2026

---

Return to main gallery

2026 paintings

Index of paintings by Stephen Gibb

2025 paintings

2026 Paintings

Canadian painter Stephen Gibb is known for his vibrant Pop Surrealism oil paintings and his commissioned work with the music industry. His bright mashups of iconic characters often address the existential issues and anxieties of contemporary society, which are contrasted by moments of joy and transcendence. “We are reared on nursery rhymes and fairy tales, so why not extend those lessons and conventions into more adult-based themes?” says Gibb. His paintings offer a chance for the viewer to ignite their own creativity and construct their own narrative – informed by their personal experiences and the associations they may derive from the imagery.
Familiar to millions around the globe his artwork is indelibly linked to the album art of hip hop artist Trippie Redd and to some degree, British singer/songwriter Hope Tala, a favourite of Barak Obama.

It is his belief that art is a participatory undertaking — that no art exists in a vacuum, nor without an observer. His paintings offer a chance for the viewer to ignite their own creativity and engage the work through their own narrative – informed by their personal experiences and the associations they may derive from the imagery.

Artist Statement 2026

I am fascinated by the intangible essence art has that grabs you and pulls you in — the aspect that lingers and continues to tug at your memory when the artwork is no longer in front of you. To me, this is the uncanny magic and mystery that taps a level of subjective depth far beyond the “thingness” of the art as an object. The most direct line to the source of this magic is through the imagination.
Exploring concepts outside of the physical reality that we see and experience every day, I relish the playground of freedom established by the Surrealists, where the uninhibited mind can go wherever it wants and can contemplate whatever it dares. I can examine the existential dread and bliss of contemporary life using invented symbols and iconic stereotypes that have emerged from pop culture and explore areas of personal interest. I can think out loud in pictures.

The post 2026 Paintings appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

2025

---

Return to main gallery

2025 paintings

Index of paintings by Stephen Gibb

2025 paintings

Graduate of the University of Windsor School of Visual Arts – BFA 1985

Canadian painter Stephen Gibb is known for his vibrant Pop Surrealism oil paintings and his commissioned work with the music industry. His bright mashups of iconic characters often address the existential issues and anxieties of contemporary society, which are contrasted by moments of joy and transcendence. “We are reared on nursery rhymes and fairy tales, so why not extend those lessons and conventions into more adult-based themes?” says Gibb. His paintings offer a chance for the viewer to ignite their own creativity and construct their own narrative –¬¬ informed by their personal experiences and the associations they may derive from the imagery.
Familiar to millions around the globe his artwork is indelibly linked to the album art of hip hop artist Trippie Redd and to some degree, British singer/songwriter Hope Tala, a favourite of Barak Obama.

Windsor painter, Stephen Gibb, is consumed by the magic and mystery of art — the magic found in the uncanny visceral and cognitive impact that art has on us; the mystery being the unknowable, open-ended aspect that draws us into the artwork and into ourselves. Fascinated by figurative language and abstract concepts that are transformed into literal images, his allegorical and symbolic nature explores neuroscience and the science of vision and colour to enhance his signature level of visual overload. A student of Surrealism, cartoons and psychedelic art, Gibb has found himself an adopted member of the Pop Surrealism, Lowbrow artists

The post 2025 paintings appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

CLICK FOR FULL VIEW — Take an Hour and Contemplate Your Ego – 2023 Stephen Gibb, 96″ x 48″, oil on panel.

The story behind Stephen Gibb’s Pop Surrealism Lowbrow painting: Take an Hour and Contemplate Your Ego.

Pop Surrealism Lowbrow Painting Explores the Ego

The Concept: The Gaze of the Long Now

Over the years, Stuart Brand, co-founder and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog has founded several organizations, of which the Long Now Foundation has significant relevance to my project. The Long Now Foundation aims to promote “slower/better” thinking as a counterpoint to what it views as today’s “faster/cheaper” mindset.

Adopting a similar “slower is better” attitude, I undertook a career-long ambition in 2023 to create an artwork that demands to be approached slowly and deliberately, in a quiet, contemplative frame of mind. With the idea of inviting the viewer to devote a considerably longer amount of time engaged with the painting than our at-a-glance culture is used to, I’m challenging one of the very cornerstones of our on-demand, drive-thru, overnight-delivery, instant-gratification society. Our need for speed may be flawed.

