Charming Baker

Art Brokerage: Charming Baker American Artist: He paints in oil on canvas, linen, wood and paper, and creates sculptural work cast in bronze and aluminum. his fans include Damien Hirst, British collector Frank Cohen, gallerist Harry Blain and New York dealer Alberto Mugrabi (who owns the world's largest Warhol collection), and his work fetches upwards of 40,000. The effect I'm aiming for in my work, says Charming, is that slightly unnerving feeling you get when you have your arse patted in public, but you're not exactly sure who's patting it. In 2008, Charming was invited to share a discussion platform with Shepard Fairey, the creator of the Barak Obama presidential campaign poster. The following year, Charming received a commission by Amnesty International to produce a piece for the Blank Canvas Project alongside Brit Art giants Tracy Emin, the Chapman Brothers and Sir Peter Blake. His most recent work, Triumph In The face of Absurdity a sculpture in collaboration with fashion legend Sir Paul Smith, is currently on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The piece is an aluminium cast of a carbon track bike balancing on its front wheel, held up by a mouse. It's part of the 'London 2012: Britain Creates' project which celebrates the year of London hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A graduate of Central St Martins in London, Charming Baker has established a loyal international following with his darkly humorous work - oil paintings with a mix of beauty and brutality. Equally comfortable applying a paintbrush as he is a bullet to his work (as seen in the Youtube video documenting the shooting of one of his paintings) the artist is influenced by a wide array of both familiar and odd elements. Charming Baker's work is embraced by the fine art fraternity, music royalty, taste makers and captains of the creative community. He has exhibited in London, Los Angeles and San Francisco and his work now sells worldwide. Listings wanted.