SLART IS A UK-BASED VISUAL ARTIST
Born June 2, 1982
Currently living and working in Swindon, Wiltshire.
BIOGRAPHY
SLART (Steven Light) is a figurative expressionist artist who works and lives in Swindon, UK. At the age of eight, he discovered that he had been adopted by his grandparents, which set him on a journey of introspection and connection with his biological father and siblings. He has loved drawing since early childhood, spending many hours alone, drawing images from cartoons and animal books. He remains drawn to creating human-centric art, fascinated by the diversity of people, their stories, problems, issues, baggage, quirks, and personalities.
SLART is also a professional muralist with multiple commissioned outdoor pieces to his credit. SLART has produced a sizable body of work since 2021 and has been part of group exhibitions in the UK and Germany, as well as two well-received UK solo exhibits, averaging five shows a year since 2021.
See “Previous Exhibitions”, below.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a self-taught figurative expressionist who rediscovered my passion for drawing and painting at 37, two decades after my last formal art class. Through my art, I reveal and disarm human issues. I intertwine memento mori and spiritual themes with influences from the 1980s and 1990s pop culture I grew up in.
Since struggling with crippling shyness as a child and young adult, I have been an avid non-fiction reader and attended numerous courses to help me feel better. Once I got to a certain stage in my life as a happy introvert, I embarked on an esoteric journey, taking me to the philosophy of memento mori. I listen to spiritual podcasts and interviews frequently, when I paint, when I walk and sometimes when I sleep. Experiencing chronic illness has pushed me close to death and expressing this through my art has been the only way to make sense of it. Nostalgia is also a driving force when I create art, listening to music from my ’80s and ’90s childhood gives me great gusto to paint.
My primary media are oils or acrylic on large canvases. I paint freely, often starting with a reference photo and a rough concept, allowing it to unfold as I work.
Jean Dubuffet, David Shrigley and Keith Haring are my three primary artistic influences. Dubuffet teaches me to play by my own rules, reassuring me that it’s never too late to become a successful, professional artist in my own right. Shrigley endows me with humour, authenticity and the confidence to stick to my own style. Haring ignites my love for street art, large murals and making art accessible.
EDUCATION
I am a self-taught artist who has studied under:
- Caryn Koh
- Rory Walker
- Paul Exton
- Bill Cox
EXHIBITIONS
2025
- September 2025 – Solo Exhibition, Memento vivere, London.
2024
- June 2024 – Solo Exhibit, MAMS Gallery, Swindon.
- June 2024 – BLOOM Group Group Art Exhibition, Malmesbury.
- August 2024 – International Art and Design Exhibition, Brussels.
- November 2024 – Group Exhibition, Art3F Brussels.
2023
- February 2023 – Joint Exhibition, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
- March 2023 – Group Exhibition, The Holy Art Fair, Oxo Tower, London.
- May 2023 – Group Exhibition, Art and Emotion III – Bank Showroom, Tower 42, London.
- October 2023 – Memento Ludere – Trinity Collective, Swindon.
- November 2023 – Group Exhibition, Dyson, Malmesbury.
- December 2023 – Joint Exhibition with Adam Crosland, Swindon.
2022
- April 2022 – Group Exhibition, Art for Real at Boomer Gallery, Tower Bridge, London.
- April 2022 – Group Exhibition, Tebb’s Gallery, Virtual Exhibition.
- May 2022 – Solo Exhibition, FISTULA, Artsite & The Post Modern, Swindon.
- August 2022 – Solo Exhibition, The Holy Art, London.
- August 2022-Dec 2022 – Group Exhibition, The Big Art Show, Paisley.
- September 2022 – Group Exhibition, LiTE-HAUS Galerie, Berlin.
- October 2022 – Solo Exhibition, Attic Brew Co, Bourneville.
2021
- June 2021 – Group Exhibition, Artsite & The Post Modern, Swindon.
- July 2021 – Window Exhibition, Artsite & The Post Modern, Swindon.
- July 2021 – Group Exhibition, Vogue II at Boomer Gallery, London.
- July 2021 – Wiltshire Creative – Summer Open 2021, Salisbury.
COLLECTIONS
- Private collection, Marlborough, UK
- Private collection, Swindon, UK
- Private collection, Cornwall, UK
- Private collection, Youlgreave, UK
- Private collection, Market Drayton, UK
- Private collection, Westminster CO
- Alan Koppel Gallery, Chicago, IL