Slawn | Must Get Beer

Slawn — Must Get Beer

Slawn, born Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale in Lagos, Nigeria in 2000, is a London-based artist known for intersecting street art with Abstract Expressionist styles, drawing on his Yoruba heritage. He began painting during London's 2020 lockdown after moving to the city to study graphic design at Middlesex University, and held his debut exhibition at Truman Brewery in 2021. His rapid rise has included a 2022 Sotheby's auction debut and designing the statuette and set for the 2023 Brit Awards — becoming the youngest and first Nigerian-born artist to do so — followed by the 2024 FA Cup Trophy.

Slawn's earliest collectors built their devotion around exactly this kind of work: quick, instinctive figures made during the London lockdown years when he was teaching himself to paint and handing finished pieces to whoever happened to be at the party. Must Get Beer reduces its subject to a wide-brimmed hat, a bandana, and a handful of loose, gestural marks that suggest rather than describe a face — the title characteristically blunt and unglamorous.

Available through Creed Gallery, Ascot, for collectors across Berkshire, Surrey, and London.

Unnumbered limited edition on paper
28 x 34 cm (sheet); 38.5 x 45.5 cm (framed)

Click here to view the whole collection