Australian Contemporary Artist · b. 1979, Brisbane
Anthony Lister
Street Art Royalty Meets Fine Art Legitimacy
8
Cities Painted Globally
3
Continents — Institutional Collections
1979
Born, Brisbane
The Banksy Endorsement
“Hello sir, congratulations on your fine work. You have a great line. And judging by something in your work, a very engaging personality. I’m a bit of a fan of your work… I can see from the walls of POW you appear to piss great art in your sleep, so I’m assuming this note will not affect your self-esteem.”
— Banksy, handwritten letter to Anthony Lister
When the most elusive figure in contemporary art writes you a fan letter, you’re doing something right. This isn’t marketing copy. This is peer recognition from the most commercially successful street artist in history — someone whose work sells for tens of millions at auction.
Artistic Practice
Abstract Expressionism meets Pop Art meets Street Art
Lister’s work defies easy categorisation — which is precisely the point. Gestural abstraction, bold expressive brushwork, pop-culture iconography, social commentary and raw street immediacy combine into work that feels simultaneously controlled and chaotic, refined and rebellious, museum-worthy and street-authentic.
Formally trained at Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, Lister immediately rejected gallery representation upon graduation and chose walls over white cubes. Brisbane. Sydney. Melbourne. Los Angeles. New York. London. Tokyo. Berlin. He painted illegally, prolifically, and brilliantly — building a global following before Instagram made it easy, before street art became fashionable, before museums started acquiring spray paint works.
Lister paints the psychological landscape of contemporary masculinity: the heroic facade, the vulnerable interior, the performance we maintain, the chaos beneath.
Collections
- Institutional Museum of Brisbane (permanent collection) · Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles · Major private museums across Australia, Europe, North America
- High-Profile Collectors Leonardo DiCaprio · Pharrell Williams · David LaChapelle · Swizz Beatz · Global hedge fund managers and Fortune 500 executives
- Critical Recognition Juxtapoz Magazine · Complex Magazine — “One of the World’s Most Important Street Artists” · Art Basel coverage
Why Collectors Acquire Lister
Read it here
Anthony Lister Works Available Now
Only at Chiaroscuro
Make an enquiry about these works
Or fill in the form below and we will be in touch promptly
Thank you, your message has been submitted successfully.