Whilst I, like most sane people, find it objectionable that bankers continue to make ridiculous amounts of money – I have no problem when an artist, especially one who has struggled for twenty years, suddenly commands huge prices for their work (albeit by clawing back some of that obscenely created wealth by selling to rich hedge fund managers). Charming (nee Alan) Baker is one such artist whose latest pop-up show in Mercer Street, London WC2 reputedly sold out before opening for close to £2 million.
If you can, please take the time to visit the exhibition before it closes at the end of July to see an artist whose reputation has grown outside of the gallery system and whose work neatly sits somewhere in a triangle defined by Peter Blake, Banksy and Damian Hurst. Above all else, Baker can draw as well as anyone currently working and his new foray into sculpture is excellent and beautifully crafted.