After seeing Richie Culver’s unconventional art, it’s no wonder that his background is just as unconventional.

Born in Withernsea, a small town outside of Hull in the north of England, Richie Culver moved to London at 17 with no job, no housing and only £8 in his pocket. Coming from a background in factory work, he had never been exposing to art, but ended up learning photography from a friend-turned-roommate and immersing himself in art from there. Culver was never formally trained in art, and he credits life experiences like rave culture and after parties for his artistic education. It is worth mentioning, however, that much of his work throughout his career stemmed from a raw expression of ill-fated relationships. The honesty of his art, always highly personal and sometimes quite shocking, has been the uniting thread throughout the varied media and styles Culver uses. 

“Because I move to and from various mediums within my practice.
It’s easy to find inspiration. 
Text is the thread that keeps my body of work in a straight line [...]
and naturally a constant source of inspiration.” 

Although his work is obviously heavily influenced by popular culture, Culver chose not to express an opinion of POP culture and art. However, Culver’s art does speak for itself, often literally, as he commonly includes text alongside images, photographs, paintings or other media. The text and image combination is reminiscent of the popular meme format found on the internet, and it is one of the more subtle nods to POP culture in Culver’s body work. Images from popular movies like Friday the 13th and Boyz in the Hood, reference to celebrities like Tracy Chapman and usage of ubiquitous brand symbols like an old Apple Computers logo, ground Culver’s pieces in popular culture and create a dialogue around that culture. 

first published in_
Issue Nr. 31st, POP ISSUE, 02/2021