Artist Biography

British artist JPK came to prominence with his stark black and white Art toys, quickly establishing a reputation as a pioneer in this field. This early momentum was capitalised upon with his solo show A New Hope at Yoyamart Gallery (N.Y.) in 2012, leading to collaborations with industry leaders Kidrobot, Toy2R and Mighty Jaxx with whom he’s released dozens of Art pieces over the years.

Other projects with leading artists include J*RYU, Chino Lam, Koncrete and InstincToys, alongside projects with more mainstream companies such as Peugeot, Mythical Games and Android. As an industry leader, JPK has travelled extensively, giving talks and demonstrations to audiences in Beijing, Singapore and Dubai as well as closer to home in the UK; his work’s also been shown internationally in numerous group shows, as well as in solo exhibitions in the UK, US, and most recently, Hong Kong. He’s won several awards at the Designer Toy Awards, including Artist of the Year, Custom of the Year and Best Mini Series.

JPK’s work explores themes of self-identity and the facades we build around ourselves, examining the careful curation of what we show to others. The art is always playful, toying with cultural labels and social tribalism, using pop-culture and mythical themes as the setting for character identity. He sees his work as the creation of canvases from sculpture, using the black and white to create a negative space to both explore narrative and focus the viewers’ eye –   through intricate tattoo details on these sculptures, he weaves suggested histories and backgrounds for his characters.

Jon’s inspired numerous other artists, using his unique style as a starting point to begin their own journey into art and character design. He sees this both as a recognition of the support he’s been given over his career, as well as supporting the development of this art to the benefit of everyone involved.