Oli Epp’s paintings circulate a number of themes to do with the tragicomic element of living in the 21st century society, dealing with the complexity of identity and anxieties living in the digital age; consumerism and consumption which leads to control and addiction, anxiety and conflict. The paintings work in an endlessly cyclical way of Epp ironically questioning idealisms and our pursuit of perfection and the conflict that arises as a result.
The work is centred around the body and its relationship with the world and others, its shape accentuated; large heads, exaggerated limbs, flattened, almost cartoon-like. But don’t be mistaken, what Epp does with these avatar-esque almost naïve, narcissistic and sometimes sexualised figures in his paintings is convey an externalisation of internal conflicts or states. Underneath the bright pop aesthetic often lies a darker more sobering narrative.
The overall aesthetic of Epp’s paintings conveys the digital world; mimicking the screen, toying with the physicality of surface. The flatness and luminosity of his work reflects our complex relationship with technology; how we use it as extensions of oneself or as a pretence of one’s personality, as a façade.
Education
2014-17 BA (Hons) Fine Art, City & Guilds of London Art School (First Class)
2013-14 Foundation Diploma, City & Guilds of London Art School
Museum Shows
September 2020 ‘Friends and Friends of Friends’ curated by Inga Kleinknecht at the Schlossmuseum in Linz, Austria
Dec 2019 ‘Link in Bio - Art After Social Media’, curated by Anika Meier at The Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig, Germany
Solo Exhibitions and Two Person Shows
May 2023 ‘Shampoo’ Solo show at Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UK
October 2022 ‘Nine Lives’ Solo show at Semiose Gallery, Paris, France
June 2022 Solo show at Perrotin Gallery, New York, United States
November 2021 Solo show at Richard Heller Gallery, LA, United States
August 2021 ‘Stockholm Syndome’ with Ry David Bradley, Carl Kostyál Gallery at Hospitalet, Stockholm
March 2021 ‘Souvenir’ with Wanda Koop, Division Gallery, Montreal, Canada
Sept 2020 ‘Black Swan’ at Semiose Gallery, Paris, France
Dec 2019 ‘Oxymoron’ at Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UK
Sept 2019 Two person show, ‘Karma’ with Roxanne Jackson, DUVE Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Mar 2019 ‘Contactless’ at Richard Heller Gallery, LA, United States
May 2018 'Epiphanies' at Semiose Galerie, Paris, France
Selected Group Exhibitions / Fairs
May 2021 ‘Stockholm Sessions"‘, Carl Kostyál Gallery/Hospitalet, Stockholm
Jan 2021 ‘Friend Zone’, curated by Vaughn Spann, Half Gallery, New York, USA
Dec 2020 ‘Untitled Art Fair’, Richard Heller Gallery, Miami, USA
Apr 2020 Online ‘Dallas Art Fair’, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Dallas, USA
Nov 2019 ‘Adieu to Old England, The Kids Are Alright’, Choi and Lager, Cologne, Germany
Nov 2019 ‘ART021’, Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Carl Kostyál, Shanghai, China
May 2019 ‘Malmo Sessions’, with Carl Kostyal, organized with Erika Hellman and Svenska Hus AB, Malmö, Sweden
Nov 2018 ‘Untitled’ Art Fair, Booth A41, Richard Heller Gallery, Miami Beach, US
Nov 2018 Artissima Fair, Semiose Galerie, Torino, Italy
Sept 2018 ‘Out of Place’, Zsuzsi Roboz Scholarship Show Morley Gallery, London, UK
June 2018 ‘Exceptional’, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London, UK
April 2018 ‘Art Brussels’, Semiose Galerie, Brussels, Belgium
Jan 2018 ‘Emerging Artists 2018’, 45 Park Lane, London, UK
Jan 2018 ‘Contemporary Visions 8’, Beers Contemporary, London, UK
Jan 2018 ‘Distilled De Stijl’, TW Fine Art, Brisbane, Australia
Dec 2017 Galeristes Art Fair, Semiose Galerie, Paris, France
Nov 2017 Griffin Art Prize 2017, curated by Becca Pelly-Fry, Griffin Gallery, London, UK
Oct 2017 The window was open though the door was shut with the window left open, curated by Lily Brooke & Elaine Tam, 3 Ada Road, London, UK
Sep 2017 We Are The Ones, curated by Galina Munroe, Jordy Kerwick & Simon Ganshorn, Carlsberg Byens Galleri, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun 2017 City & Guilds of London Art School Degree Show, London, UK
May 2017 Ruth Borchard Self-portrait Prize 2017, London, UK
Jun 2016 1st & 2nd Year Interim Show, Diorama Studios, London, UK
Jun 2015 Liminal, Interim Show, Ragged School Museum, London, UK
Curated Shows
Nov 2023 ‘Real Fake Door’ curated by Oli Epp and Mollie Barnes, Arsenal Contemporary, New York
Nov 2020 ‘Road Trips: paintings by Alexander Guy, 1986 - 2020’ curated by Oli Epp, Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UK
Oct 2019 Group Show ‘Fingertips’, Sarah Slappey, Robin Mason and Zsófia Kerestzes curated by Oli Epp, Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UK
Jun 2019 Solo Exhibition by Ben Spiers ‘Hook and Crook’ curated by Oli Epp, Carl Kostyál Gallery, London, UK
Awards / Scholarships/ Prizes/ Residencies
