[Ddog]

Hey guys. Been on the forum for almost two years now, however much more of a browser than a poster. Anyhoo, I'm sure I'm still welcome

I was in a gallery in Epping High Road yesterday and I saw an artist called Dean Fox's work. The originals absolutely blew me away, especially the Christopher Reeve superman that sold for nearly £7k..! (Image below)

I was talking to the gallery owner and he was telling me about how he has seen the art scene change over the last few years and the likes of JJ Adams rising in popularity and how people have "forgotten" what true art talent looks like. He seems to think this guy is the real deal, I for one am certainly gonna look to buy one of his prints (can't afford an original :/ )

Just thought some of you guys on here might like to check out some of his stuff, I googled some of his work before and a lot of it seems like 'fine art' with a real modern/urban feel to it without trying too hard (unlike others whom I won't name but they rhyme with hey hey radams)

Not to mention the gallery owner said he was a really cool guy and I like to see people with real talent do well! Good luck to him.


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[Deleted]

Not seeing it mate. This work, for me, is largely unoriginal and particularly shallow. Be cautious in how you regard what you see commercial galleries doing.... £7k is alot but it's signifigance towards validating the artist's career is virtually unknowable without context. Popular walk-in galleries almost never promote serious work. They look to present work that will capture the eye of many; this often means a general reign in on conceptual depth and a promotion of traditional 'beauty' and/or contemporary interest,(i.e. celebrity, superman). Just my two cents, thanks for sharing!

[Ddog]

Thanks for your reply and advice. I do see what you're saying, I've always wondered when you walk into these high street galleries, they never have the likes of Ben Eine, Banksy etc, it's always artists I haven't heard of and looks like commercial rubbish. Stack em high sell em cheap stuff that look good on your walls and lack depth. I suppose I've always had a soft spot for anything superman related and it sparked my interest. Along with the gallery owner's sell it got me hooked! I did however look him up and found his Facebook page, and I don't think this artist lacks depth or contemporary interest, I am absolutely blown away by his talent. I didn't see any in the galley, however on his Facebook there are these charcoal sketches that are just sensational. God knows how much they cost though, and like you said, being unproven it might be better to hold onto my cash. However, I haven't seen art that makes me feel like that in a long time. Take a look for yourself www.facebook.com/pages/Dean-Fox-Art/1524173887800366

The thing that gets me, is I look at his work and I see an incredible talent and a few walls away there is a selection of JJ Adams stuff that is just photoshopped and looks so tacky and cheap and people on here are arguing that he's investable etc, and I know his Diana and Queen go for thousands on fleabay! I just don't get it.

I've also put some pics up below for the lazy people in here who can't be bothered to trawl through Facebook ? haha!


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All views IMO of course, I just hope I've discovered the next big artist haha! Wishful thinking ?

[Stender]

I didn't know Tom Cruise played superman?

Quite like the charcoal but not keen on the others. It does look like the usual Washington Green stuff you get in these galleries imho.

[fairplay1974]

Not on Facebook... So thought I'd be lazy!

But not one of those links seems to work!!

[Ddog]

Apr 28, 2015 12:33:30 GMT 1 fairplay1974 said:

Not on Facebook... So thought I'd be lazy!

But not one of those links seems to work!!

That's odd, it all works my end??? I don't know how to get the pics to display on the actual post, so you have to click the link and it shows up... On my phone anyway?!

[Nick]

The links work fine for me. It's evident he has talent, but these dont quite tick my boxes, celebrity and superheroes doesnt really do it for me. You obviously love them aesthetically so seems like a no brainer for you to purchase if you can afford..if they appreciate thats just a bonus. If you're only thinking with investment goggles then i have absolutely no bleeding idea.

[Ddog]

Apr 28, 2015 12:53:54 GMT 1 Nick said:

The links work fine for me. It's evident he has talent, but these dont quite tick my boxes, celebrity and superheroes doesnt really do it for me. You obviously love them aesthetically so seems like a no brainer for you to purchase if you can afford..if they appreciate thats just a bonus. If you're only thinking with investment goggles then i have absolutely no bleeding idea.

