Sir Peter Blake, hailed as the Godfather of British Pop Art, has an illustrious career that spans six decades. Knighted in 2002, an honorary doctor of the Royal College of Art, and with his work represented in major collections throughout the world, Sir Peter Blake truly is a grandee of British Art. His work crosses all generational divides, and inspires great respect from younger artists such as Damien Hirst, Gavin Turk, Pure Evil and Tracey Emin.
Sir Peter Blake's work reflects his fascination with all streams of popular culture, and the beauty to be found in everyday objects and surroundings. Many of his works feature found printed materials such as photographs, comic strips or advertising texts, combined with bold geometric patterns and the use of primary colours. The works perfectly capture the effervescent and optimistic ethos of the sixties, but are also strikingly fresh and contemporary. There is also a strain of sentimentality and nostalgia running throughout his work, with particular focus towards childhood innocence and reminiscence, as can be seen clearly in his Alphabet print series. Blake is renowned for his connection with the music industry, having produced iconic album covers for the Beatles (most famously Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Cub Band), Paul Weller, The Who, and Oasis.
As well as his painting and collage work, Sir Peter Blake is known for his print making, which has always been a mainstay of his creative output. New series are published each year, a key work of 2010 is ‘I Love You’ a collage style text work with diamond dust finishing.
Sir Peter Blake is one of few living artists to have been honoured with several retrospective exhibitions in public spaces. Key exhibitions include the major retrospective Now We Are 64 at the National Gallery in London in 1996, as well as at Tate Liverpool in 2000. Still incredibly active and working across many genres, most recently Sir Peter has been commissioned to paint a canvas of St. Martin for the Knights Chapel in St. Paul's Cathedral- the first new artist to be included for several hundred years.
