Philip Colbert is a British Contemporary artist based in London, UK. He has created a global following for his cartoon lobster persona and his masterful hyper pop history paintings, and has been championed by art world figures such as Charles Saatchi & Simon De Pury. His work powerfully explores the patterns of contemporary digital culture and its relationship to a more profound art historical dialogue.
Early life and education
Colbert was educated at Strathallan School, and the University of St Andrews. He graduated with an MA in philosophy.
Career
In September 2015 Colbert designed range of clothing as merchandise for The World Goes Pop exhibition Tate Modern. Colbert had his first large scale paintings show at Saatchi Gallery.
In 2017, the show featured Colbert's large scale pop narrative paintings featuring his Lobster Alter ego.
"We live in a world of ultra pop saturation, a sort of mega pop world where mass intake of Instagram and social media imagery merges with artistic memory," says Colbert.[1]
In March 2022, Colbert unveiled his groundbreaking community art project “The Lobstars”. The project featured a collection of 7777 unique lobster portraits, each one also serving as a citizenship card within Colbert’s digital metaverse, Lobsteropolis. Colbert’s lobster world expanded exponentially as Lobstar holders became cherished members of a thriving online community.
Merging real-world outcomes with the online community, Colbert also forged a meaningful partnership with a number of UK-based Hatcheries dedicated to lobster research. For each NFT purchase, Colbert sponsored these hatcheries to successfully rear and release 7777 real lobsters back into the wild around the UK. In addition, Colbert supported scientific research into the development of lobster language and communication.
“The Lobstars” project also successfully pushed the democratic reach of Colbert’s work to a larger, more diverse and global audience. ‘I love the democratic spirit of “The Lobstars” project, it’s creating a whole new possibility for art. I love the concept of developing this art machine system which can push creative uniqueness and boldness for everyone at an accessible price, turning the traditional model upside down and allowing a much wider audience to engage with my work.’
Colbert’s fascination with telepresence and robotics has transformed his pop landscape, leading to the creation of his own performative robot, ‘The Uber LobstarBot.’ Unveiled at Phillips auction house in London in December 2022 and showcased at NFT Paris, ‘The Uber LobstarBot’ generated experimental artworks through an AI function.
Initially, 333 unique LobstarBot NFTs were minted featuring unique animated artworks. These NFTs were the starting point of the project as those who purchased them were granted access to ‘The Uber Lobstarbot’s brain. Users then gave a two-word prompt that stimulated the algorithm to create an AI-generated title for each work and a unique AI-generated mutant LobstarBot image. Users could book a timeslot to remotely control ‘The Uber LobstarBot’ and see themselves reflected in four mirrors as they guided ‘The Uber LobstarBot’ in splashing paint onto their prints, creating a unique work of art. Colbert also developed an audio language based on sounds recorded in tanks from his Lobster research that could be heard as the works were created.
In early 2022, Perfetti van Melle Group revealed that it collaborated with Philip Colbert for its Mentos x The Lobstars catwalk slot at Brand Licensing Europe in September. Colbert designed 12 outfits “I’m very excited to announce the collaboration between my digital NFT project The Lobstars and the iconic Mentos brand. Mentos is one of those brand’s I grew up with, so their logo and product is deeply connected to my memory and nostalgia of growing up, always keeping things fresh," said Colbert.
Elevating The Lobstars community to new heights, Colbert released three open-edition video NFTs in the collection “Escape from LOBSTAR MART”. Each work showcases a uniquely iconic trait (the Octopus, Spam Can or Mushroom) escaping surreal attacks in the vibrant and hyper-saturated world of the Lobstar Mart of Lobsteropolis. The works celebrate the launch of Lobstar Studios, Colbert’s new animation department dedicated to creating animated episodes exclusively for The Lobstars community, taking them on educational journeys through art history.
In 2023, Colbert released a unique generated edition of 2222 unique artworks on the NFT marketplace, OpenSea, each celebrating the timeless and profound symbol of the flower. Drawing inspiration from his artistic predecessor, Andy Warhol, who famously reimagined flower works extracted from magazine advertisements, Colbert delved deeper into the subject, transforming it into a series of highly stylised and productified flowers, exploring a universe of Aesthetics within the subject.
“For me, flowers are the ultimate symbols of mortal beauty. I love how universally poetic they are. The sculptural essence of transient life, how a moment of beauty defies everything forever in the moment. Flower paintings are one of the great themes of art history, and I felt they make the perfect subject for an infinite supply generative edition. I very much believe in an art for all philosophy, and love the democratic reach digital collections have, and how they make unique artworks more accessible for all" said Colbert.
