My name is Felix Braun. I am a painter, living and working in Bristol, UK. I am fascinated by the emotive qualities of colour, shape and space and how they become increasingly energised as they interact. I explore these interactions in my work and in doing so, aim to trigger an emotional response in the viewer.
An alumnus of the first wave of British graffiti and street art, I started painting walls in 1984, picking up the moniker FLX – and an enduring preoccupation with colour – along the way. During my time working in graffiti and street art, I painted high-rise murals; curated exhibitions and worked as a media commentator on the subject – appearing on the radio, on television and in films. I am also a published author of two books on the subject.
These days I am focused on my studio practice, drawing, painting and printmaking. I also still paint murals and undertake public art commissions occasionally.
Over the last few years I have found myself in a period of personal re-evaluation and accelerated creative development, prompted mostly by learning to live with grief and serious personal physical illness. What has emerged is a constantly-evolving, idiosyncratic visual lexis that is, out of necessity, playful and therapeutic. For me, however, making the work is only the first stage in an ongoing process of communication with the viewer that is vital to my practice and has its roots in painting outdoors in public spaces.
My process encompasses drawing on paper, digital imaging, and physical painting; the respective limitations of each, and the tensions between them, contributing to the character of the final outcome.
Curriculum Vitae
Education:
Sept 1989-June 1992
BA Hons. In Visual Communication, University Of Central England At Birmingham (2:1).
Selected Exhibitions
September 2023
Penthouse group show. Contributing artist. Loft.1, Tobacco Factory, Bristol.
July 2022
The World Reimagined group show. Touring public art project. Bristol city centre, Trafalgar Square, London, National Maritime Museum, London, Rhodes House, Oxford. 103 hand-painted fiberglass globes, exhibited across the UK; exploring the history, legacy and future of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. Curator: Yinka Shonibare MBE.
April 2022
Upfest Urban Paint Festival Tier.1 artist, international street art festival, Bristol
June 2021
Vanguard: Bristol Street Art (The Evolution of a Global Movement) Contributing artist/curator. MShed, Bristol. Also editor/co-author/liaison: accompanying catalogue and book VANGUARD (publ.Tangent Books, 2021).
April 2020
Streets Ahead: Bristol Street Art Contributing artist, co-curator, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. NB: Cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic. Six months of preparatory work completed.
August 2012
See No Evil Contributing artist, international graffiti and street art festival, Bristol.
July 2011
See No Evil Contributing artist, international graffiti and street art festival, Bristol.
May 2010-15
Upfest Urban Paint Festival Contributing artist, international street art festival, Bristol.
March 2010
The Art of Democracy Contributing artist, group show, The Bristol Gallery.
November 2009
Bristol-Lisboa: Show 1 Curator and contributing artist, group show, Bristol-Lisboa Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal.
March 2009
Crimes Of Passion: Street Art In Bristol Royal West of England Academy. Contributing artist, co-curator, education programme manager and facilitator. Group show featuring forty-seven Bristol-based artists. 23,000 visitors attended over six weeks.
September 2006
Viva La Muralists Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Contributing artist. Street artists from across Europe were invited to paint murals on walls and shutters as part of a week of events run by Doodlebug and funded by Manchester City Council and The Arts Council.
September 2005
Doodlebug Corner House Art Centre, Manchester. Contributing artist. Annual group show at , where street artists decorate the walls and windows in the bar over a weekend.
April 2005
Talking Walls Arnolfini Arts Centre, Bristol. Contributing artist. Group show staged at the during its renovation.
June 2004
Lost and Found one30 Bar and Restaurant, Stokes Croft, Bristol. Contributing artist/curator. Group-show, with four other Bristol-based artists. Duties included curating and co-ordination of the show, and producing original pieces of artwork.
Publications
December 2012
Author Children Of The Can: Bristol Graffiti & Street Art, published by Tangent Books in the UK.
December 2008
Author Children Of The Can: 25 Years Of Bristol Graffiti, published by Tangent Books in the UK.
Employment
February-June 2023
Associate Lecturer (sickness cover) Foundation Art, Bristol School of Arts, Bower Ashton Campus, Bristol.
September-June 2019-20
Lecturer Level.2 Creative Practices: Art and Design. SGS College, Filton WISE Campus. Duties: Course delivery, portfolio marking, and grade moderation (across Levels.2,3 and Foundation Art and Design courses).
September-July 2017-19
Teacher of Art and Design, GCSE. Bristol Futures Academy. Duties: Course design and delivery to at risk, excluded and hard-to-reach 14-16 year olds in an alternative education setting.
June-August 2013-15
Senior delivery partner/course tutor, Truth About Youth Street Art project, Prince’s Trust, Bristol. Duties: Project origination and structuring, managing budget, staff team and resources, delivering a three week vocational course focussing on street art, as practise and industry; for NEET young people and young adults (including some SEN students). Accredited by Arts Council England’s Youth Arts Award (Bronze level).
June 2012–September 2017
Artist/co-director Paintsmiths of Bristol, Duties: designing and painting murals; client liaison; interpreting commercial briefs, project management Clients include: British Royal Navy, Mercure Hotels, Gladstone Knight Property Developers, Brexit Remain Campaign, Wahaca Restaurants, St.Mary Redcliffe Primary School, UWE.
May–June 2011
Community Arts Project Leader Temwa Development Projects in Malawi. Usisya, Malawi. Duties: fundraising, community liaison, skill sharing workshops, supervising and delivering mural project focusing on healthy eating, AIDS testing, literacy.
September 2009-11
Learning mentor, Kingswood Foundation. Duties: supporting students in a complementary role to teaching, in a one-to-one setting. Providing additional support including: signposting for help with housing, benefit claiming, pastoral care, etc.
March 2009-present
Freelance curator, street art gallery shows. Duties: artist liaison; selecting and hanging pieces; coordinating complimentary education programmes talks, publicity, web content; contributing content to funding bids.
July-September 2008-2012
Course tutor, Arts 4 Life, Kingswood Foundation (Level.2, ASDAN accredited). Duties: designing, structuring and delivering a ten-week course for Key Stage 3 and 4 learners who are ‘at risk’ and/or disengaged from mainstream education. Although primarily street-art focussed, the course also included t-shirt design, digital design (Adobe PhotoShop), photography, drawing games and time-lapse animation.