London
Oli Epp’s paintings circulate a number of themes to do with the tragicomic element of living in the 21st century society, dealing with the complexity of identity and anxieties living in the digital age; consumerism and consumption which leads to control and addiction, anxiety and conflict. The paintings work in an endlessly cyclical way of Epp ironically questioning idealisms and our pursuit of perfection and the conflict that arises as a result.
The work is centred around the body and its relationship with the world and others, its shape accentuated; large heads, exaggerated limbs, flattened, almost cartoon-like. But don’t be mistaken, what Epp does with these avatar-esque almost naïve, narcissistic and sometimes sexualised figures in his paintings is convey an externalisation of internal conflicts or states. Underneath the bright pop aesthetic often lies a darker more sobering narrative.
The overall aesthetic of Epp’s paintings conveys the digital world; mimicking the screen, toying with the physicality of surface. The flatness and luminosity of his work reflects our complex relationship with technology; how we use it as extensions of oneself or as a pretence of one’s personality, as a façade.
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2014-17 BA (Hons) Fine Art, City & Guilds of London Art School (First Class)
2013-14 Foundation Diploma, City & Guilds of London Art School
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2020
Friends and Friends of Friends curated by Inga Kleinknecht at the Schlossmuseum in Linz, Austria2019
Link in Bio - Art After Social Media, curated by Anika Meier at The Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig, Germany -
2022
Solo show, Perrotin Gallery, NY, United States2021
Big Game, Richard Heller Gallery, LA, United StatesTwo person show with Wanda Koop, Division Gallery, Montreal, Canada
2020
Black Swan, Semiose Gallery, Paris, France2019
Oxymoron, Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UKTwo person show, ‘Karma’ with Roxanne Jackson, DUVE Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Contactless, Richard Heller Gallery, LA, United States
2018
Epiphanie, Semiose Galerie, Paris, France -
2021
Stockholm Sessions, Carl Kostyál Gallery/Hospitalet, StockholmFriend Zone, curated by Vaughn Spann, Half Gallery, New York, USA
2020
Untitled Art Fair, Richard Heller Gallery, Miami, USAOnline ‘Dallas Art Fair’, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Dallas, USA
2019
Adieu to Old England, The Kids Are Alright, Choi and Lager, Cologne, GermanyART021, Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Carl Kostyál, Shanghai, China
Malmo Sessions, Carl Kostyal, organized with Erika Hellman and Svenska Hus AB, Malmö, Sweden
2018
Untitled Art Fair, Booth A41, Richard Heller Gallery, Miami Beach, USArtissima Fair, Semiose Galerie, Torino, Italy
Out of Place, Zsuzsi Roboz Scholarship Show Morley Gallery, London, UK
Exceptional, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London, UK
Art Brussels, Semiose Galerie, Brussels, Belgium
Emerging Artists 2018, 45 Park Lane, London, UK
Contemporary Visions 8, Beers Contemporary, London, UK
Distilled De Stijl, TW Fine Art, Brisbane, Australia
2017
Galeristes Art Fair, Semiose Galerie, Paris, FranceGriffin Art Prize 2017, curated by Becca Pelly-Fry, Griffin Gallery, London, UK
The window was open though the door was shut with the window left open, curated by Lily Brooke & Elaine Tam, 3 Ada Road, London, UK
We Are The Ones, curated by Galina Munroe, Jordy Kerwick & Simon Ganshorn, Carlsberg Byens Galleri, Copenhagen, Denmark
City & Guilds of London Art School Degree Show, London, UK
Ruth Borchard Self-portrait Prize 2017, London, UK
2016
1st & 2nd Year Interim Show, Diorama Studios, London, UK -
The Getting Bigger Everyday Game: A Conversation with Oli Epp, Juxtapoz Magazine, Dec. 2021
Friends & Friends of Friends: Keeping Friends Close & Communities Closer , Something Curated, Dec. 2020
Friends and Friends of Friends, Juxtapoz, Dec. 2020
Museum Makes Way for Andy Warhol of Today, Kronen Zeitung (in German), Oct. 2020
