Foreword
Art, in its highest form, is both a mirror and a prism, reflecting the world as it is while refracting it through the artist's unique lens. In this striking series of paintings, Justin offers a compelling dialogue with history, conjuring the essence of some of art’s most electrifying figures and distilling their charisma onto the canvas with deft precision.
These are not just portraits but psychological studies—evocative, richly textured compositions that capture both the tangible and the ineffable. Here, Picasso’s penetrating stare speaks to his restless innovation, Pollock’s stance betrays the weight of his tormented genius, and Modigliani’s languid elegance is suffused with the melancholy of his brief, tragic life. Each canvas hums with a palpable energy, bridging past and present, tradition and modernity.
The discipline of oil painting, so often overshadowed by the conceptual whims of contemporary art, finds new vitality in Justin’s hands. His technique, honed through dedicated practice, is a means to an expressive end—never merely virtuosic but always in service to each piece's narrative. Unlike conceptual art, which can often be ephemeral or didactic, these paintings resonate with a timeless gravitas. They demand to be looked at—not just seen but truly absorbed.
Justin is a London-based artist who took up painting full-time in 2022. With a focus on portraiture, he is fascinated by the endless complexities of people and how even the most lifelike portraits remain, at their core, abstract illusions designed to trick the eye. He is captivated by how a single, swiftly daubed stroke of paint can evoke the delicate curve of a hand, an ear, or a lock of hair—an effect that seems to tap into something innate in human perception. His goal is to portray his subjects in a way that reveals key aspects of their personality so that his paintings transcend mere facsimiles and instead feel alive with the essence of those depicted.
Justin studied at the Wimbledon School of Art and later sculpture at Saint Martin’s before embarking on a successful twenty-year career as an entrepreneur in the software industry.
Now, having set aside his briefcase for a brush, he is entirely devoted to his artistic practice. In an era where digital art and mass production threaten to render the handmade obsolete, Justin’s work is a reminder of why the painter’s craft endures. The weight of history is present in every brushstroke, yet these paintings feel immediate and alive. They are neither pastiche nor empty homage; instead, they are dialogues with the ghosts of art history, alive with the same passion that once drove their subjects to create. Viewed together, these works go beyond simple biography, illuminating artistic obsession, the cost of genius, and the enduring power of paint on canvas. This is portraiture not as flattery but as revelation. And in this age of fleeting images, that feels more vital than ever.
Hester Baldwin - Manging Director, 2025
