Foz Foster is a British artist, from the North of England. Living and working in London with his wife and two children. Foz’s work invites his viewers to pay close attention to the ‘small-stuff’ to access his work as a whole. The interaction between the artist and viewer is always at play throughout his work. His artistic project is biographical and is fascinated by the ordinary and the everyday. This selection of work represents his obsessions with internal and external observations, and his joy of making. Themes include faith, ‘men and miscarriage,’ and general mental health issues which arise through life’s challenges.
These works on paper are taken from several international and national solo exhibitions spanning 30 years. Including, 3 battle scenes (from a series of 14 works) exploring the domestic life of the artist, where utility bills, shopping lists, birthday cards, letters, emails and conversations are materials in the making of art. Creating a series of modern-day Bayeux Tapestry where jokes and battle cries are thrown instead of arrows, and where Cowboys fight side-by-side with Beefeaters, Knights and Tommys. This carnival of boys’ own fun and grown-up reflection is closely guarded by intricate portraits of loved ones, past and present. Drawn in felt tip and coloured in to the extreme, Foster pays tribute to those he loves and the roles they have played in his and others’ lives. Mothers are titled as sisters and as daughters, alongside Foster who presents himself side by side with his own son, as a pair of sons. With this gesture he presents us with the dichotomy of parenting while being someone’s child. And in being the adult without forgetting what it is to be a child, while facing the myriad of challenges in nurturing, raising, and loving one’s children. Other works include, works of paper from Men and Miscarriage (world’s largest fertility conference) invited to exhibit his 76ft scroll ‘Pain Will Not Have the Last Word’, ESHRE, Barcelona 2018, Resurrections (solo show), New York in 2011.
Foster was awarded Honorary Fellowship for his contributions to the arts in 2014 by Hereford College of Arts, and currently Senior Lecturer at Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts.