In my art practice, it is in these quiet, contemplative moments that the most fertile inspiration comes from. Getting there is the first step — far removed from the doom scroll of the mobile phone, the opinion-as-truth news media and the endless stream of social media noise. I was struck by an exhibit I had several years ago, how most people just breezed by, maybe politely pausing for a few seconds at each painting, yet others would stand for 15 minutes and immerse themselves into the artwork. Which begs the question: What was the connection they made that the others didn’t?

Were they able to view the art in a quiet state, already removed from the impulse and pull of their conditioning, governed by the perpetual quest of “what’s next”? When we live in a culture that constantly inundates us with information from the outside, how can we even take time to process it, let alone access our own information that is generated from the inside? My painting aims to create a situation where the viewer can reconnect with that inner self and refamiliarize themselves with the beauty of their own imagination.

The second motivation was to create a painting so compelling that it couldn’t be ignored. The irony is not lost on me — taking on such an ego-centric project, which is centred thematically on the ego seems a bit lofty and pretentious but is one supported by neuroscience. Brain scans of people confronting an overwhelming or confusing image light up like fireworks, their minds “jumpstarted” as they try to make sense of what they see. Entering this Gamma wave state of mind is where peak concentration and optimal information processing takes place. Human nature fundamentally compels us to extract meaning from things that confound us, especially when the message is not readily apparent or spoon-fed. The scale and complexity of the painting at the very least demands a more than cursory glance from even the most jaded of art connoisseurs.

Take an Hour and Contemplate Your Ego

Employing my standard approach to painting, which is often referred to as Pop Surrealism Lowbrow the title of the artwork is also the subtitle of the proposed exhibit — The Gaze of the Long Now: Take an Hour and Contemplate Your Ego.

Using the “ego” as the anchor for what the content of the painting examines, I employ an allegorical and symbolist approach of connecting images to convey the concepts chosen for the subject. Not always apparent, the images have a bifurcating effect, leading the viewers down their own pathways and rabbit holes of exploration and comprehension. Just like an “apple” means something different to every person — you may think of computers, the Beatles, William Tell, Snow White, grandma’s pies, etc. — so is the power of any image. Allowing yourself to follow those associations and linkages in your own self-discovery, is the real connecting force and magic of art.

The ego is represented in a raw psychological form as understood in my own naïve way, viewed through many facets of pop culture and aspects of the human experience. The broad concepts are encrypted in imagery that transforms the figurative into the literal.

Back to Gallery

Pop Surrealism Lowbrow Painting Explores the Ego

The post Pop Surrealism Lowbrow Painting Explores the Ego appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

2023

---

Return to main gallery

2024 paintings

Index of paintings by Stephen Gibb

2024 paintings

What is painting and why do I paint

To understand the object as a symbol the viewer must disengage from the object and penetrate beyond its visual representation to extract its significance from the volumes of connotation held within. To say a picture is worth a thousand words is to impose a limitation on its potential.

What my paintings offer is a chance for the viewer to construct their own narrative based on the connotations and associations they may derive from the imagery, regardless of my motivations for painting it.

Understand, there are no drugs involved and no psychedelic experimentation. Along with my natural neurological makeup, I have conditioned my mind to think in a way that allows bizarre connections and associations to combine with seemingly disparate objects — all coming together with meaning and signification.

Stephen Gibb lives and works in southern Ontario, Canada. He earned a B.F.A. in visual arts from the University of Windsor and is currently represented by the St. Germain gallery in Toronto. Among the cities he has exhibited in are San Diego, Sacramento, and Hollywood— the hotbed of California’s Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism community. His work is collected around the globe and has gained widening interest since working on the album art for hip hop artist Trippie Redd.

The post 2024 paintings appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

Art Comp 2023 — Show your Support!

“Essence of Hope and Despair” — Stephen Gibb, oil on panel, 2021

This painting is 1 of 100 artworks vying for the ART COMP 2023 prize. I am looking for support from friends and followers. Please consider voting for my painting today! To vote for this work visit the online voting site (https://artcomp.awardsplatform.com/) or visit Art Comp 2023 in person at 100 Kellogg Lane in London ON

Stephen Gibb at the Art Comp 2023 opening night event

Essence of Hope and Despair, 36″ x 24″, oil on panel by Stephen Gibb, 2021

CLICK TO VOTE!

