Trevor Banthorpe’s prints are a celebration of the ordinary; mundane scenes of the everyday that are taken for granted. Appearing at first glance to be digital, these woodblock prints are the product in equal measure, of ancient and modern technologies.

Rooted in the convention of the amateur holiday ‘snap’ and drawing inspiration from such artists as Roy Lichtenstein, Christiane Beaumgartner, and Tetsuya Noda, the disposable nature of these images, which start life as photographs taken on his mobile phone, is central to Trevor’s practice. In the analogue age photographs were limited in number, even ‘bad’ ones would exist as physical artifacts within the real world, and would often cast a light onto past lives many generations down the line. However in today’s digital world their numbers are virtually limitless, those we choose not to keep can be permanently erased, and even those considered to have merit generally only exist as binary code locked into a computer hard-drive, often to be lost forever. On one hand convenience has been gained, but legacies have been lost on the other.

Taking computer output and adding human error, and evoking thoughts of suburban conformity constraints and aspiration, Trevor’s prints attempt to redress this balance by slowing down that which is available in an instant. Leaving a tangible record of his encounters with the world as he finds it, his work offers a space for thought and quiet contemplation in a world of instant gratification. 

Education

• 2008 - 2011

Sir John Cass school of Art,

London Metropolitan University, London. 

Fine Art BA Hons (First Class)

• 2006 - 2008

City Lit, London.

BTEC Diploma, Foundation Studies- Art and Design

(With distinction)

Exhibitions

• 2013

World Printmaking One, Mile End Art Pavilion, London.

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Promenade, Mile End Pavillion, London.

Reveal, Espacio Gallery, London.

• 2012

New Prints 2011/2012 Benefit Exhibition & Auction, IPCNY, New York.

Works on Paper, R.K.Burt Gallery, London.

neo:printprize 2012, neo:gallery22, Bolton.

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Art, London.

Sedici, Shed, Petersfield, Hampshire.

Submit & Exhibit 2, The Rumsey Wells, Norwich.

• 2011

New Prints 2011/ Autumn 2011, IPCNY, New York, USA.

      -Transfering to VAC, University of Texas, Austin, USA until March 2012.

F9, The Chocolate Factory N16, London.

171 Days, The Rag Factory, London.

Pressing Matters, Spring House, London.

Bite, Mall Galleries, London.

• 2010

Exhibitionism, Tru Trading Gallery, Commercial Road, London.

Second Impressions, Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, London.

Exposure, Vyner Street Gallery, London. 

Originals '10, Mall Galleries, London.

• 2009

First Impressions, Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, London.

Awards

• 2011

Vice Chancellors Purchase Prize, London Metropolitan University.