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One of the UK’s leading figurative artists has reopened his studio and launched Universe, 22 pieces of original art viewed and bought predominantly online using cryptocurrency. The coronavirus pandemic has seen the dominance of the traditional art market of high-end galleries come to an end with the rise of virtual viewings and meetings. This shift in working patterns will be felt around the world for many as businesses return to work after the height of COVID-19; none more so than the global art market.

Lincoln has positioned all his new collection virtually and embraced the world of virtual currency as payment. The original works start at £175,000 with some larger works for £2m. The collection will be displayed at The START Art Fair at London’s prestigious Saatchi Gallery in September by which time most of the pieces will already be sold.

The Universe collection was inspired by billionaire space projects led by controversial businessman Elon Musk and his dream of settling humans on Mars. The vibrant images of powerful faces have the determination to escape our planet, a planet too small for their ambitions.

Lincoln said: “This latest collection is about mankind’s obsession with space exploration and the sheer guts its takes to look at starting life in on other planets. visionaries like Elon Musk behind SpaceX’s plan to colonise Mars, Richard Branson with his Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos with his remarkable Blue Origin projects. These people are masters of the universe and I wanted to expand my own creative ideas by creating extremely colourful pictures of achievement and look at the images of the first man on Mars, the first disco on Mars, the first banker on Venus. Creating this collection over the last two years has been like entering a new dreamlike world and has is very exciting to see where it will lead to next.”

Lincoln added: “Selling art using cryptocurrencies is a way to attract tech-savvy new collectors and in this day and age artists need to diversify and embrace new markets. My focus is broadening my scope of buyers and bringing them an exciting investment-grade art opportunity using technology. I have always embraced the internet and has made my time in lock down as an artist very busy. Online art trading is the way forward and I’m extremely excited about the responses I’m getting from this blockchain-based community.”

The London-born BAFTA resident artist, globally recognised for his dramatic figurative work and ICONS collection, has been embracing the cryptocurrency markets for over five years and see this non regulated form of payment as a way of opening up the online offerings to a much bigger marketplace.

Multi-millionaire Townley’s dramatic rise to fame in the global art market has seen him grow from eight years ago to today where his work sells for up to £2million.

Lincoln has also been commissioned to paint many of the world’s biggest ICONS including Charlie Sheen, Al Pacino, Sir Michael Caine and his original oil paintings of demons drawn from the unconscious mind, have been exhibited at major international galleries including the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Los Angeles and the Brisbane Powerhouse.

The portraits of stars Lincoln has painted also include the annual BAFTA honourees, Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, Kate Moss, Charlie Sheen, Russell Brand, Leonardo Di Caprio, Marlon Brando, Princess Diana, Mohammed Ali, David Bowie, Pele, Ronaldinho and many others.

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Lincoln painted Sir Michael Caine and his wife Shakira, after presenting him the painting the legendary actor said: “There’s no doubt in my opinion that Lincoln is the next Andy Warhol.”

Last year Lincoln sold a diamond encrusted portrait of the late Princess Diana for a personal record-breaking £1million, beating his previous record of £510,000 set by his painting of Mohammed Ali. The Princess Diana painting, a huge two metre square oil and acrylic spray on linen, had over £100,000 worth of diamonds embedded into the canvas to give a spectacular finish.

The self taught artist has struggled against an established art market and is now collected across the world including America, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

James Nicholls, Managing Director and Curator of the Maddox Gallery, Mayfair, London, said: “In each generation it is a rare occurrence when an artist has the potential to become iconic, and it is our considered opinion that Lincoln Townley is such an extraordinary artist. The British artist was relatively unknown four years ago, now he has become famous for creating the most vivid insight into producing electrifying portraits of Hollywood stars such as; Al Pacino, Dame Judi Dench, Gary Oldman, Sir John Hurt, Robert Downey Jr. Judi Dench, Russell Brand and Charlie Sheen.

“Sir Michael Caine recently described him as the new Andy Warhol, and others see a Francis Bacon-like quality in his work. The value of his work has risen 200% in the last two years alone.”

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