Vibrant surrealist landscapes form the late, great Ken Price

We find it very depressing indeed when we come across an artist whose work captivates us completely only to find they’ve recently passed away. Given his exceptional skill, 50-year-career, and unprecedented influence on contemporary illustration and graphic design we probably should’ve known about Ken Price prior to his death last year, but no matter, we’ll try and make up for it now.

A native of southern California, Ken studied ceramics in LA and New York before relocating to Mexico, the source of much of his artistic inspiration. A peer of Ed Ruscha and John McCracken, he rose to prominence for his unique sculptural works; fluid abstract forms created from ceramic and painted with multiple layers of vibrant acrylic.

Though ceramics formed the majority of his output Ken was also an accomplished painter and draughtsman, producing works on paper that mirror his 3D output but incorporate architectural elements that imbue them with human narrative. Heavy with luminous colour, Ken’s images resemble sci-fi book covers of alien lands populated with giant sculptures and the occasional occurrence of modernist architecture. Utterly beguiling work from a late American great.