We are excited to welcome one of the UK’s rising stars and coolest new talents – award-winning artist Jasper Pedyo, for a major exhibition in his adopted hometown.

This young Zimbabwean artist whose family fled to Britain after political persecution put their lives at risk, has already won the prestigious 2018 Free Range exhibition prize in London for his striking mixed media paintings which feature a bold use of binary colours on stretched and shaped canvases.

Jasper graduated from Leeds Arts University in 2018 with a BA Hons. in Fine Art. He was the overall winner at the Free-range graduate show at the Truman Brewery selected by a panel of industry experts. He was also the critic’s choice graduate for the Financial Times.

Jasper’s paintings are highly influenced by the philosophy of Alexander Baumgarten, who coined the term ‘aesthetics’ in 1735. Aestheticism, to Jasper, is very important. Whilst combining influences from Pop Art and minimalism they “intend to provide viewer with an environment of visual bliss; the work’s purpose is to be experienced solely with an instinctive and physical response to its structure, colour, and surrounding space.”

Jasper has visited the gallery from a very young age and it’s great to see how his practice has developed over those years. We feel that Jasper has one of the most outstanding bodies of work that we have encountered and are thrilled it has been produced by an artist working only a few miles from the gallery door.

This young artist’s entire body of work is to be exhibited, alongside newly created works.