About the painting:

Tapping into the realm of psychology, the surface of water is the threshold between the air and the depths but also represents levels of consciousness and awareness. The skull has penetrated the surface and is entering the murky depths where unseen and unknown things dwell. The vicious-looking fish lurks about in a threatening manner…the psychoanalytic submarine searches for meaning, while a submerged rock mound echoes the strongholds that pierce the surface like island totems — once a refuge but now a drowned, mysterious relic.

Hope takes the shape of the exploding yellow head on the far left. Visions of colourful delights flow out of his head, candies and flowers support a childhood source of comfort in the shape of a teddy bear. But there is a sinister side to hope, perhaps when hope becomes delusional. The teddy bear is actually coming apart and his insides (his essence) is being devoured by two other figures.

Despair is the eggman on the far right. Lost in his anguish, his head leaks the essence that once held him together, his hope of evolving from egg state to bird is no more. The green figure above him echoes his emotional state and dark clouds brew in the background with foreboding menace.

The spaceman is the explorer, surveying the mayhem, like an agent of psychoanalysis assessing the situation, from the safety of his self-contained suit.

Frank Zappa once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. I feel the same way about writing about art. Art is its own language with only awkward translations available. I can repeat the notions that crossed my mind when creating the painting, but most of that would be irrelevant. I could deconstruct the process employed while producing the piece but that would only be an abstraction of a bunch of arbitrary steps. I could agonize over all the decisions that went into the painting but that would be like describing all the bolts that go into the making of an automobile. The composition tends towards a harmonious sense of balance — a measuring out of points of interest, detail and colour but it reveals nothing significant.

Essence of Hope and Despair

Painting in Art Comp 2023 competition

A painting by pop surrealist Stephen Gibb

Artist: Stephen Gibb, oil on wood panel, 36″ x 24″, 2021

Back to Gallery

The post Art Comp 2023 – Stephen Gibb, “Essence of Hope and Despair” appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

2023

---

Return to main gallery

2023 paintings

Index of paintings by Stephen Gibb

2023 paintings

What is painting and why do I paint

To understand the object as a symbol the viewer must disengage from the object and penetrate beyond its visual representation to extract its significance from the volumes of connotation held within. To say a picture is worth a thousand words is to impose a limitation on its potential.

What my paintings offer is a chance for the viewer to construct their own narrative based on the connotations and associations they may derive from the imagery, regardless of my motivations for painting it.

Understand, there are no dugs involved and no psychedelic experimentation. Along with my natural neurological makeup, I have conditioned my mind to think in a way that allows bizarre connections and associations to combine with seemingly disparate objects — all coming together with meaning and signification.

Stephen Gibb lives and works in southern Ontario, Canada. He earned a B.F.A. in visual arts from the University of Windsor and is currently represented by the St. Germain gallery in Toronto. Among the cities he has exhibited in are San Diego, Sacramento, and Hollywood— the hotbed of California’s Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism community. His work is collected around the globe and has gained widening interest since working on the album art for hip hop artist Trippie Redd.

The post 2023 Paintings appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

Psychopathology of Wants and Needs – Pop surrealism painting by Canadian Artist Stephen Gibb, 36″ x 24″, oil on panel, 2022

This painting started off a few light years away from where it ended up. The original concept was to do something around the theme of “bliss”, examining the things that bring us to this occasionally visited state of mind.

I envisioned a head absorbing the things around it, which would have been things that evoke the state of bliss in people. The head became a skull, full of holes because it just seemed like a cool idea. I think sometimes the things that people seek to attain their blissful state can also be deadly and I liked the “ultimate conclusion” commentary by including the skull, acknowledging it as the final destination of bliss and of life.

Everything I came up with just seemed lame after that. So, I thought I’d explore the foundations of why we seek bliss. It occurred to me that maybe there was something in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that could give some insight into the concept.

This is where I abandoned the whole bliss theme.

