Horace Panter

Horace Panter graduated from Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) with a BA in Fine Art in 1975. Whilst there, he met Jerry Dammers and, together with Lynval Golding, he was a founding member of The Specials. While known predominantly as a musician, he kept up his art practice while touring and became a professional artist in 2010 with his first exhibition at The Proud Gallery in London. Since that time, he has exhibited throughout the UK, as well as in Los Angeles, New York, and Singapore.

Pop Culture informs both his audio and his visual aesthetic. His paintings are representational and reference Andy Warhol in the CASSETTE and POP ART series, and David Hockney and Edward Hopper in the AMERICANA and BEANO series. He doesn’t feel tied to a particular genre so moves back and forwards between each subject. His musical career has obviously influenced all of his work; the cassettes were initially based on studio recordings of songs that went on to become iconic hits. Decades of touring refined his appreciation of the urban environment in the US, especially focussing on the ubiquitous diners and neon signs scattered across every city and town. He is not frightened of using bright colours and has become known for the intensity of his ‘blue skies’ as well his depictions of light and shade in the AMERICANA series.

He says, “People often ask me whether I prefer being a musician or an artist. I tell them that the art is my solo album… it succeeds or fails by my own efforts. Music is teamwork. Both are crucial; I couldn’t live without either.”