The epic on epic fantasy art of Frank Frazetta in its first UK retrospective

Not many artists could boast their work evoked a righteous chalice gesture to the heavens. But then not many artists have had as important an impact on high-fantasy art as Frank Frazetta. You think you don’t know who he is but you do – if you have ever listened to or stood near someone who listens to heavy metal, read comics, pulp fantasy fiction, or find meaning in the combinations of words “rogue roman,” “moon maid,” and “wither wing,” then you know who Frank Frazetta is.

Opening this evening at the Drawers Gallery is the first retrospective of its kind in the UK. Painting With Power will feature over 40 prints from a very long and prolific career in comics and art with the work undoubtedly depicting impossible Charles Atlas men and fantastical, terrible beasts that loom behind mostly naked women and the epically-imagined landscapes. It doesn’t have to be your cup of tea for you to appreciate the acuity of this man’s imagination or artistic ability and, for anyone whose tastes venture beyond the close-minded ambit of the real world, his career is one of massive inspiration and vital importance to sci-fi storytelling.

Frank Frazetta – A Retrospective: Painting with Power will be on show until June 6.