Timothy Betjeman’s recent work combines influences from contemporary and traditional Japanese art forms including ukiyo-e, shunga (erotic prints) and manga, with elements of British landscape painting and American graphic art. The shift in medium brings conventional subject matter, and the autobiographical, into unfamiliar territory; similarly, by employing traditional western materials to approach Japanese subjects, Betjeman produces hybrid works which communicate a suspense between visual idioms.

Born in New York City in 1982 and based in London since 2006, Betjeman studied Visual Art and Philosophy at the University of Chicago (BA) before going on to a post-graduate diploma in Drawing from The Royal Drawing School in London, on a 2-year bursary award. In 2016, he was awarded a Terra Foundation Fellowship to paint at Monet’s gardens in Giverny. In 2021, he graduated with an MA in Japanese Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts and is currently a PhD candidate at Tama Art University. His work has appeared in recent years in The Independent, Country Life, The Lady, and British Chamber of Commerce Japan Magazine, and is in the collections of HRH the Prince of Wales, The Royal Abu Dhabi Collection, Clare College Cambridge University, and the Moritz-Heyman Foundation.  


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