In August 2023, Colbert exhibited his unique artistic interpretation of Mickey Mouse in 'Meet the Magic exhibition with Sands China, in celebration of Disney's 100th anniversary at Art Macao, Macao International Art Biennale 2023.
In November 2023, Colbert announced a collaboration with AS Roma Football Club with a special capsule collection featuring two T-shirts, a hoodie and small edition sculpture showcasing Colbert’s iconic lobster in a Roma jersey, which is available for purchase from AS Roma Stores. In addition to this, Colbert unveiled a new Roma steel sculpture in the hospitality areas at the Stadio Olimpico, in the match against Udinese on the 26th November. The jerseys worn by the first team in the match against Udinese featured an exclusive squad number design by the artist.
Exhibitions
- 2023 Journey to the Lobster Planet - Taipei, Whitestone Gallery, Taipei
- 2023 The Myth of the Lobster Planet, Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Shenzhen
- 2023 House of the Lobster - from Pompeii to Venice, Patricia Low Venezia, Venice
- 2023 The Lobster Empire in Treviso, 21 Gallery, Treviso
- 2023 Lobsteropolis, Pearl Lam Galleries at M5 Gallery, Tokyo
- 2023 Philip Colbert Singapore Art Week, Saatchi Gallery, Singapore
- 2022 Journey to the Lobster Planet, Karuizawa New Art Museum, Karuizawa
- 2022 Dreams of Lobsteropolis, Pearl Lam Galleries, Shanghai
- 2022 The Lobster Empire in Rome, Museo di San Salvatore in Lauro, Rome
- 2022 The Lobster Empire in Rome, Via Veneto, Rome
- 2022 Lobstars in Saint Paul de Vence, De Buck Gallery, Saint Paul de Vence
- 2022 Lobster Wonderland, IFS, Changsha
- 2022 Lobstars in Venice, Venice Venice Hotel, Venice
- 2022 Dream of the Lobster Planet, The Page Gallery, Seoul
- 2021 Lobsteropolis in Taipei, Whitestone Gallery, Taipei
- 2021 Lobsteropolis in Sejong City, Mark One Art Museum, Sejong City
- 2021 Lobsteropolis in Chongqing, Chongqing Times Art Museum, Chongqing
- 2021 Lobsteropolis in Seoul, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul
- 2021 The Death of Marat & the Birth of The Lobster, Wardlaw Museum, St Andrews 2020 Lobsteropolis, Saatchi Gallery, London
- 2020 Lobster Land in Shanghai, Modern Art Museum, Shanghai
- 2020 Lobster Land in Taipei, Whitestone Gallery, Taipei
- 2020 Lobster Land in Gstaad, Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad
- 2020 Lobster Land in Sofia, Structura Gallery, Sofia
- 2019 Lobster Land in Moscow, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
- 2019 Made in Illusion, Times Art Museum, Beijing
- 2019 Lobster Land in Seoul, Gallery Simon, Seoul
- 2019 Lobster Land in Hong Kong, Whitestone Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2019 Hunt Paintings, Saatchi Gallery, Los Angeles
- 2019 Hunt Paintings, Saatchi Gallery, London
- 2018 WaveLength:Reset, Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art, Chengdu2014 – Sequin Pop, Gazelli Art House, London, UK
- 2018 New Paintings 2018, Galerie Nichido, Tokyo
- 2018 Looking for U, Unit London, London
- 2018 WaveLength:Reset, Powerlong Art Museum, Shanghai 2017 New Paintings, Saatchi Gallery, London
- 2016 Guess Who?, Space Gallery, St. Barths
- 2016 Guess Who?, Gazelli Art House, London
- 2015 The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern, London
- 2015 POP Punk, The Design Exchange, Toronto
- 2015 Inspired, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- 2015 Het Noordbrabants Museum, s-Hertogenbosch
- 2014 Sequin Pop, Gazelli Art House, London
Personal life
Colbert is married to artist and screenwriter Charlotte Colbert. They have two children and reside in Lewes, East Sussex.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ "YOUNG 'N' CREATIVE: Philip Colbert | Art, Culture, Cocktails and Lifestyle | Perrier Magazine". Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ↑ Clarke, Cath (8 July 2022). "'Sisters, you're flowing through me!' The director whose horror film channels centuries of female rage". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 November 2023.