Luke Edward Hall

The romantic aesthetic of Luke Edward Hall’s works is informed by the past and suffused with various references, from the Bloomsbury Group, who very much believed in blurring the boundary between art and design, to Cecil Beaton with Wes Anderson sense of colour. He regularly draws his friends, acquaintances and imagined characters in a distinctive, fluid style referencing the eccentric lifestyles of the 1920s and ‘30s. Luke Edward Hall is greatly inspired by Jean Cocteau, whose mid-20th-century line drawings conjure the intimacy of romance, while the occupants of some of his more isolated scenes are imbued with the same emotional ambiguities that appear in the work of Patrick Procktor or John Craxton. His emotionally charged and aesthetically decorative work explores love, and masculine tropes. His poetic drawings and paintings vibrate with a bold, lyrical motion, combining classical iconography with the immediacy of the everyday oscillating between mythic narratives and a deeply personal interior space. A painter of people, landscape and still life, Hall’s intimate canvases combine pastel hues with explosive color to render a unique symbolical universe derived from folklore and art history. The results are dreamlike, exploring psychological terrain as well as broader concerns like the vulnerability and pervasive eroticism of the male body. ...

The Breeder gallery was formed organically from The Breeder magazine due to the need of Athenian artists to promote international dialogue. Over the last 20 years The Breeder has been a pioneer in the development of the contemporary art scene in Athens. They show art that is relevant to our times and promote a select group of Greek artists on the global arena while also showing cutting edge international artists. The Breeder serves as a link that connects cultures and supports a deeper exchange. They support their community by providing an active platform for the exchange of ideas and ideals. In 2019 they introduced The Breeder Open Studio initiative, where the gallery is available to invited artists prior to their show. Working onsite the artists have the opportunity to engage with the audience in more substantial ways. Invited artists of the Breeder Open studio, include Ariana Papademetropoulos, Chioma Ebinama, Joy Labinjo, Ekene Stanley Emecheta, Victor Ubah, Barry Yusufu and Adegboyega Adesina. ...