Instead, I focused on representations of “needs” in my typical left-field approach, bubblegum surrealism style. A trivialized representation of food (sustenance) became a pie, which I doubled back on, posing the pie in the act of replicating himself…rolling out some dough for a crust. Reproduction is on the lower level on Maslow’s hierarchy and is represented by the pie and the gooey union of the two lolly pops, who produce offspring at the point of their sticky embrace. The progeny then takes an ironic bite out of the parent in an act of defiance and rebellion — the normal function of a teenager (LOL). At the far right a figure looks at his fingers as they produce offspring, which appear to just be fodder for the crow standing nearby (the circle of life).

The figure on the far right also represents clothing, shelter, property, security, which are lower, basic requirements according to Maslow.

The sleeping potato symbolizes, sleep, air and water — also basic needs, in spite of the absurdity of the situation.

As we move upward the needs become more abstract and less material. The two lollies could represent love, intimacy, family and connection, whereas the green lolly’s floating-away crown touches on the area Maslow characterized as “esteem”, the realm of status, recognition and self-esteem, things I think our society puts too much stock in. As well we put absurd value on wants versus needs and a title was suggested to me — The Psychopathology of Need and Wants.

At the right side of the mountain is Sisyphus as an ape, pushing a large brain up the incline, symbolizing evolution, strength and the struggle to raise the “required needs” to the pinnacle of the hierarchy, which is represented by the pyramid man at the top, radiating out to embrace everything in his “blissful” state of self-actualization. - Artist Stephen Gibb, Nov., 2022

Back to Gallery

Visit more of the Pop Surrealism painting of artist Stephen Gibb

The post Artist Stephen Gibb: The non-linear life of a concept appeared first on Stephen Gibb.

Gallery of artwork by Stephen Gibb

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Home

Visit Saatchi Art for prints of selected works.

Visit Sideshow Fine Art for prints of selected works.

Index of paintings by Stephen Gibb

Take this opportunity to journey into the bubblegum surrealism gallery of Stephen Gibb, where Mother Goose is turned on her head. Follow an existential Humpty Dumpty as he embodies what it means to be human today in our ever-changing world. Explore his paintings that delve into the anxieties and joys of contemporary life and unravel his musing on human behaviour, philosophy, and the innermost workings of his angular mind.
Stephen Gibb – Artist Statement
(Or, at least a feeble attempt to excuse my behaviour to those present with good taste)
My artwork weaves an eclectic tapestry of cultural and social influences. At one moment it may make a
single-punch-line comment on pop culture while the next it may construct a complex and playful diorama
probing into the outer perimeters of human nature.
My work is often categorized as pop surrealism but I’d begrudgingly prefer to tag it as existential editorial
cartoon realism, just because it sounds more intelligent and funny at the same time. The work holds
a certain reverence and faithfulness to reality mimicry but leans away enough to fall in the shadow of the
“uncanny valley*”, the area where the mind is unsettled by what looks real enough but couldn’t possible
be. It is in this realm, theoretically, that the mind’s gamma waves are super-stimulated and brain activity
resembles fireworks. I resolve that this accounts for the broad reactions my work garners from observers,
that ranges from contemptuous dismissal to enthusiastic exuberance. We are all wired differently.
The medium is the method, which has been a faithful deployment of oil painting and traditional oilpainting
techniques, such as glazing and the occasional dalliance into chiaroscuro. The richness achieved
by layers of thinned oil paint on MDF panels always adds an interesting luminous quality to the final
piece.
My direction as of late has been to devote more to composing on the panels rather than in pre-sketches.
I’m intrigued by the more spontaneous and gratifying results of ideas presenting themselves in the process
rather than in the planning, hence the falloff in the recent output of sketches. Often a core image or
concept dictates subliminally as to how the composition manifests itself.
see stephengibb.com for more
* Uncanny valley – Though originally intended to provide an insight into the disquieting human psychological reaction to
robotic design that approximates and emulates human characteristics, the concept expressed by this phrase is equally applicable
to interactions with nearly any nonhuman entity such as art. The term was coined by the robotics professor Masahiro
Mori as “bukimi no tani genshō”, roughly translating into the uncanny valley. Gallery

The post gallery appeared first on Stephen Gibb.