Morgan Howell 7”: 100 Paintings of Classic Singles
Morgan Howell paints giant versions of classic 7” singles, taking into account every crease, tear and imperfection of a record and its sleeve to produce a one-off artwork that is almost identical to the original copy, but four times larger and three-dimensional, with a spindle at its centre, as if the single were ready to play.
This original approach has attracted a cult following among art collectors and musicians alike, with paintings commissioned by the likes of Neil Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jude Law, Edgar Wright and Hans Zimmer, and major music labels selecting the artist’s work for display in their headquarters. Indeed, Howell’s painting of David Bowie’s The Jean Genieis displayed at the Sony Music Building in London, and his version of Yesterdayby The Beatles has been shown at the Capitol Building in LA.
Morgan Howell 7”is a new, updated paperback edition of the Black Dog Press-published Morgan Howell at 45rpmand features a total of 100 works, including several new pieces such as “Stand By Me” by Ben E King, “To Sir With Love” by Lulu and “I Want You” by Bob Dylan. The book includes forewords by artist Sir Peter Blake and broadcaster Andrew Marr, plus an in-depth interview with Howell and commentaries by fans of his work, such as Johnny Marr, Gary Kemp, Shaun Ryder, William Orbit, Tony Parsons and Al Murray.
Produced to fit perfectly on a record shelf, this book is a must-have for vinyl junkies and art lovers everywhere.
Morgan Howell (AKA @SuperSizeArt) is a British artist, living and working in St Albans, Hertfordshire, just outside London, UK.
Known for his extraordinary, giant, hand-painted 3-D facsimiles of classic paper sleeve 45s, Morgan Howell creates a one-off unique supersized painting of each single. The natural wear incurred by the treasured disc is duly rendered in paint, making for a desirable artwork and consciousness portal for vinyl junkie music heads everywhere. Howell's attention to detail is fastidious, down to the authentically distressed and creased canvas that doubles as up-scaled paper sleeves and the tiny imperfections round the edges of the labels of the 27” vinyl records. Howell’s original paintings are attracting a cult following amongst musicians and music industry moguls. His painting of David Bowie’s The Jean Genie sits proudly on the wall at Sony Music, Yesterday by The Beatles is at the iconic Capitol Building in L.A. and famous owners include Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Diamond, Lord Lloyd Webber, Don Letts, Jerry Dammers, Ian Brown and Johnny Marr. Examples of his work are a permanent feature of the Radio 2 Green Room alongside Elton John’s piano, and when the BBC interviewed The Rolling Stones in London’s Dorchester Hotel in the run up to their concerts at the 02 in November 2012, three of his supersize Rolling Stones singles formed the backdrop. A matched pair of his paintings of The Beatles double A-Side Hey Jude and Revolution fetched £20,000 in an auction at Abbey Road studios. His original painting for Blondie’s Heart of Glass has earned a place at BMG Chrysalis, whilst The Eagles Hotel California and The Clash piece White Man at Hammersmith Palais were auctioned off in aid of Children in Need.
Howell’s passion has always been his art. In 2005, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art and in 2010, he was shortlisted and received display notices at The Royal Academy. He shows at various galleries including exhibitions at Artzu Gallery (Manchester), Snap Galleries (London), Proud Galleries (Chelsea), and most recently at RedHouse Originals as part of The Spirit Of 66 exhibition.
A passionate vinyl collector himself, his expert awareness for the sentimental value behind vinyl purchase and ownership, endorses his artistic vision to revive the vinyl experience as a whole. In 2014 he introduced a Classic Album Night to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles album A Hard Day’s Night, delivering a unique exhibition featuring live vinyl playback of the album on high-end audio provided by Hi-Fi Sonata and hosted by guest speakers Pete Paphides and Mark Lewisohn. The second Classic Album Night was held at the Barbican, Music Library (London) on 25th March 2015, featuring live high-end audio mono-vinyl playback of Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited to mark its 50th Anniversary. The evening was hosted by music industry veteran Nick Stewart and guest speakers David Hepworth and Richard Williams.
is a British journalist, broadcaster and former editor of The Sun newspaper in London. He is now Founder/CEO of his own media consultancy Dominic Mohan Media, specialising in communications, public relations, crisis management and content creation.
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