Category: Art
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the Sheaffer pen. To celebrate their centenary, Sheaffer have chosen to sponsor an exhibition for one of the UK’s up and coming contemporary artists: Horace Panter, better known as the bass player in the iconic British ska band, The Specials. He trained as a fine artist in the 70s and went on to become head of art at a secondary school for 10 years, after the demise of the band. However, The Specials reunited in 2008, giving him time to really explore and realise his own artistic aspirations.
He last exhibited in London in 2011 but this show at The Strand Gallery promises to reveal a whole new set of works including a piece commissioned especially for Sheaffer. He says: “The idea of working alongside Sheaffer was very challenging; a few comfort zones had to be left behind so thatʼs no bad thing right from the off. I like a challenge. ʻWriting and Artʼ had memories of time spent at Coventryʼs Lanchester Polytechnic doing my degree course, being harangued by young exponents of Art Language – suit-wearing young revolutionaries carrying portable typewriters, constantly hectoring us into labyrinthine debates about the relevance of object making and vigorously proselytising conceptualism rather than ʻtraditionalʼ art practice. Time, luckily, heals!”
“Writing, however, is a term used in two kinds of very different art, Iconography and Graffiti. Both are ʻwrittenʼ rather than painted, which is contrary to what is expected. I like contrary.” Based on traditional forms of iconography fused with the sensibilities of British Pop Art, Horace Panter’s work is provocative, swaggering and mischievous. He adheres to the principle of elevating the mundane, citing the talismanic-like qualities afforded to everyday objects and people. From the nostalgia of childhood robot toys through to portraiture and, perhaps above all, his passion for Blues music and its practitioners, his paintings all have a kind of quasi-religious presence. Anything or anyone can be idolised and be placed centre-stage. It could be said that his work a remix, a resampling, even a dismantling of traditional orthodoxies. This is achieved through a lightness of touch and a palette favouring primary colours.