Charlie Roberts

Roberts’ works borrow from art-historical and pop-cultural sources. Working in his studio to an exclusively hip-hop soundtrack, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross are as much of an influence as his other heroes, European Renaissance masters Pieter Bruegel and Van Eyck. The result is full of energy, determination and a unique expression. Tight line that draws the women’s contour creates a seductive and distorted realism - gorgeous female figures are all painted with a very cheeky attitude that derives from hip hop culture’s parallel universe and its ability to create an illusion of a great lifestyle. Born 1984 in Kansas, USA, Charlie Roberts lives and works in Oslo, Norway. He was educated at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Canada and Kansas University, USA.
 

Selected solo exhibitions include Metropolis at Palo Gallery, New York (2025); Possible Worlds, Nino Mier Gallery, Brussels (2024); Short Stories, Anna Zorina Gallery, Los Angeles (2023); Light Sleeper, Allouche Benias, Athens (2022); Bleeding Edge, Ojiri Gallery, London (2022); Dream Chasers, Woaw Gallery, Beijing (2021); Sandworm, Woaw Gallery, Hong Kong (2020); Cosmic Hedge, Galleri Golsa, Oslo (2019); Fire Season, Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles (2018); and Desert Rose, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (2017).

 

Selected group exhibitions include presentations at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2024); Woaw Gallery, Hong Kong (2023); Allouche Benias, Athens (2022); V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (2021); and Galleri Golsa, Oslo (2019). Roberts has also participated in institutional group exhibitions at Malmö Art Museum, Sweden (2018); Stavanger Art Museum, Norway (2017); and Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Tromsø (2016), as well as international fairs including Art Brussels (2024), CHART, Copenhagen (2022), Art Los Angeles Contemporary (2019), Art Toronto (2018) and Taipei Dangdai (2020).