Solo Art Exhibition at The Brook, Wallington, South London

Compact solo exhibition of Croydon-inspired art and illustration by Matt Bannister at The Brook, Wallington.

Art exhibition at The Brook

Art exhibition at The Brook

I currently have a small solo exhibition at The Brook, in Wallington, Surrey. The display contains brand new and familiar art and illustrations of mine, all responding to the sights, characters and architecture of Croydon.

I have created two new acrylic paintings specifically for the exhibition, each featuring a different view of Croydon sprinkled with a few local characters. The people in all the works are inspired by the shoppers, children and commuters I've seen in the town.

Here's the bio blurb that I wrote to go alongside the paintings, drawings and prints:

"Matt Bannister is a Wallington-based illustrator and artist: obsessed with the quirks and shapes of architecture, people, and everyday objects. He creates bold, hand-drawn work full of detail and character. Be they city skylines, streets full of pedestrians or an illustration about the threat of cyber crime, his images are loose and graphic in style. Recent commissions include illustrations for innovation charity Nesta, two large bus sculptures for the TFL bus trails in London, covers for The Croydon Citizen, and branding illustrations for Universal Music. Prints and other products featuring his designs are sold through various outlets, including his own online store. “I take as much inspiration from a trip on a stuffy bus, as I do from a windy walk along the river. From Victorian brickwork and noisy markets to silent museums and sticky poundshops - all will have something that will catch my eye and give me an idea or three.”

There are pieces inspired by Croydon to be seen (and purchased). In addition to the framed originals and giclée prints on sale in the café, limited edition digital prints of some of the work are available to buy here.

The Brook is located at 84 Manor Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 0AD and is a great little place to relax with a coffee/cocktail/acoustic guitar/vegan meal. The exhibition will be up until the end of October 2016. Extra info about the exhibition can be found on my Twitter and Instagram feeds.

Buses on Film

To help promote the forthcoming auction of all the TFL Year of The Bus sculptures for charity, I've created a couple of enhanced 'slide shows' (with a bit of new footage) for each of my vehicles.

Surrey Street Market from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.

For more details of the auction, visit the i-Bidder online site. The proceeds from all the sales of the buses (all sixty of them, not just mine) will go to Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum.

Year Of The Bus – Croydon Sculpture Trail – Olympic Park

The Croydon Bus sculptures have moved! They have joined the other buses at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, East London.

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

As required, I took a couple of friends with me to see how my buses were settling in with their new friends and views. Luckily, it was a perfect crisp and sunny day, so there were plenty of other bus-spotters at the park. To see all the other buses lined up across the (very long and wide) bridge near the Orbit was great. I was particularly impressed to overhear one of the volunteer guides (made famous by the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics) explaining the different types of fruit and veg on my Surrey Street Market design. They had obviously done their homework and read the blurb I wrote for the TFL website.

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

bus sculptures at the Olympic Park

Bus sculptures

Bus sculptures

All the buses will be auctioned on 24th March, by Christies live and also on the online website i-bidder.com, for the following charities:

Kids Company, who provide practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children, young people and vulnerable families.

Transaid, an international development charity who identify, champion, implement and share local transport solutions to improve access to basic services and economic opportunity for people in Africa and in developing countries.

London Transport Museum, a popular Covent Garden museum highlighting the vital role transport has played in the life of the Capital. They also work with more than 150,000 children each year delivering essential travel safety education to keep our children safe, and they run programmes to help young people into employment.