Conor Harrington 'Elvis is Back in the Building' Print Available

Artist: Conor Harrington
Title: Elvis is Back in the Building
Medium: 5 Color Screen Print
Size: 70.5 x 93.5 cm
Edition: 60
Price: £790

Conor Harrington (b. 1980) is an Irish-born, London-based artist renowned for his captivating fusion of classical oil painting and contemporary street art. His distinctive work, which graces both global city walls as large-scale murals and international gallery spaces like the Saatchi Gallery, masterfully blends the refined techniques of academic art with the raw energy and graphic sensibilities of graffiti. Harrington began his career as a teenage graffiti artist in Cork before attending Limerick School of Art and Design, where he studied art history and honed his technical skills, eventually bridging these two seemingly disparate worlds in his unique visual language.

His large-scale figurative works often feature realistic, dynamic images of people, frequently depicted in 18th-century colonial or military attire, juxtaposed with abstract elements, bold lines, and bursts of color. This striking contrast creates a powerful social commentary, allowing him to explore complex themes such as masculinity, identity, power, and the cyclical nature of history. Harrington uses the visual rhetoric of historical portraiture to interrogate modern issues, presenting figures of authority and challenging the permanence of dominance.

Harrington's process involves a meticulous blend of traditional and modern materials, from oils and acrylics to spray paint. The artist, who once outsold Banksy at auction, continually pushes the boundaries of his medium, creating works that are both aesthetically beautiful and intellectually provocative. He remains a significant figure in the contemporary art world, known for his ability to seamlessly integrate the historical with the hypermodern, defying easy categorization and challenging viewers to reflect on the complexities of contemporary existence.