KIKI & KOPPEL'S PAP ART

 “Pap Art  is the collaborative expression of ex-paparazzi photographer David Koppel and figurative painter John Kiki. In the tradition of it’s predecessor, pop art, and a direct influence of it’s acknowledged master, Andy Warhol, Kiki and Koppel have brought pop art into the digital age. Koppel’s background in photography is eclectic, with the production of cinematic panoramas of ‘celebrities’ for newspapers and magazines around the world, nudes, landscapes and still lifes for commercial and private clients, all of which form the foundation on which Pap Art  is based. Koppel’s original photographs drawn from his ten year odyssey in Fleet Street, have been digitally remastered. Experimenting with computer technology, he began manipulating these images to produce a painted effect, which he then printed large on to canvasses. The visual conclusion is a vibrant and startling expression of Koppel’s vision, captured in iconic masterpieces of such luminaries as Marlon Brando, The Rolling Stones and David Bowie, amongst others. A collaboration with celebrated artist John Kiki, has pushed the boundaries of photography even further. Kiki overpaints the manipulated images in the inimitable, simple, spontaneous and idiosyncratic style that has become his hallmark. Tearing printed and painted canvas to create layers of texture and form, adding his paint and reworking existing paintings, Kiki is rarely satisfied, always looking for more. Working with the canvas flat on the floor to avoid the paint dripping, Kiki applies the paint from a specially prepared bottle, using brushes and card to smear and fill where needed. Kiki explores, builds and destroys his layered masterpieces, taking what was a classic photograph and turning it into a remarkable piece of art. Pap Art  is a fusion of two distinct visions, bringing together both established and contemporary techniques to create a unique portrait of the celebrity obsessed culture of our modern world-a new and exciting representation of the digital age”.