Paul Insect (b. 1971) is an artist living and working in London, UK who prefers to keep his true identity anonymous. He first rose to prominence as part of the “insect” artist collective, which was active between 1996 and 2005. His sharp-edged images combine all the absurdism of Dada with the sleekness of modernism, yielding surreal renderings that point playfully at the deep dark underbelly of adult life. In the 1990s, Insect became known for his witty stencil and spray painted works, before transitioning to the gallery scene with color-drenched canvases which teetered precariously between tradition and something far more messed up. His images are provoking yet light-hearted and demand a sense of morality that transcends common acceptance. Paul Insect’s bright, multi-textured collages feature cropped portraits, patterned color fields, Ben Day dots, and decorative elements such as diamond dust and glitter. His next big break arrived in 2007, when Damien Hirst reportedly bought out the artist’s entire solo show before it even opened at London’s Lazarides Gallery. Hirst is not alone in his fandom—Insect has exhibited at a number of galleries in New York and London, and his work was included in Banksy’s 2015 pop-up exhibition “Dismaland” and Roger Gastman’s 2018 traveling street art survey “Beyond the Streets.”
