Billy Childish’s emotional, introspective portraits and landscapes take inspiration from the artist’s own struggles and his interest in the mysteries of nature. Childish—whose creative output has also spanned music, poetry, and novels—seems to channel the expressionistic painting styles and vibrant palettes of Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch in his own intense, kaleidoscopic works. He infuses all his markmaking with significant tenderness, whether he’s painting a female nude or a deep, calm body of water. Childish’s emphasis on figuration is a key facet of the Stuckism art movement, which the artist founded in 1999 with Charles Thomson as a reaction to the dominant conceptualism of the late 20th century. Childish has exhibited in New York, London, Seoul, Berlin, and Hong Kong. He has also performed in film and television.
