Sebastian Chaumeton Interrogates Familiarity at Maddox Gallery

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The emerging painter reimagined top British artists as Mr. Men characters to better understand his own developing style.

Sebastian Chaumeton presents paintings inspired by the giants of British contemporary art in a solo show that opens in London on 2 September and continues until 9 October.

The exhibition at Maddox Gallery, entitled Little Palette, includes a Mr. Banksy, a Mr. Bacon, a Mr. Opie and a Ms. Riley, along with works inspired by 15 other artists. Each is painted in a way that evokes that artist’s style and subject matter.

In a recent video interview, Chaumeton said that people tend to like things that are familiar. That goes not just for Roger Hargreaves’ Mr. Men books, which have sold over 100 million copies, but also works by contemporary artists.

‘How much of that familiarity is informed by places like Tate Modern, Tate Britain, The Royal Academy, The National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery. What kind of work sits in those places?’ he asked.

‘I’ve been painting these Mr. Men characters so that I can look at them and they can look back at me and I can figure out where I sit within them and figure out what needs to be learnt or unlearnt,’ Chaumeton explained.

Chaumeton was born in London in 1996 and now lives and works in Brixton. His last exhibition at Maddox, Context Plz (2021), featured pop culture figures such as Tom and Jerry, along with meme characters like Pepe and Shiba Inu dogs in works named after The 12 Tasks of Hercules.

Jay Rutland, Creative Director of Maddox Gallery, said he was ‘thrilled’ to again be presenting works by Chaumeton.

‘We have seen him develop into an acclaimed artist, and we look forward to continuing on this exciting journey with him,’ he said.

This isn’t the first time Chaumeton has exhibited works based on the Mr. Men series. Last year he created Mr. Men characters paying homage to art styles such as surrealism, pointillism, minimalism, and manga for an exhibition entitled Little Movements at Whitestone Gallery in Taipei.

‘I’m still trying to figure out what my style is. I do feel like I’m still hiding behind artists of the past, but I’m excited for what’s to come next,’ he said. —[O]

Main image: Sebastian Chaumeton in his studio. Courtesy the artist and Maddox Gallery.