Hue Folk

Hue Folk is an emerging collective of diverse young artists brought together through their fascination with vibrant colour, typography, graphic design, folk and urban art. As creatives from varied disciplines, they bring together the vision of illustrators, graphic designers and digital artists.

A PROFILE

The debut collection from Hue Folk was heavily influenced by traditional lettering techniques which then contrast with 21st-century social media commentary, resulting in an assortment of vivid 3D typography based works. Hue Folk’s work soon evolved and their ‘Urban Mythology’ series although different in style was a huge success. This playful approach to the modern obsession with social media, TV, film and brands rehashes the Greek Gods with a contemporary twist.


The collaboration of these individual artists results in a mash-up of printmaking, laser cutting and stencilling, to name just a few of the techniques they are reinventing. The eclectic materials used only further the diversity of this collection, with the addition of laser engraved wood, spray paint, ink and gold leaf.

A KNIGHTS TALE

Leading Hue Folk’s direction is Michael Knights who started doodling at school, followed by some sketching and illustration – but he is totally self-taught and has never had a single art lesson! On leaving the academic world, he went into carpentry but he continued to indulge his passion for digital art – just for fun – and also did some portraiture which he found therapeutic.
Tiring of carpentry, Michael applied for a picture framing job with Buckingham Fine Art in their workshop. And he has not looked back! As a framer, 4walls was delighted to hear, he worked with loads of Larson-Juhl mouldings and got to appreciate the part a frame can play. The team at Buckingham Fine Art soon spotted Michael’s talent and passion, and pointed him in the direction of Hue Folk. Michael is now absolutely flying with commissions for both galleries and individuals. His work can involve the most bizarre of reference points from French toast to Bratt dolls to llamas to Harry Potter!


Michael’s favourite piece to date is the Dua Lipa commission pictured. “It was great fun,” he told 4walls, “I got to meet the family and they were really pleased with what I produced. Creating something so personal with the opportunity to apply my imagination is an amazing feeling and to finally see it hanging in the Lipa household was a special moment.”


His latest work involves cartoon mash-ups accompanied by icons from music, TV and sporting heroes. Recently back from a joint exhibition in LA, Hue Folk will soon be releasing solo UK exhibition dates.

Michael is a fan of social media as a way of reaching new audiences and has already secured a few commissions via Instagram. He is appealing to a very broad church: “Not your typical art enthusiast at all. People who just love colour, cartoons or iconic brands.”

At 31, he undoubtedly has a long and successful career ahead. In five years’ time, his hope is to have achieved recognition for the Hue Folk brand of crazy, feelgood artwork. He is also hoping that Spurs might have won some silverware!

Buckingham Fine Art chairman Ray Loud has high hopes for Michael:
"Here at Buckingham it is amazing to see the growth, direction and discipline from such a talented artist. Over the last two years, Michael has produced successful collections such as 'Urban Mythology', 'Statues of Fame' and his most recent 'Micro Mashups' to name just a few. Never one to rest on his laurels, Michael is never far away from the studio working on new exciting projects and collections. With exhibitions in all corners of the country attracting amazing attendance, and with his first showcase being a sell-out, we see an incredibly bright future for this young British artist. Michael's artistic journey has just started and it is one not to be missed.".

Follow Michael on Instagram @huefolk
www.bucksfineart.co.uk