Brian Calvin is known for his large, colourful paintings which depict youthful figures, based on the people he observes in his home state of California. These paintings are therefore imbued with a strong sense of Calvin’s own identity, and his strong connection with the Californian landscape and people. Calvin utilises an extreme contrast of bright colours and close-up representation of features to create an element of abstraction in his work. This also creates a sense of flatness and temporal dislocation which makes these paintings particularly impactful, and has seen Calvin likened to artists such as David Hockney and Alex Katz. Calvin studied at the University of California in Berkeley and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. ...