Morgan Howell FRSA
In 2007, Johnny Marr stated to MOJO that “the seven-inch single, as an entity, is an absolutely powerful, possible otherworldly object.” One man who understands this is British artist Morgan Howell of Supersize Art.
Known for his extraordinary, giant, hand-painted 3-D facsimiles of classic paper sleeve 45s, Morgan creates a one-off unique supersized painting of each single. The natural wear incurred by the treasured disc is duly rendered in paint, making for a desirable artwork and consciousness portal for vinyl junkie music heads everywhere. Howell's attention to detail is fastidious, down to the authentically distressed and creased canvas that doubles as up-scaled paper sleeves and the tiny imperfections round the edges of the labels of the 27” vinyl records. He additionally offers prints of famous singles and also takes commissions, providing a personal touch.
Howell’s original paintings are attracting a cult following amongst musicians and music industry moguls. His painting of David Bowie’s 'The Jean Genie' sits proudly on the wall at Sony Music, 'Yesterday' by The Beatles is at the iconic Capitol Building in L.A. and famous owners include Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Diamond, Lord Lloyd Webber, Don Letts, Jerry Dammers, Ian Brown, Johnny Marr and Billy Gibbons. Examples of his work are a permanent feature of the Radio 2 Green Room alongside Elton John’s piano, and when the BBC interviewed The Rolling Stones in London’s Dorchester Hotel in the run up to their concerts at the 02 in November 2012, three of his supersize Rolling Stones singles formed the backdrop. A matched pair of his paintings of The Beatles double A-Side 'Hey Jude' and 'Revolution' fetched £20,000 in an auction at Abbey Road studios. His original painting for Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” has earned a place at BMG Chrysalis, whilst The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ and ‘The Clash piece 'White Man at Hammersmith Palais’ were auctioned off in aid of Children in Need.
Howell’s passion has always been his art. In 2005, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art and in 2010, he was shortlisted and received display notices at The Royal Academy.
"Vinyl is returning to my life in a big way, in the form of Morgan Howell and Supersize Art. 'Ziggy Stardust', by David Bowie, is the one I bought. The one that will soon be staring down at me from my study wall. Vinyl. It's back. In a big way."
Dylan Jones, The Independent
"Rarely has the MOJO office been so galvanised than when Morgan Howell popped in to show us his Supersized Singles. The 3D quality is uncanny, just like an original single has been blown up with some science-fiction enlargement machine and plonked on your wall."
MOJO Magazine
8 colour giclee prints on fine art paper size 329mm x 483
Editions of 75
