Collection: Ed Chapman

Artist Bio

Growing up in Lancashire and now based in Kent, Ed Chapman is recognised as one of the foremost contemporary mosaic artists working today. Celebrated for reimagining this ancient medium with striking originality, his work transcends tradition, transforming unconventional materials into sophisticated and compelling compositions.

Ed Chapman comes from a deeply artistic background, his parents met while studying at Liverpool College of Art alongside Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon. His mother, Margaret Chapman, was a renowned English illustrator and painter. His father Andrew was a sculptor and designer. This distinguished creative lineage continues to resonate in Ed’s work today; on occasion, he creates his intricate mosaics on an easel once used by the original Beatle himself.

In his early twenties, Ed became fascinated with mosaic as a medium when, during art school, his brother was assigned to create a mosaic from paper torn from magazines.
Intrigued by the process, Ed began experimenting with the technique himself. The results were immediately promising, his second portrait sold, and momentum quickly followed.
Incredibly, the first gallery to exhibit his work sold both pieces before they were even put on display!

Since then, Chapman’s career has flourished internationally. His mosaics have been sold on every continent and are held in museum collections on both sides of the Atlantic. He has also been commissioned by a wide range of international celebrities and organisations. With growing recognition, the value of his work has steadily increased.
Despite the technical complexity behind each piece, Chapman’s mosaics retain an accessible, ostensibly naïve character which has contributed to their inclusion in the art curricula of many UK schools, where students are encouraged to explore the medium by creating their own mosaic works.

Artist Statement

I have long been fascinated by the idea that ordinary, everyday materials can be transformed into something instantly recognisable, whether a portrait, a cityscape, or an iconic image.
At the heart of my making mosaics is a desire to challenge both myself and the viewer. I enjoy working with materials that are rarely, or never, associated with fine art. Over the years, I have created mosaics using coins, sugar cubes, bullet casings, biscuits and even chewing gum, often as part of bespoke commissions. Each material brings its own character, limitations and possibilities.

Each of my works is composed of hundreds of individual pieces, whether ceramic or stone tiles, vinyl records, or guitar plectrums, which, when viewed up close, reveal a surprising and often unexpected construction.
I enjoy inviting viewers to question the medium at first glance, only for them to discover, upon closer inspection, that the work is, in fact, a mosaic.