Carl Randall


Carl Randall is a British figurative painter, whose work is based on images of modern Japan and London.

Education

Randall is a graduate of The Slade School of Fine Art London, the Royal Drawing School London, and Tokyo University of the Arts Japan.

''Portraits of Modern Japan''

Randall was awarded The BP Travel Award 2012, for his proposal to walk in the footsteps of the Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker Andō Hiroshige, creating paintings of the people and places of contemporary Japan. His project involved spending time in Japan resulting in a group of 15 paintings exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of The 2013 BP Portrait Award exhibition, under the title "In the Footsteps of Hiroshige – The Tokaido Highway and Portraits of Modern Japan". The exhibition subsequently toured to The Aberdeen Art Gallery Scotland, The Wolverhampton Art Gallery England, and then formed his solo exhibition in Japan 'Portraits from Edo to the Present' at The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum, where the paintings were exhibited alongside Hiroshige's original The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō woodblock prints. In conjunction with these exhibitions, the book Carl Randall – Japan Portraits was published, illustrating paintings and drawings made in Japan, with a foreword by British author Desmond Morris, and an introduction by the late American writer Donald Richie. A short documentary, Carl Randall – Japan Portraits was also made, showing the artist painting and drawing in Japan. His Japan paintings were also the subject of a 2016 'World Update' interview by the BBC World Service, and he was also interviewed by CNN about his Japanese work.

Awards, Scholarships, Residencies, Collections

As well as The BP Travel Award, he also received first prize in the 1998 RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, he twice received Second prize in The William Coldstream Painting Competition at The Slade School, and was awarded The 2011 Nomura Art Prize by Tokyo University of Arts. Scholarships include Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and MEXT to continue his career as a painter in Tokyo, where he lived for 10 years. He was selected to be the artist in residence at the 2007 Grand Prix Formula 1 Races in Japan, and was interviewed about his paintings for the CNN programme 'The Japanese Grand Prix: F1 in Japan'. He was also invited to be artist in residence in Hiroshima City, to meet and paint portraits of hibakusha, as part of the exhibition Hiroshima Art Document. In 2014, his large canvas 'Tokyo Portrait' was bought by Fondation Carmignac in Paris, joining works in the collection by artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichenstein, Jean-Michel Basquait, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter. His paintings are also in The Royal Collection and The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art, Japan.

Exhibitions

His works have been exhibited at a number of exhibitions and galleries, including the BP Portrait Awards at The National Portrait Gallery London; the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition ; The Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition, The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2012 and Flowers Gallery London. In 2014, he had two solo exhibitions in central London of work inspired by the people and places of Tokyo: 'Tokyo Portraits' at The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, and 'Shōzō ' at Berloni London. In the same year, his solo exhibition 'Portraits from Edo to the Present' was at The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art in Japan, where his paintings were exhibited alongside Ando Hiroshige's original The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō woodblock prints. Other exhibitions in Japan include at Tokyo Art Award, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Arts, and a solo exhibition at Fuma Contemporary Tokyo, Bunkyo Art. Participation in international art fairs include Art Volta, Basel Switzerland; Art Taipei, Taiwan; Art International Istanbul, Art Osaka and Art Fair Tokyo 2019, Japan. In 2015, he was commissioned by HRH Prince of Wales to paint a World War Two D-Day Veteran for The Royal Collection, exhibited at The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Portsmouth Museum, and Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2016, his work was exhibited and auctioned at Christie's New York, and in 2020 Christie's London. Earlier in his career, he was included in the 2004 group exhibition 'Being Present' at The Jerwood Gallery London, showcasing eight young UK figurative painters who primarily work from life.

London Portraits

'London Portraits' are a series of 15 paintings made upon Randall's return to the UK, of people who have contributed to their fields in British culture and society. Each sitter was asked to choose a location in London for the background of their portraits. Participants include newscaster Jon Snow, actress Julie Walters, comedian Jo Brand, animator Nick Park, author/illustrator Raymond Briggs, novelist David Mitchell, actress Katie Leung, illustrator Dave McKean, poet Benjamin Zephaniah, movie producer Jeremy Thomas, film-maker Julien Temple, poet Simon Armitage, choreographer Akram Khan, zoologist Desmond Morris, actor Antony Sher and Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran. A short documentary Carl Randall – London Portraits was made in conjunction with the project, showing Randall meeting and painting the sitters – each explaining their choice of location in London for their portraits. Prints of this series of paintings were displayed at the print room of The National Portrait Gallery, London. In 2017, he created a large monochrome painting depicting Piccadilly Circus London, a busy central London shopping area, which involved meeting and painting the portraits of over 75 London residents directly from life. In 2018, he painted over 55 portraits in a large oil painting depicting central London's Waterloo Bridge and Thames River area.

Lecturing/talks

Randall has been invited to give talks at UCL Art Museum, The London Art Fair, CharterHouse School, Cambridge University, The British Council in Tokyo, The National Portrait Gallery London and The Daiwa Anglo Japanese Foundation. In Tokyo, he was Adjunct Professor in Fine Art at Temple University Japan and painting and drawing tutor at Suidobata Art Academy. In London, he has been invited to give painting and drawing workshops at Heatherleys School of Fine Art, The Art Academy and The Royal Drawing School.

Selected works

Books