Betty (Blue) AP

Pose is a contemporary artist based in Chicago, Illinois. Revered for his exceptionally detailed and large-scale graffiti pieces, his work has been described by Shepard Fairey as being “a hybrid of the aesthetics of pop-art, graffiti, sign painting and comics that are all areas of his interest done in his own style”.

His art combines the immediacy and vibrancy of comic-book style characters with hidden intricacies and elements of graffiti to produce surreal pastiches of pop-art perfection. In his own words Pose feels “inspired by challenges and uncomfortable territory”, using his immaculate technique and obsessive need to create he's turned his hand to murals, prints, paintings and three-dimensional installations.

A large part of his expertise lies in taking everyday objects from the world around him and morphing their influence into his art, it could be street-signs, pages from his wife's childhood books or elements from cartoons and films, he works with the ordinary and turns it into the noteworthy.

Pose's place in the street-art canon is more assured with every released. Having featured heavily in Saatchi's 'Beyond the streets' exhibition this year and having shown work internationally for over a decade, his work remains as relevant and exceptional as ever.