Since George Ioannou arrived on the art scene 10 years ago the art market has welcomed him with open arms and embraced him for his fresh style of art. Ioannou’s work has been recognized in art journals as pioneering this current trend of “Cult” artwork, which graces art galleries throughout the UK and has spawned a new generation of artist’s following his style.
His artwork has led him to work with many leading companies including Chelsea FC, Granada TV, MTV, The British Film Industry as well as featuring in numerous magazines including GQ, Classic Rock & Tatler to name but a few. In addition, Ioannou works closely with the “Bobby Moore Trust Fund for Cancer Research” and has raised over £60K through his art donations. More recently he has worked with Johnny Wilkinson for the Willow Foundation Charity.
Ioannou is being collected by all walks of life for his simple interpretation of memorable cult figures from the past and present. His striking style of artwork and flawless product has given him recognition as a serious and highly collectable artist. In 2007/08 Ioannou was listed within the top ten best selling and most collectable artists in the UK.
Born in Croydon, South London in 1974, Ioannou gained his early inspiration from the comic book heroes of the 1960’s and 1970’s and having passed his art A-level, his early ambition was to be a cartoonist. For a time though, he found himself working in an estate agency though he never lost his passion for art and was always more drawn to the interior aesthetic than the bricks and motor of the properties he worked with !
Ultimately it was buying his own house that brought Ioannou back to creating art. Faced with bare walls he visited art galleries but couldn’t find anything that truly inspired him. So he painted his first canvas of “Al Pacino in Scarface” and as he says “The House loved it ...!”. Eventually, with the encouragement of everyone who saw and loved his painting Ioannou was persuaded to paint a series of works for publication.
Ioannou selects his icons carefully by only choosing film, music or iconic persons who have inspired him the most in his life. He works in acrylic on canvas taking many hours to select and draw the initial image by hand, determining the balance of form and shading needed to capture the mood of the piece. He then chooses and mixes his colours to further enhance the vibrancy and emotion of the image before applying paint to canvas.
While George Ioannou’s work may be referenced to that of the great 1960’s artist Andy Warhol and the whole “Pop-Art” genre, he reintroduces us to this style in a new Millennium with his own unique palette.
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