“My work is a visceral exploration of the human experience: raw, unfiltered, and deeply personal. After years of being told I couldn’t paint, I rediscovered the medium as a form of therapy during a period of emotional turmoil. Painting became a way to quiet my restless mind, translating thoughts, memories, and dreams into ‘thoughtscapes’ a fusion of abstraction, surrealism, and bold storytelling.
“Each piece captures fragments of my subconscious: moments of love and loss, reflections on humanity’s beauty and brutality, and the dualities of my own identity. Drawing inspiration from my dreams and emotions I aim to challenge the viewer to see the world through my lens – messy, chaotic, but always deeply human.
“My work isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence. Every line, stroke, and colour are a snapshot of a moment, an imprint of a feeling, or an echo of an experience. This journey into painting has been both liberating and terrifying, but it’s a space where I’ve found truth and I invite others to find theirs within it.”
Daniel Lismore, MIND ON THE WALLS, 7th – 15th December 2024 FARSIGHT GALLERY
12noon – 6pm daily
About the artist
Daniel Lismore is a London-based artist. He was born in Bournemouth and raised in Fillongley Village on the border of Coventry. Although he started his career as an artist from the perspective of the outsider, working as a photographer within a year he had moved in front of the lens as a model, later emerging as a creative consultant for Mert & Marcus, Steven Klein, David LaChapelle and Ellen von Unwerth. Lismore has been named by Vogue as ‘England’s Most Eccentric Dresser’.
In 2017 he was selected in the top hundred of the Out 100 List. In 2018 and 2020 he was named in the top hundred, Guardian’s Pride Power List. ? In 2016, Daniel Lismore became the Circuit Ambassador for the Tate Museums. Here, Lismore hosted his first two exhibitions in Tate Modern 2012 and Tate Britain 2013 featuring self-portraits. ?
Daniel Lismore’s first book, ‘Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken,’ published by Rizzoli in 2016, documented the 32 figurative sculptures of Lismore which comprised his first USA museum exhibition. The exhibition was co-curated by Raphael Gomes and Savannah College of Art and Design and was later displayed at Miami Art Basel. In May 2017 Lismore exhibited at the Venice Biennale. In June 2018, Lismore curated a month-long show of his work at Harpa Hall in Iceland as the highlight of the Reykjavik Arts Festival. The exhibition subsequently toured Europe, opening at the Pan Museum in Naples and Stary Brower Gallery in Pozna?, Poland. The exhibition has been attended by over 150,000+ visitors.
Lismore has long been an active campaigner for the recycling of clothes and in 2015 became the face of the H&M Close the Loop campaign to encourage the practice of recycling clothes. Daniel Lismore is an ambassador of the climate change charity Cool Earth & Greenpeace and has worked closely with Dame Vivienne Westwood on her Climate Revolution projects.
Since 2018 Lismore has been a Global Ambassador for Graduate Fashion Week, which reflects the 6 years he spent as creative director of luxury women’s wear brand Sorapol, dressing Mariah Carey, Cara Delevingne and Nicky Minaj. He has appeared in numerous Bulgari Campaigns and featured in TV shows, including Sky Arts Portrait of The Year, Marina Abramovic Takes Over TV, and Statues Redressed. In 2015 he made a cameo appearance in the movie Absolutely Fabulous. In April 2019 Lismore gave a TED Talk at the main TED conference in Vancouver, titled “My Life as A Work of Art” in which he spoke about his life as a Living Sculpture. ? In September 2019, Lismore opened Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief runway show at the British Museum revealing one of the first costumes he designed for the English National Opera (in collaboration with Swarovski) for Harrison Birtwistle’s iconic opera The Mask of Orpheus which was staged at the London Coliseum.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Lismore resided between Coventry and London working on LGBTQ+ activism and new artworks. His show Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken was opened in February 2022 in Coventry UK City of Culture at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum it attracted around 50,000 guests from all over the world. ? In 2021 Lismore’s photographs and sculpture works were displayed at The Chamber of Commerce in Clarksdale Mississippi, USA curated by his long-term manager Oliver Luckett. Lismore was quoted “art is for everyone” and it was noted that the artist was proud his work was being shown in the most conservative towns in the most conservative state in America – and being appreciated. In 2021 Lismore was asked to walk the runway for Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Party at the Palace, at Buckingham Palace, which was viewed by 13.3 million people worldwide. The sculpture he wore on the catwalk was inspired by Queen Elizabeth II and his own image in collaboration with costume designer Rachele Terrinoni and the London College of Fashion. ?
In 2021 Lismore took a selection of his show Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken and exhibited them at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as part of their Fashion in Motion program. This was also his debut performance as a performance artist. He joined the sculptures exhibiting himself as a statue between his works to deliver a dialogue under a mask to confuse the audience. ?In 2023 Lismore exhibited “Studio Visit” a site-specific installation based on the studio environment that is instrumental to his practice, aiming to give visitors a unique insight into the creative process and the development of his work in Giant Gallery Bournemouth, co-curated by Stuart Semple.
