Alon Zakaim Fine Art

Will Thorburn (b. 1983) is a young British artist who has come to increasing prominence over the last year after a series of exhibitions in Mayfair, London. His intricately executed anatomical paintings and drawings are a powerful admixture of scientific content, elaborate designs taken from Eastern and Arabic art, and psychedelic colouring. The body itself becomes secondary to the emotional and visual responses evoked; the patterns artificially imposed on the organs give the contemporary content an archetypal, ancient feel.

Having studied the scientific Renaissance engravings of Andreas Vesalius for several years, Thorburn's work took a strong initial influence from this imagery; his black and white works mimic the effect of a woodcut, however each is a unique, hand-drawn work on paper. In recent years his work has evolved through a return to painting, and whilst the intricate detail has remained, the form and content of the work have evolved with his increasing emphasis on the purely visual content of the works; the use of fluorescent paints have given his paintings a startlingly psychedelic and luminous quality.

Since graduating from Brighton University in 2007, Will Thorburn has been involved in several group and solo exhibitions in London. He has followed the contemporary trend of artists taking on the role of both exhibitor and curator, performing both these roles in Living Ornaments (2010) and his most recent solo show, Endings (2011). Will Thorburn lives and works in London.

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