That's some great advice thank you! I suppose if I like it then I should buy it and enjoy it and not think about the investability of the pieces. I do however, think it's always nice knowing if you ever needed to sell you can make your money back - or even better, you're buying a print of an artist who will be big in the future and you've hit the jackpot.

I think I just have a gripe with whole art world. Everything is so subjective and if the right people say a certain artist is good then prices shoot up. There's a whole load of people queuing up to buy an R2D2 with a soup can for a belly and this guy is producing some incredible art and people are just a bit meh about it. The crowd dictates popularity I suppose! And that wouldn't ever encourage me to have Robocop playing poker on my wall so I should take my own advice...! Age old saying, different strokes for different folks!
Interesting reading your opinions, thanks everyone

[fairplay1974]

Apr 28, 2015 12:39:54 GMT 1 Ddog said:

Apr 28, 2015 12:33:30 GMT 1 fairplay1974 said:

Not on Facebook... So thought I'd be lazy!

But not one of those links seems to work!!

That's odd, it all works my end??? I don't know how to get the pics to display on the actual post, so you have to click the link and it shows up... On my phone anyway?!

Must be a browser issue my end then... Will check them again later.

[monsoonking]

Textbook case of someone who has a lot of technical skill, but little artistic voice.

[Rouen Cathedral]

Some nice stuff.

Sad thing is that if you didn't label this as 'new artist dean fox' and labeled it something like 'new style for Banksy or whatson' people would probably be eating it up! Haha

[Ddog]

Apr 29, 2015 11:42:43 GMT 1 Rouen Cathedral said:

Some nice stuff.

Sad thing is that if you didn't label this as 'new artist dean fox' and labeled it something like 'new style for Banksy or whatson' people would probably be eating it up! Haha

I think this is the main problem with the whole art community! Everyone is so fixated on a name rather than what they've produced. Some awful prints get released and because they're a "name" people rush to buy it and put it on their wall. Oh well, I'll never understand! I just see it as a total shame that people see those charcoal sketches and think the guy has no artist vision! I haven't seen anything like that level of skill and I for one would be proud to hang it on my wall! I sent him a Facebook message hopefully I can find out how much they are and where I can buy them!

[monsoonking]

Apr 29, 2015 12:39:08 GMT 1 Ddog said:

Apr 29, 2015 11:42:43 GMT 1 Rouen Cathedral said:

Some nice stuff.

Sad thing is that if you didn't label this as 'new artist dean fox' and labeled it something like 'new style for Banksy or whatson' people would probably be eating it up! Haha

I think this is the main problem with the whole art community! Everyone is so fixated on a name rather than what they've produced. Some awful prints get released and because they're a "name" people rush to buy it and put it on their wall. Oh well, I'll never understand! I just see it as a total shame that people see those charcoal sketches and think the guy has no artist vision! I haven't seen anything like that level of skill and I for one would be proud to hang it on my wall! I sent him a Facebook message hopefully I can find out how much they are and where I can buy them!

I certainly agree that collectors often chase "names" over "product". However, work of this type and quality is produced by literally 10's of thousands of artists, and it's all basically indistinguishable from each other. It's just straight-forward draftsmanship and figure drawing (if executed well). You can walk through Central Park and encounter a dozen artists who are more than happy to churn out an extremely high quality portrait for a near pittance. This type of art will never rise in value because there's nothing to distinguish it from the mountain of work that's basically identical.

With nothing to set it apart, artists who produce this kind of work often turn to doing celebrity and pop icon portraits because it's an easy way to generate resonance with consumers. But does the world really need another finely rendered portrait of Scarface or Jay-Z? Not really.

The fact is, realist figurative work has been out of fashion for more than 100 years. Maybe that's because it's been obviated by the invention of the camera. Maybe it's because of a shifted view about what makes art interesting and valuable to society. In any event, if you like this type of work, it's lucky for you. You can no doubt accumulate an impressive collection for a rather small outlay. I'd warn you off of paying anywhere near £7k for of a work of this type, as it's likely to be worth £400 (if that) the moment you walk out of the gallery with it. You might check out regional auctioneers which commonly sell high quality realist, "traditional" work for £200 or less.