Ed Sheeran has made a collection of Jackson Pollock style art
This collection, called ‘Cosmic Carpark Paintings’, was painted in an abandoned carpark in London last year in-between the international leg of his Mathematics Tour.
British pop star Ed Sheeran is debuting a collection of his artwork, which will go on sale for charity, in London.
The 34-year-old told his Instagram followers he had been painting after his two-year Divide tour ended in 2019.
With colourful splashes of paint, Sheeran likened his latest collection of large canvases to the work of abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock “but with colourful house paint”.
Ed Sheeran, Unfolding Cosmos (2024).
Prudence Cuming Associates/HENI
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"I love painting, more for fun and to give to friends, but this time I was encouraged to do a show of them by @damienhirst and @heni," he posted on Instagram. The Hine Gallery represents artist and art collector Damien Hirst, who Sheeran mentioned in the post.
"I paint when I'm not working on a record, just to do something creative with my brain.”
Sheeran acknowledged it did not make him "an artist" but noted that he loves "making art" and that "it makes me feel great, and I love the end result".
The Heni Gallery said Sheeran had a “well-documented, expressionist splash painting style” and was inspired by “celestial patterns”.
The Guardian reported the prints would be sold for more than £900 (NZ$2000) each.
The Heni Gallery, which is exhibiting Sheeran's work, says his share of the proceeds of sale of each painting (about 50 percent of the sale price) and each print (US$400, NZ$666) will be donated to The Ed Sheeran Foundation, which supports music education in state schools and grassroots organisations across the United Kingdom.
It’s not the 34-year-old’s first venture in using his work for charity. In 2020, he donated a painting, called 'Dab 2', which raised £40,000 at an auction for a charity.
Sheeran told The Guardian he’d always been interested in art because his parents worked in the industry. He previously told BBC’s Desert Island Discs that his father was a curator.
The 'Shape of You' singer has previously featured his art as official artwork for his music, including on the Divide album cover and for his single Afterglow.
The ‘Cosmic Carpark Paintings’ will be displayed at the Heni Gallery in central London from 11 July to 1 August.
