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British artist Jack Penny explores the chaos and hedonism of city life through large-scale paintings.
Penny's scenes are often centred around social and domestic rituals, from dinner tables and restaurants to parties and games, which he approaches with a distinctive sense of humour. As a countryside dweller, Penny observes urban life from a distance, drawing attention to the absurdity of its rituals and the seriousness with which they are often approached. Rather than simply documenting these scenes, his paintings offer a playful reflection on the contradictions and absurdities of contemporary life.
His recurring imagery of uniformed waiters introduces a deeper consideration of identity and individuality. His fascination with uniform and self-expression has led him to use clothing as a means of exploring the tension between personal identity and the anonymity imposed by collective dress. While contributing to the humour and theatricality of his paintings, these figures also reflect a sense of anonymity that permeates the fast pace of urban life.
Spontaneity and instinct are central to Penny’s approach to painting. Working predominantly on a large scale, he embraces the physicality of the medium and the sense of movement that comes with working across expansive canvases. His paintings develop through improvisation, allowing instinct and gesture to shape the final composition.
Influenced by artists including Willem de Kooning and Georg Baselitz, Penny’s practice has developed outside of a conventional art education. He considers this sense of naivety and independence an important part of his approach, allowing him to work intuitively and develop a visual language that feels distinctly his own. Beginning his career by renting spaces with friends and organising small exhibitions, Penny has since exhibited his work in solo exhibitions across London, Berlin and Hong Kong.
Born and raised on the south coast of England, Penny recently moved with his family to France, where they live on a self-sustaining farm. His distance from the urban environments that form the subject of much of his work has only heightened his interest in observing the rituals and contradictions of city life, providing an increasingly detached perspective from which to examine its peculiarities.
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Works
Jack Penny
Formalities, 2026Acrylic on Canvas155 x 185 cm
61 x 72 7/8 inSigned on ReverseFurther images
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