Name: Ed Gray
Genres: -
Year of Birth: 1972
Nationality: British, Based in London

Artist statement:
Ed Gray is a rising star in the London art scene. His work delves deeply into the works of artists that have inspired him and confronting the themes that the city presents - social integration, crime, manners and sexuality. Gray paintings are strikingly confrontational, witty, satirical and an ongoing celebration of the actual people and places that make London unique.

Going from Soho down to Brixton and from Columbia Road across to Billingsgate, Gray searches for characters and places to paint. This young British artist depicts isolation amidst engagement, frustration amidst calm, boredom amidst excitement and love amongst anger with breathtaking accuracy and artistic vision.

Gray's imagery espouses not only aesthetic qualities but also addresses social issues. His paintings are drenched in joyous humour and yet are deeply serious and critical. As a result, what we are left to enjoy is a vibrant and intimate imagery of London city.

‘Glitter and Grime’ is the title of the book by Ed Gray. The book charts his rise from Peckham school teacher to internationally renowned artist, with the sell out show at GX Gallery celebrating and showcasing his most recent group of paintings.
All the beauty and sadness of life, the ‘Glitter and Grime’ - are contrasted in Gray’s keenly observed depictions of London and its people. With a nod to Hogarth and a glass raised to Shane MacGowan and Tom Waits, Gray wanders the dark streets of London with a sketchbook in hand depicting contemporary Londoners living, loving, carousing and losing in a fantastically detailed urban mix.
The book takes the reader on a day in the life of 21st Century London, from street markets to late night dives. In these paintings the real city and recognisable London characters are celebrated and portrayed with an earthy humour that never detracts from the poignant hardships of city living. The viewer is drawn into the rhythm of these detailed compositions; it seems there is always something new to see. Commuters jostle, diners guzzle, wheeler’s deal, dissenters jibe, policemen nick, boozers glug, lovers snog, crooners croon and clubbers club. For Gray ‘the city is a place of dreams and dreamers, where you have to step over your worst nightmares to chase your glinting fairytales’.

In contrast to Gray’s London work, ‘Glitter and Grime’ also details his New York series of paintings, capturing a whole spectrum of characters from Manhattan, Harlem and Brooklyn. Swapping grimy cityscapes for glittering seas, the book also details his time spent depicting island life in Bermuda.

‘Glitter and Grime’ is a celebration of modern city life in all its brutal beauty as seen through the eyes of one of its most individual and hardest working artists, Ed Gray. ‘Glitter and Grime’ is a unique journey behind the scenes into Gray’s world, chronicling his development as an artist and his working life. From initial inspiration and concept through to the final paintings, the book explores Gray’s continuing search for the glitter amongst the grime.

Publishers: GXgallery, London
ISBN: 978-0-9555879-0-0

www.edgrayart.com