Rose Blake
Rose Blake is an illustrator. And she is also an artist.
Her work constantly challenges the notion that the two practices must be kept separate, that an illustration cannot resonate with meaning once parted from its text accompaniment in the same way that a painting can stand alone.
Choosing vast museum-scapes as her chosen subject, Blake captures the busy hum of a gallery concourse. A couple exchange flowers. A child totters hand-in-hand with their parent, their droopy teddy almost lost in the movement. A yoga-loving bystander is entertained by a giddy cluster of school children with matching rucksacks.
Each digitally-designed character contributes to the rich narrative the scene develops, all with their own lives and personalities. And the art on the museum walls, which Blake hand-paints onto each image, brings with it its own history. Her imagined museums become playful forums in which to redefine what is regarded as ‘exhibition-worthy’. Illustration as art is affirmed, and truly celebrated.
Blake studied Illustration and Animation at Kingston University, where she was awarded the D&AD Best New Blood Award. She followed this with an MA at the Royal College of Art. Blake has completed commissions for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The BBC and Tatler.
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Works on Paper, 2024
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Three Wooden Planks Leaning, 2023
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Stone Banana, 2023
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Sing (Hearing The Last Note), 2018
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OK (Lying in a Sunny Place), 2018
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OK (I Don't Care What Shoes You Wear), 2018
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Sing (Whenever A Pulse Beats), 2018
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Sing (The Cuckoo Song), 2018
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Swim (Escape), 2018
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Sing (Memory and Mind), 2018
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OK (Enjoying the Details), 2018
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My Small Shelf, 2017
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My Shelf (With Turtle Parade), 2017
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My Shelf (With Museum Journal), 2017
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Gallery Panorama 3, 2017
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Gallery Panorama 2, 2017
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Gallery Panorama 1, 2017
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The Wedding Present, 2016
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Trio Of Blue, 2015
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Stone Banana, 2015
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Three Fingers / The Stolen Daffodil, 2015
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Electric Blue / Black Gloss, 2015
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Works On Paper, 2015
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Pink Wall, 2015
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Stone Banana (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Three Fingers/ The Stolen Daffodil (detail), 2015
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Pŏp-ū-lar
Group Show 20 - 30 July 2020 LondonPopular, an exhibition of people including contemporary artworks by John Holcomb, Mersuka Dopazo, Carla Kranendonk, Phil Shaw, Andrew Mockett, Rose Blake, Nikoleta Sekulovic, Sophie Charalambous, Emma Haworth and Jerry Jeanmard. The London exhibition also includes non-Western artworks, including by African Bushmen artists, Norman Kingsley and Jimmy Pike.Read more -
Springtime
Group Show 9 April - 31 May 2020Inside Springtime, an exhibition by contemporary artists such as Rose Blake, Nyarapayi Giles, Mersuka Dopazo and Pauline and Emma Wangin at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London.Read more -
Some Sunny Day
Group Show 26 July - 30 August 2019 LondonInside Some Sunny Day, an exhibition celebrating the joys of summer at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London, featuring artists such as Emma Haworth, Ashley Amery and Toby Burrows.Read more -
SING SWIM OK MOON
Rose Blake 31 May - 30 June 2018 LondonInside British artist Rose Blake's second exhibition at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London.Read more -
Now I am an Artist
Rose Blake 7 - 31 October 2015 LondonRose Blake is an illustrator. And she is also an artist. Her work constantly challenges the notion that the two practices must be kept separate, that an illustration cannot resonate...Read more
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In the Studio with Rose Blake
Artists & Illustrators, 1 October 2015 -
Rose Blake
Fitzrovia Journal, 14 October 2015 -
Sussing Out the Good Stuff at Art on Paper and Miami Project
Hyperallergic, 2 December 2015 -
Rose Blake
Studio International, 28 December 2015 -
Rose Blake: Now She Is An Artist
Juxtapoz Magazine, 1 March 2016 -
How To Start A Collection
House & Garden, 1 November 2016 -
Rose Blake at Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
Irrelevant Edition, 3 July 2018