MEET THE ARTIST

Joel Burden is the creative talent whose artwork adorns the cover of this magazine. He selects a few of his favourite pieces of art and tells us more about his artistic practice.

@joelburden www.joelburden.co.uk

I’m originally from Doncaster, but moved to Leeds when I was 18 and have never really left. These streets now feel as familiar to me as anywhere in the world. My studies took place at Leeds Arts University, but in Graphic Design, which wasn’t completely for me, but I think that sense of boldness and vivid colour has translated into my artistic practice. All paths meander, and there’s a beautiful complexity to that and how we find ourselves where we are.

Recently my practice, and perhaps always, has really been about letting myself play and experiment. It’s easy to get into a comfort zone and complacency can set in. My mind is too curious to repeat the same action too many times so my work can jump around stylistically and tonally, and I’m learning to be accepting of that.

I’ve been lucky to create work for Nike, The Guardian, The New York Times, Spotify and many more. My favourite work tends to be self directed however, and I’ve included some here. The beauty of what I do is it can be incredibly broad in use, whether that be mural, print, clothing or even translated into clay or 3D form. Sculpture is what I’m most excited for moving forward and have big plans I’m working on bringing to life. Yorkshire has such a rich history of Sculpture and I hope to contribute to that. I’m positive and open to the next chapter and ever curious to see where it leads.