Innovative Exhibition in the Middle of Covid Trauma, Liechtensteiner Volksblatt (in German), Oct. 2020
Where Is Contemporary Art? In the Linz Schlossmuseum, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (in German), Oct. 2020
A Tragicomic Terrain, Metal Magazine, Feb. 2020
The Banana has become an icon of contemporary art, Forbes (in Italian), Feb. 2020
Oxymoron: Oli Epp’s Solo Show @ Carl Kostyál Gallery, Juxtapoz, Jan. 2019
360 Virtual Tour of Oxymoron at Carl Kostyál Gallery, Artland, Dec. 2020
Oli Epp @ Carl Kostyal , Gallery Girl, Dec. 2019
Post Digital Pop - Instagram Played Out, Anika Meier, Kunstforum (Essay in German), Oct. 2019
Designed the Front Cover for Time Out Magazine during London Frieze Week, Oct. 2019
Roxanne Jackson & Oli Epp’s Karmic Artworks Take over DUVE Berlin, Hypebeast, Sep. 2019
3D Tour of Karma by Oli and Roxanne Jackson at DUVE Berlin, Artland, Sep. 2019
The Best London Artists Right Now, Time Out Magazine, Sep. 2019
Most Wanted, Der Spiegel (Printed in German), Aug. 2019
A single Post, and he’s a Star, WELT (Printed in German), Aug. 2019
Eine endlose Fläche aus Jetzt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Printed in German), Aug. 2019
Interview with The-Art-Form: Issue 3 (Printed), Jun. 2019
Oli Epp, the artist who tells the new generations through Instagram - Forbes Italia, Jun. 2019
Painter-on-the-verge Oli Epp's solo debut has human folly in full technicolor - L.A. Times, Jan. 2019
INDIE’s 19 for 2019, INDIE Magazine, Jan. 2019
Insta-Watchlist: Oli Epp - Monopol Magazine (In German), Nov. 2018
Is Instagram changing our fundamental relationship to art?, Sleek Magazine, Nov. 2018
Inside Oli Epp’s 2018 Amsterdam paint-cation, Juxtapoz Magazine, Oct. 2018
Oli Epp’s Post Digital Pop, Artland App, Oct. 2018
Dust for lunch: Oli Epp on his London studio, Juxtapoz Magazine, Jul. 2018
Carpe Diem, Kid, Interview with Kristin Farr, Juxtapoz Magazine, Jul, 2018
Young artists revealing themselves on Instagram, Le Monde (in French), Jun. 2018
All you need to know about painting on social media, Les in Rocks (in French), Jun. 2018
Oli Epp, virtuosis of the virtual, Liberation (in French), May 2018
Oli Epp is the new kid on the block, Trebucher Magazine, May 2018
An Old Master for the Digital Age, Oli Epp at Paris Gallery Weekend, Smartly, May 2018
Oli Epp “Epiphanies” in Paris, Juxtapoz Magazine, May 2018
Interview with Young Space, May 2018
Epiphanies is the exhibition playing around with the boundaries of art, Hunger Magazine, May 2018
Galerie Semiose : Oli Epp, Post-Digital Pop Painter, Le Quotidien de l’Art (in French), May 2018
Oli Epp tackles the everyday experience for Espositivo Residency in Madrid - Juxtapoz Magazine, Dec. 2017
Dealing with new technologies through the medium of paint, Interview with Dateagleart, Nov. 2017
Interview, Reciprocal Art Magazine, Aug. 2017
Instagram, Interview with Chance Gallery, Aug. 2017
Meet the rising LGBTQ+ stars of the creative sector, The Drum, Jul. 2017
Championing Diversity: Meet the LGBT+ Creative Leaders of Tomorrow, The Dots & WeTransfer, Jul. 2017
Oli Epp: Painting Human Behaviours and Habitual Rituals - Interview, John Bingham, Jun. 2017
Oli Epp’s Humor embedded in the post-digital culture, Interview, Art Verge, May 2017
Early Blue Chip Artists to Invest In, GQ Magazine, Dec. 2016
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2018
Jealous Art Prize2017
Espositivo Residency in Madrid, SpainShortlisted for the Griffin Art Prize
Zsuzsi Roboz Scholarship
The Art School Board of Trustees Prize for an Outstanding Piece of Work in the Graduate Show (Commended) Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize 2017
2016
Idun Ravndal Travel PrizeThe Painter-Stainers Scholarship Prize
Philip Connard Travel Award (The Worshipful Company of Skinners)
2015
The Painter-Stainers Scholarship Prize2014
Prize for Outstanding Work at Foundation Show -
Hall Art Foundation
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection
V&A Museum's Permanent Print Collection
Ruth Borchard Next Generation Collection
Private Collections