Antony Micallef

The complexity and brutal beauty of artist Antony Micallef images explain why has become one of the most promising young artists working in Britain today. At once colorfully beautiful and deeply troubling, Antony's work examines our dichotomous relationship with consumerism, examining how we can maintain to despise multinational brands yet still allow ourselves to be seduced by them. "The trouble with pop imagery is that it doesn't really go deeper than the surface" he comments. "You have to drag it down and challenge it to make it interesting, marry contrasting emotions and motifs. The union of two opposites makes an intriguing and strange chemistry." Described as 'Caravaggio meets Manga' and 'Bacon in Disneyland' this potent cocktail has seen Antony become enormously popular with collectors.

Despite the popularity of his comparatively spartan "tortured head" series, and being runner-up in the National Portrait Gallery's BP/Amaco Portrait of the Year prize in 2000, Antony has always turned down commissions. Exhibitions include group shows at the Royal Academy and the Tate Britain.