A wise man once said “when life gives you lemons – order the lobster tail”. No one has taken this more to heart than Scottish pop artist superstar Philip Colbert. Following a decades-long meteoric rise to prominence via important museum shows stretching from the premiere Los Angeles Frieze through to Moscow, Gstaad, Seoul and Shanghai – Colbert brings his quirky philosophical take on the pop-laden modern world with playful paintings and characters.
His approach to pop theory follows in the footsteps of giants Richard Hamilton, Roy Litchenstien and James Rosenquist and lays new foundation for the reinterpretation of our digital culture and its relationship to a deeper art historical dialogue.
Like his predecessors Colbert has gained welcome notoriety for his unorthodox shows and envelope-pushing exhibitions; the latest – Lobsteropolis a major show at London’s Saatchi Gallery on Duke of York Square opens this week. Showcasing in both the physical and virtual realm “the Crown Prince of Pop Art” (by David Hockney nonetheless) is sure to both inspire and delight with new paintings and sculptures (including marbles and bronzes) on site and an army of gallery robots dedicated to navigating the exhibition for “e-visitors”.
Delving deep into his artistic Lobster alter ego – Colbert presents “Lobsteropolis as a vision of a sci-fi future where, due to lockdowns, we have robot selves who can go and explore the physical world, while we remain indoors”. Isolation, pandemic and post-consumerist-reality are thematically present through the show.
Philip Colbert’s Lobsteropolis is presented by Unit London at the Saatchi Gallery, from 28 October to 1 December
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