Robi Walters (b. 1973, London) is a leading British contemporary artist based in Soho. His mesmerizing, colorful collages have captivated celebrity collectors including Thandie Newton, Usain Bolt, Major Lazer’s Diplo, and Jillionaire, among others. In 2018, 2-Michelin-Star Chef Tom Kerridge commissioned Walters to create bespoke design work for his restaurant “Kerridge’s Bar & Grill” at the Corinthia Hotel in London. In 2020, Robi was invited by Aston Martin to become their Artist in Residence. Walters has been named by The Telegraph as one of the top creatives in the UK, before going on to win the ‘Arts and Culture’ category in the newspaper’s ‘Amazing 15’.
Over the past decade, Walters’ oeuvre has encapsulated the spirit of transformation. By constructing mixed-media pieces with unusual materials, such as packaging from household items and broken vinyl LPs, he focuses on the practice of taking discarded objects and making them beautiful to revivify their intrinsic worth—with a creative process and product that is reminiscent of both pop art and arte povera movements. Walters’ fascination to work with such materials was conceptualized when he started to think about human consumption, sustainability, and the effects of unconscious consumerism, giving a socially-charged character to his work. In his collages, the artist arranges fragments into lotus-like forms; a symbol relating to his personal interest in meditation, adding another layer of meaning to his vibrant and highly chromatic works, which breathe life and energy into any room.
Interacting with Robi Walters’ works allows the viewer to enter an illusory dimension of their choosing. Physically, the works offer an ‘out-of-canvas’ experience by taking on a three-dimensional and dynamic form, thus existing in the same space as the observer. The mixed and recycled materials in themselves show Walters’ disregard for dimensional constraints, proving that his artworks can exist across different times and contexts. His use of prominent colors, significant titles, and symbolic references within the works evoke feelings that belong in the realm of introspection, adding transcendence beyond their physical dimensionality.