Born in Croydon in 1953, Panter graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Coventry’s ‘Lanchester Polytechnic’ in 1975. It was there that he met Jerry Dammers and, together with Lynval Golding, they formed The Specials. Although better known as a musician, Horace has always kept up with his art practice, gradually moving away from the ethos of ‘art language’ to return to painting, influenced by the artists he had first encountered as a child of the 60s: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Hopper and Peter Blake. He says “ It was art I could relate to, alongside my other predilection for the 12” vinyl record ... for an impressionable youth this collision of art and music was magical!”
The Pop Art concept of elevating the mundane has had a strong influence on his work; the talisman-like qualities afforded to everyday objects continue to guide his subject matter, especially the CASSETTE series. Panter says the original Pop Art explosion “was akin to what Punk Rock was for the music industry ... it shook things up, turned art on its head”; these cassettes are an updated take on what is now a traditional art form.
“The studio demo contained the bare bones of a song before it was finished/edited/mixed... crucial tool for musicians to hear how they sounded.” The cassette itself turned out to be ephemeral but, together with the Sony Walkman, it was revolutionary: “For the very first time, music was portable and individual; making mixtapes was just so liberating in terms of choosing what to listen to... I still don’t get Spotify!”
American comedian, Fred Armisen, owns the orignal GHOST TOWN cassette painting: “When I saw the images of the paintings, they were better than I could ever imagine... beautiful and straight to the point... there’s no begging in them”. (Fred Armisen 2016).
HORACE PANTER
JANUARY 2019
Signed limited edition cassette print by Horace Panter of The B-52's
Signed limited edition technicoloured cassette art print by Horace Panter featuring 24 different images including The Clash & Sex Pistols
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of The Specials 'Ghost Town'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of The Clash's 'Rock The Casbah'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of David Bowie's 'Heroes'
Signed limited edition cassette print by Horace Panter of Free's All Right Now
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Pulp's 'Common people'
Stunning Horace Panter portrait of Amy Winehouse commissioned by The Amy Winehouse Foundation.
Pop art style artwork celebrating the legacy of B.B.King by acclaimed artist and musician Horace Panter
Limited edition print of Bo Diddley by Horace Panter, taken from his Blues & Jazz Pop Art Collection
Pop art style artwork celebrating the legacy of Charlie Parker created by acclaimed artist and musician Horace Panter
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Chic's 'Good Times'
The Clash Pop Art limited edition fine art print by Horace Panter
Elvis Presley pop art print by Horace Panter inspired by the work 'Self-portrait with Badges' by Sir Peter Blake.
Signed limited edition multicoloured cassette art print by Horace Panter featuring 24 different images including Madness, Blur & David Bowie
Joe Strummer Pop Art limited edition fine art print by Horace Panter
Limited edition pop art style print celebrating the musician John Lee Hooker by Horace Panter
Kurt Cobain Pop Art limited edition fine art print by artist Horace Panter.
Pop art style artwork celebrating Miles Davis by acclaimed artist and musician Horace Panter.
Limited edition Horace Panter pop art style artwork celebrating the legacy of Muddy Waters, taken from his Blues & Jazz collection
Stunning image of Amy Winehouse taken in a North London launderette during a photo shoot in winter 2004.
Contact sheet of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers photographed at Hyde Park, London in 1991
Relaxing backstage at Abbey Road Studios during the recording of debut album 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'
Underwater photo of Krist Novoselic in a LA swimming pool whilst on a Nirvana publicty shoot
David Bowie was a leading figure in popular music for over five decades & regarded by critics & musicians as a true innovator.
Oasis was an English rock music band formed in Manchester in 1991, to date the band has sold over 70 million records worldwide.
Björk Guðmundsdóttir, (born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk is an Icelandic singer-songwriter.
Jeff Beck is one of rock’s most respected and dynamic instrumentalists. He is widely regarded as a “guitarist’s guitarist”.
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