Zinsky

There’s almost a Banksy-esque aura of mystery surrounding contemporary figurative art newcomer, Zinsky, in as much as he’s very elusive and does his level best to evade the public’s eye, much like the notorious Bristolian graffiti artist who leaves his humourously, oft politically/socially observantly stencilled calling card on the walled canvases of a variety of high profile locations. This parallel hasn’t gone amiss by many in the contemporary figurative art world, who believe that Zinsky likes this seeming aura of anonymity much in the same way which Banksy does, however someone close to Zinsky doesn’t believe this to be the case at all. Mark Fisher, who has advised and represented Zinsky for a while now says that it’s simple. “Banksy has a choice, Zinsky does not.” He goes on to explain that the very private Zinksy doesn’t view the world in the same way as the rest of society, and that despite his anonymity being enforced by the large part, not chosen, this does add to the artist’s appeal.

So what do we know of Zinsky then? Well, we have it on good authority that he’s a self-taught artist born and raised here in the UK, who first appeared on the contemporary art scene in this country back in 2008. From the ‘get go’ Zinsky raised eyebrow and got the chattering classes, chattering courtesy of the initial impact of his unique portraits of instantly recognizable folk in the public eye. Celebrities if you like, be they musicians, film stars, politicians, members of royalty or any other household name from the world of popular culture. In a very short space of time Zinsky acquired a loyal following (in a Twitter sort of way) from both art fans and serious collectors from all four corners of the globe, keen to snap up an example of the artist’s eye-catching modern portraiture; which fuses a classical look with an obvious love of street art and abstract expressionism.

Reason and recent history dictates that in a society where the art of the icon is in such great demand, Zinsky offers something altogether new and innovative even within this perma-exciting genre and goes some way to explain just why his work is proving so successful. It’s readily acknowledged that the speed in which he works and the spontaneity he approaches and adopts to each new creation, when twinned with the confidence and actual skillset that he’s in possession of ensures that Zinsky remains at the vanguard of this artistic tour de force. In terms of Zinsky’s muses, they’re as far-ranging as we hinted at the top and include the following amongst others; Marley, Hendrix, Winehouse, Lennon, Bowie, Morrison, Dylan, Vicious, Nelson, Mercury, Jackson and Cobain heading up the iconic musicians of our time and previous generations, whilst Pitt, Dean, Nicholson, McQueen, Pacino, Brando, Ford, Lee, Newman, Depp, Freeman, De Niro and Eastwood are visually covered from a Hollywood perspective. Elsewhere and Zinsky has graphically entertained a host of other applauded and respect public figures from the worlds of politics and sport, including Tiger Woods, Usian Bolt, Mohammed Ali, Marilyn Monroe and the President of the United States of America, a certain Barack Obama.

Home for Zinsky is now Brighton, found on the England’s South coast, and is itself known as a hub of creativity, whilst previously the artist has called both Barcelona and Edinburgh home for periods of his life. With regard to the former Catalan city, Zinsky extracted a great deal of inspiration from being immersed in what’s universally identified as a highly cultural cityscape, not least on account of its historically and artistically-important architecture. Considered as something of a non-conformist figure due to his street art leanings and the bohemian fringes which he admires, the irony is that the large majority of Zinsky’s body of work committed thus far in a relative short span of time could sit easily and naturally within an establishment framework and arenas such as bespoke public galleries.