Vincent Kamp

Vincent’s arresting portraits are built on the assumption that society will always identify with rebels and the gritty underground world of urban subculture. For his latest work, he has travelled around the UK visiting barber shops and events to gather material in a setting which transcends social class and makes everyone feel like ‘one of the boys’. These mesmerising oil paintings evoke emotion, fascination and intrigue about both the back story and the future of a character. He seeks out moments of tension and explains: “My paintings are all quite dark, subtle and intense. I’m always imagining there’s something surreptitious going on in a perfectly innocent situation

There’s something massively artistic about the perfect haircut or beard trim… so why not celebrate it in art form? The artist, who never attended a formal art school, has studied the old masters and contemporary artists and in 2015 collaborated with award-winning photographer Geoff Waugh to create the Beyond The Peloton exhibition in London which celebrated the heroes of British cycling.

He is heavily influenced by the cinematography and its impact on storytelling, believing that by manipulating the composition, light and colour you can completely change the feel of a scene.