A skilled fine artist who dynamically fuses painting and photography, Paul Robinson aka LUAP, born in Grimsby in 1982, is fast gaining critical recognition for his exciting work. Working across various mediums his work hints at abstract expressionism infused with the explosive energy and bold colour of Pop and Urban Art. Exploring existential subjects within a contemporary feel his work stands alone in its composition and provoking content and subject matter.

LUAP’s most iconic series depicts a pink teddy bear come-to-life and placed in the real world acting as a metaphor for discovery and exploration. The artist has taken the imagery of the bear from a family portrait which remained in his mother’s bedroom for years. Today, the costumed figure exists between reality and make-believe, youthful innocence and corruption, leading a lifestyle that looks simultaneously enviable and questionable.

The bear is not a man in a costume, it is an alter ego. The figure has a whimsical sense of playfulness through its association with childhood memories, yet remains firmly attached to adulthood through the tainted surfaces that surround the character in the abstract spaces of the paintings.

For this exhibition, LUAP takes his bear on a highly personal expedition. The works include big journeys, short adventures and trips down memory lane. They capture the image of his father cutting the grass, of eating whippy ice creams, which are as gigantic as they felt when he was a child. The watercolours explore the euphoria of riding a horse and the chaotic energy of making your way through the crowd at a busy tube station. They evoke the breeziness of the seaside as the bear eats fish and chips with seagulls flying overhead.

Browse LUAP’s work HERE