The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

biteartistprofile painting goes wrong after weeks of working on it, it’s nei- ther enjoyable nor rewarding. He finds the art industry commercial in places and a lot of blatant copying, giving Harland Miller’s work as an example. “I don’t understand why you’d copy him just to make a fast buck. If I could change anything, I’d like to see more talented painters, of which there are many, get exhibited instead of carbon copies of other artists.” When he’s not painting or creating artwork, Webb likes to watch Netflix and chill, and also play his guitar. He advis- es aspiring artists to “be yourself and be original.” Having finished 35 paintings for his ‘To the Moon and Back’ ex- hibition at the Red Eight Gallery in the Royal Exchange, Bank, in central London, the artist admitted he could do with a rest from painting before starting again. “I’ll sketch and draw out some new ideas this summer and see where it takes me.” The exhibition held in February showcased vivid, en- chanting, originality, colour-rich and mind-blowing oil paintings that make you feel like you’re there. ‘Atomised’ shows a man in a suit against a black background, with his head representing thousands of stars in the universe. ‘Black Swan’ sees a ballerina in a posing stance against the backdrop of space, looking like she’s from the 1950s. ‘Great Getaway’ demonstrates a woman in a straw hat and swimsuit sitting on a ledge and looking out to a dis- tant planet. An interesting piece is ‘Pot Luck’, with a snooker player surrounded by planets like Saturn and Jupiter and taking a shot at one of them. ‘Super Conductor’ sees a conductor orchestrating the universe, while ‘DJ Returns’ has the tone arm and needle of a record player on the rings around Saturn. ‘Embrace Magritte’ shows a man in a bowler hat and suit embraced by hands on his neck against a blue sky and clouds. A similar piece, ‘Embrace’, sees the back of the man’s head and neck embraced by hands. The art pieces are implemented with different textures and finishes, such as diamond dust used by Andy Warhol in his silkscreens which Webb says adds another dimen- sion and point of interest. “It emphasises certain elements of the work and can represent the magical feeling of a night sky,” he explained. “It’s added by literally glueing it into place over the silkscreen by hand.” He incorporated painting to make the collages bigger without resorting to digital means. “Silkscreening is a great hand-printing method of enlarging the works” to make the canvas be- tween a painting and a print. Joe Webb has had solo and group exhibitions at Jealous Gallery, Hang Up Gallery, Hicks Gallery, For Art’s Sake, and London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Arts in London; Feinkunst Kruger in Hamburg, Germa- ny; Enter Gallery in Brighton, East Sussex; Turner Barnes Gallery in Chelmsford, Essex; Chappell Contemporary in Whitstable, Kent; and The Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong. He supports charities such as The Eden Project, Heart Research UK and The Big Issue with artwork do- nations. www.joewebbart.com Images courtesy of Red Eight Gallery