Christopher Farrell is a British artist who graduated from the Royal Academy School of Art in 1997. He is known for his paintings, drawings, and digital artworks based on the evolving skyline of London and other cities around the world.
Farrell’s artistic practice offers a sophisticated dialogue between tradition and modernity,perception and structure, memory and observation. His work sits at a compelling intersection: the classical discipline of drawing and painting meets the shifting, technologically mediated reality of contemporary urban life.
Farrell’s paintings and drawings rarely present architecture as fixed or monumental. Instead, his cities seem to breathe, vibrate, or shimmer. They are shaped as much by memory and imagination as by direct representation. Fragmented reflections, shifts in perspective, and atmospheric distortions reveal how human perception actively constructs the urban landscape. In this sense, Farrell’s work challenges the viewer to question what is “real” in a city: the built environment, the sensory impressions we collect, or the internal narratives we impose on it. Technically, Farrell demonstrates a rare dual fluency. His classical works show the steady hand of a draughtsman, while his digital explorations, layered prints on aluminium or Dibond, or compositions shaped through digital edition embrace the tools and sensibilities of 21st century image making.
Education:
1994 -1997 Royal Academy School of Art, London.
Post-graduate diploma in Painting.
Post-graduate diploma in Painting.
1990 -1993 De Montfort University, Leicester.
BA (Hons) Degree in Visual Arts.
First Class (Hons) Degree specialising in painting.
Online Content:
BA (Hons) Degree in Visual Arts.
First Class (Hons) Degree specialising in painting.
Online Content:
2018 Sarah Wiseman Gallery - 'Vantage Point - A Contemporary View of Oxford' Catalogue.
2016 Creative Wick community project, London.
Exhibitions:
2026 Two paintings selected for the 'Discerning Eye Exhibition', Mall Galleries, London.
2026 AAF - New York, TAG Fine Arts
2026 AAF - Hong Kong, TAG Fine Arts
2026 London Art Fair - Islington, London, TAG Fine Arts
2025 AAF - Battersea, London, TAG Fine Arts2025 AAF - New York, TAG Fine Arts
2025 AAF - Hong Kong, TAG Fine Arts
2025 San Francisco Art Fair, TAG Fine Arts
2025 London Art Fair - Islington, London, TAG Fine Arts
2024 AAF - Battersea , London, TAG Fine Arts
2024 AAF - New York, TAG Fine Arts
2024 AAF - Hong Kong, TAG Fine Arts
2018 'Cityscapes' Koppel Project Hive Gallery, London.
2018 'AAF Battersea' The Art Agency, London.
2017 'The Hive - Open Studios' Live painting at The Koppel Project Hive, London.
2017 Live painting and artist in residence at the Koppel Project Hive, London ( 19th - 30th June ).
2017 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford, Surrey ( 25th March - 22 April ).
2017 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize, Mall Galleries, London ( 6th - 19th March ).
2016 'A Winter Gathering' Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford.
2016 ING Discerning Eye Prize, Mall Galleries, London.
2016 Hackney WickED Opens, Cell Studios, London.
2015/16 ‘Summer Show’, Winchester.
2013 ‘ComplexCity’, Solo show, Art Moorhouse, London with Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2013 ‘ComplexCity’, Solo show, OXO Gallery, London in association with Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2009 Digital prints showcased by Grand Image Ltd, Las Vegas, USA.
2007 ‘City’, Stonehage, London.
2007 ‘Summer Show’, Alan Kluckow Gallery.
2007 ‘Summer Show’, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery ( introduced by Alan Kluckow ), London.
2006 'Cityscapes' Solo Show, 39 Essex Street, London.
2006 'New York, Paris, London', Collyer~Bristow Gallery, London.
2006 'London, A New Perspective', Solo Show, The Smithfield Gallery. Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2003 'London Architecture', Richard Rodgers Partnerships, Bcontemporary, London.
2002 'Wall to Wall', Sarah Myerscough Fine Art.
2002 'Summer Show', Group show, Beaux Arts, Bath.
2002 'Urban Myths', Group show, Beaux Arts, Bath.
2002 'Hunting Art Prize 2002', Royal College of Art, London.
2001 'Metropolis', Two-person show at the Vertigo Gallery, Shoreditch, London.
2000 Work selected for the 'Hunting Art Prize 2000' exhibition at the Royal College of Art, London.
1998 'Winners Collection', Hunting Art Prize at the Royal College of Art, London.
1997 'A Very British Art' at Simpson's in Piccadilly, Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1997 'Final Year Post Graduate Degree Show', Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1995/96 'First and Second Year Show - Painting and Sculpture'. Royal Academy School of Arts, London.
1996 Work selected for the '228th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition', London.
1996 Work selected for the 'Second and Third-year Premiums' Exhibition at the RA of Art, London.
1994 'Hunting\Observer Prize' Royal College of Art, London and Glasgow Museum of Art.
Selected Commissions:
2026. Commissioned to produce a large scale painting of Hong Kong, Dubai.
2002/17 Commissioned to produce large-scale paintings and digital lightboxes for Foxtons, London.
2016 Commissioned to produce Street Art for Creative Wick and Peabody, London.
2003/15 Commissioned to produce paintings for Walker Hamill, London.
2012 Commissioned to produce digital art for Loyens and Loeff, London.
2011 Commissioned to produce digital art for CVC, London.
2011 Commissioned to produce paintings for Johnson Matthey, London.
2010/11 Commissioned to produce paintings, drawings, and digital art for Mirabaud, London.
2009 Commissioned to produce digital art for Advent Capital Management, Luxembourg.
2009 Commissioned to produce large format digital art for the British Embassy, Madrid, Spain.
2008 Commissioned to produce large format digital lightbox for Ocubis, 64 Knightsbridge, London.
2008 Commissioned to produce large format digital art for Troika Bank, London.
2006 Commissioned to produce paintings, digital art, and drawings for Calyon Financial, London.
2004 Commissioned to produce digital art for Royal Bank of Canada, London.
1997/8 Artist in Residence at the London Business School, Regent's Park, London.
Awards:
1998 Invited to attend a reception by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace to
recognise the achievements of young adults from throughout the United Kingdom who have excelled in their particular field.
recognise the achievements of young adults from throughout the United Kingdom who have excelled in their particular field.
1997 Turner Gold Medal for painting, Premiums Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art, London.
1997 Won the 'Young Artist of the Year' prize from the Hunting Art Prize Exhibition at the Royal College of Art and the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.
1994/97 Awarded the Jack Goldhill Scholarship for painting at the Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1992/96 Won the Royal Academy's David Murray Studentship Award for Landscape Painting.
1996 Won the British Institution Award for painting.
Selected Collections:
Foxtons
British Embassy, Madrid
Jerwood Foundation
Walker Hamill
Johnson Matthey
Ocubis/64KB
Troika Bank
CVC
Mirabaud
Loyens and Leoff
Advent Capital Management
Calyon Financial
Sterling Ackroyd
Royal Bank of Canada
London Business School
British Embassy, Madrid
Jerwood Foundation
Walker Hamill
Johnson Matthey
Ocubis/64KB
Troika Bank
CVC
Mirabaud
Loyens and Leoff
Advent Capital Management
Calyon Financial
Sterling Ackroyd
Royal Bank of Canada
London Business School