2018 Jealous Art Prize
2017 Espositivo Residency in Madrid, Spain
2017 Shortlisted for the Griffin Art Prize
2017 Zsuzsi Roboz Scholarship
2017 The Art School Board of Trustees Prize for an Outstanding Piece of Work in the Graduate Show
2017 (Commended) Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize 2017
2016 Idun Ravndal Travel Prize
2016 The Painter-Stainers Scholarship Prize
2016 Philip Connard Travel Award (The Worshipful Company of Skinners)
2015 The Painter-Stainers Scholarship Prize
2014 Prize for Outstanding Work at Foundation Show
Press
Oct 2023 ‘10 Highlights from Art Basel in Paris’ - Art & Object
July 2022 ‘Oli Epp Presents 'Don’t You Want Somebody to Love?' - Hypebeast
Dec 2020 ‘Friends & Friends Of Friends’: Keeping Friends Close & Communities Closer - Something Curated
Dec 2020 Friends and Friends of Friends - Juxtapoz
Oct 2020 Museum Makes Way for Andy Warhol of Today - Kronen Zeitung (in German)
Oct 2020 Innovative Exhibition in the Middle of Covid Trauma - Liechtensteiner Volksblatt (in German)
Oct 2020 Where Is Contemporary Art? In the Linz Schlossmuseum - Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (in German)
Feb 2020 A Tragicomic Terrain - Metal Magazine
Feb 2020 The Banana has become an icon of contemporary art - Forbes (in Italian)
Jan 2019 Oxymoron: Oli Epp’s Solo Show @ Carl Kostyál Gallery - Juxtapoz
Dec 2019 360 Virtual Tour of Oxymoron at Carl Kostyál Gallery - Artland
Dec 2019 Oli Epp @ Carl Kostyal - Gallery Girl
Oct 2019 Post Digital Pop - Instagram Played out written by Anika Meier - Kunstforum (Essay in German)
Oct 2019 Designed the Front Cover for Time Out Magazine during London Frieze Week
Sept 2019 Roxanne Jackson & Oli Epp’s Karmic Artworks Take over DUVE Berlin - Hypebeast
Sept 2019 3D Tour of Karma by Oli and Roxanne Jackson at DUVE Berlin - Artland
Sept 2019 The Best London Artists Right Now - Time Out Magazine
Aug 2019 ‘Most Wanted’ Article in Der Spiegel (Printed in German)
Aug 2017 A single Post, and he’s a Star - WELT (Printed in German)
Aug 2019 Eine endlose Fläche aus Jetzt - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Printed in German)
Jun 2019 Interview with The-Art-Form: Issue 3 (Printed)
Jun 2019 Oli Epp, the artist who tells the new generations through Instagram - Forbes (in Italian)
May 2019 The Iconoclastic and the Memorable: an Interview with Oli Epp - Barnebys
Apr 2019 Icons in the Age of Tech - LA Times (Printed)
Apr 2019 Painter-on-the-verge Oli Epp's U.S. solo debut has human folly in full technicolor - LA Times
Apr 2019 Studio visit with Oli Epp x Vanessa Murrell - Coeval Magazine
Apr 2019 The 10 Stars of tomorrow - Beaux Arts Magazine (Printed in French)
Mar 2019 "Contactless" And Loving It: A Conversation with London's Oli Epp - Juxtapoz Magazine
Mar 2019 Interview in Issue 38 – What’s Become Of Him? - Elephant Magazine (Printed)
Jan 2019 19 creatives you need to know in 2019 – INDIE Magazine
Nov 2018 Insta-Watchlist: Oli Epp - Monopol Magazine (In German)
Nov 2018 Is Instagram changing our fundamental relationship to art? - Sleek Magazine
Oct 2018 Inside Oli Epp’s 2018 Amsterdam paint-cation - Juxtapoz Magazine
Oct 2018 Oli Epp’s Post Digital Pop - Artland App
Jul 2018 Dust for lunch: Oli Epp on his London studio - Juxtapoz Magazine
Jul 2018 Carpe Diem, Kid - Interview with Kristin Farr- Juxtapoz Magazine
Jun 2018 Young artists revealing themselves on instagram - Le Monde (in French)
Jun 2018 All you need to know about painting on social media - Les in Rocks (in French)
May 2018 Oli Epp, virtuosis of the virutal - Liberation (in French)
May 2018 Oli Epp is the new kid on the block - Trebucher Magazine
May 2018 An Old Master for the Digital Age — Oli Epp at Paris Gallery Weekend - Smartify
May 2018 Oli Epp "Epiphanies" in Paris - Juxtapoz Magazine
May 2018 Interview with Young Space
May 2018 Epiphanies is the exhibition playing around with the boundaries of art - Hunger Magazine
May 2018 Galerie Semiose : Oli Epp « Post-Digital Pop Painter » - Le Quotidien de l'Art (in French)
Dec 2017 Oli Epp tackles the everyday experience for Espositivo Residency in Madrid - Juxtapoz Magazine
Nov 2017 Dealing with new technologies through the medium of paint - Interview with Dateagleart
Aug 2017 Interview with Reciprocal Art Magazine
Aug 2017 'Instagram' Interview with Chance Gallery
Jul 2017 Meet the rising LGBTQ+ stars of the creative sector - by The Drum
Jul 2017 Championing Diversity: Meet the LGBT+ Creative Leaders of Tomorrow - Article by The Dots & WeTransfer
Jun 2017 Oli Epp: Painting Human Behaviours and Habitual Rituals - Interview with John Bingham
May 2017 Oli Epp's Humor embedded in the post-digital culture - Interview with Art Verge
Dec 2016 Early Blue Chip Artists to Invest In - by GQ Magazine
Collections
Hall Art Foundation
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection
V&A Museum's Permanent Print Collection
Ruth Borchard Next Generation Collection
Private Collections