Babak Ganjei
Babak Ganjei is a London-based artist and illustrator noted for his text-based paintings.[1]
Early life and education
Ganjei was born in London, and moved to Bournemouth at the age of eleven, which he describe has described as "a bit like suddenly being the only ethnics in the town". He started drawing young, as his mother was a painter, and his father an architect.[2]
Ganjei studied at Central Saint Martins.[3] He graduated in 2001 with a degree in fine arts, according to an oil-painted CV he exhibited in 2018.[2] His promotional page on the website of literary and talent agency Curtis Brown states that Ganjei "sent his first email in the library at Central Saint Martins in 2001 and vowed the Internet would never take off and has been playing catch up ever since".[4]
He describes his early influences as the band Nirvana, and the punk / DIY aesthetic.[1]
Career
Ganjei has described the years 2005 to 2011 as when he "join[ed] bands to be broke in a gang". He played in the band Absentee for six years.[2] They were signed to Mephis Industries, and released their final album in 2008.[5] Ganjei and two other members of Absentee were also in the band Wet Paint.[6]
In 2014, Ganjei received coverage from Daily Express, The Independent, Metro, and BBC Radio 5 Live for auctioning some twigs on eBay[2] alongside other unusual items like handwritten Fresh Prince of Bel Air lyrics.[7]
In 2018, Ganjei exhibited a solo show, It’s Really Not Funny, at London's War Gallery. Works displayed in this show included an oil-painted CV, and a painting of his Barclaycard. He tried to sell the painting to Barclaycard, but they did not purchase it and suggested he cancel his card for security reasons.[2]
References
- ^ a b Dazed (2021-06-09). "Babak Ganjei's confessional artworks reveal his hilarious inner monologue". Dazed. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ a b c d e Quietus, The (2018-01-28). "Buisness Propositions: Babak Ganjei Talks Art, Ideas, And eBay". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ Features, Hannah Silver last updated in (2021-08-06). "Babak Ganjei: 'If Instagram went down I don't know if I'd exist'". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Absentee Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Wet Paint really should be bigger than they are". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ Saul, Heather (2014-03-29). "'Unique' twigs go on eBay - and attract bids". The Independent.