Mannequin: Fashion, Female Icons, Pop Culture and Art by Stanley Chow at Artisan
| 1st January 2018
Manchester illustrator Stanley Chow will be giving a rare insight into his early work with Mannequin, an exhibition of fashion, female icons, pop culture and art, at Artisan restaurant and bar in Spinningfields from Friday 12 January until the end of April 2018.
Stanley has become famous around the world for his portraits stars of music, television, film and sport – but he started as a fashion illustrator for teen magazines in 1996.
He said: “I entered the world of illustration, focusing initially on fashion 20 years ago. However over the years – due to the nature of being a self-employed freelancer – the work you take on doesn’t necessarily reflect the work you want to do, so over time my work took a slight diversion away from my initial focus.
“This isn’t a bad thing, as an artist you evolve, you become more professional, you learn more, your goals change. I am very much a different artist now than the artist I imagined I would be 20 years. I guess looking back at my time in this industry, I wish I did more fashion illustration and with this exhibition, this is me wanting to scratch that itch.”
Mannequin prints for sale
Stanley’s career really took off ten years ago when US band, The White Stripes spotted his work and subsequently commissioned him to create artwork for their ‘Icky Thump’ album, which led to a Grammy nomination in the ‘Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition’ category.
Since then his work has featured on book covers, in numerous magazines and newspapers and many ad campaigns globally.
A lifelong Manchester United fan, Stanley has recently exhibited at the Red Cafe in Old Trafford.
Mannequin will be the latest in a continuing series of exhibitions that have been staged at Artisan, which showcases sculptures, murals, art installations and furniture from the very best artists and craftsmen.
Visually, Artisan is like a vast artist’s loft studio meets concrete warehouse, set in a 12,000 square foot, semi-industrial space on the first floor of Avenue North in Spinningfields,
Mannequin: Fashion, Female Icons, Pop Culture and Art will be at Artisan from Friday 12 January until the end of April 2018 – and all exhibited prints will be for sale for £350 each. A3 prints will be on sale for £10 each; and the collection of all 16 prints will be on sale in a special pack for £100.
You may also like to read: Manchester with love – an ode to the city’s best loved buildings and spaces.
Stanley Chow