Not content with writing soft-focus rock numbers about love and loss that have made him one of the planet’s top-selling artists, Ed Sheeran is now unveiling his debut collection of paintings, which he began creating in 2019. And, well, it’s good thing he still has his day job.
The series of multi-colored drip and splash works is called “Cosmic Carpark Paintings” for the simple reason that it was painted in a carpark. Presumably, the cosmic part comes from the fact that abstraction makes people think about the cosmos and also because alliteration sounds good.
Ed Sheeran at work. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates/HENI
In Sheeran’s telling, while in between tours last year, the London-based singer songwriter would run to a disused carpark in Soho each morning to paint (whether he was running for excitement, exercise, or some other reason remains unclear). After arriving at the site, Sheeran would don a white protective suit and throw colorful splashes of house paint at canvases.
The painting might have remained a hobby, a fun little way to let off steam amid a grueling schedule, but Sheeran happened to mention his carpark forays to his “good friends” Damien Hirst and Joe Hage, the founder of art services company HENI, who had an idea. Why not stage an exhibition, at HENI’s gallery in Soho? And so, for the month of July, fans of Sheeran will have the chance to buy original works on canvases and prints for £900 ($1,200) a pop.
Ed Sheeran, Unfolding Cosmos (2024). Photo: courtesy Prudence Cuming Associates/HENI
The first thing to clarify here is the cause. Sheeran has a long track record of using his platform for good and is donating 50 percent of his proceeds to the Ed Sheeran Foundation, which aims to boost youth access to music in the U.K. through funding grassroots music projects and music programs in schools.
Ed Sheeran, Galaxies We’ve Known (2024). Photo: courtesy Prudence Cuming Associates/HENI.
The other is the obvious influence of Jackson Pollock in the “Cosmic Carpark Paintings.” Throw globs of paint randomly at a canvas and the comparisons are inevitable. But here, unlike his art world booster, Sheeran has been fairly straightforward about the shadow of the American Abstract Expressionist. As he noted in a social media post announcing the exhibition, “it’s mostly just splashing colors on canvases, think Jackson Pollock.”
As to how seriously audiences should take the paintings, Sheeran again provides answers. “I am by no means ‘an artist’, but I do love making art, it makes me feel great, and I love the end result.” The extent to which the public will share Sheeran’s enthusiasm remains to be seen.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
