‘Surreal Reality’ art exhibition by Greg Forster

We are excited to announce Greg’s exhibition which will take place at Chester Art Centre for two weeks starting on the 26th of April and will run until the 10th of May 2022. The preview evening will take place on Thursday 28th April.

Influenced by the surrealists of the 1920/30’s and cartoonists of the 1980’s, Greg creates bizarre and imaginative colourful worlds with weird and outlandish subjects. Greg’s artwork can be provocative and at times disturbing, with a vein of fun bewilderment that runs through the entire exhibition. Sometimes political, often personal and intimate, with humour and sarcasm being central to his work.

Greg’s imagery asks questions and evokes mystery with detailed complexity of his paintings that encourages an exploration of one’s own psyche. In many compositions, subjects are undergoing a transformation, depicted as they change from one state or identity to another, displaying subjects with anything from angels with heart-shaped limbs to strange fuse-headed monsters.
Using knowledge and skills acquired in his profession in graphic design to shape his artistic vision Greg has put together a collection of images that portray varying perspectives that include love and loss, hopes and fears, lust and power, and the meaning of life. His work draws on his own personal experience personifying bizarre subjects in complex circumstance.

Greg Forster graduated from Swansea Metropolian University in 1992, since then he has worked professionally as a London based freelance illustrator, and latterly in graphic design. Now based in his native North Wales, he uses the knowledge and skills acquired in those professions to shape his artistic vision.

Greg has a keen interest in philosophy and sociology, and has always been fascinated by characteristics, key life events, and situations which compose the essence of human existence, such as growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality. These themes are often recurrent in his artwork and come from varying perspectives that include love and loss, hopes and fears, lust and power, and the meaning of life.

Working in a mix of contemporary mediums, such as acrylic paint, ink, spray paint, marker pen and pencil on paper, board and canvas, Greg has blended his skills in graphics and illustration with his love of bright colour and surrealism to bring about artwork that depicts life’s pleasures and predicaments in a surreal world. His use of bold colour in this surreal environment allows Greg to challenge the boundaries and explore his own obsessions.

The private view will be taking place on the 28th of April 2022 between 6pm and 9pm and we look forward to seeing you for some bright surrealism and wine!