Stuart Semple (born 1980) is an English artist; he is part of a generation that came after the so called Young British Artists (YBAs). His piece RIP YBA, produced with the help of Uri Geller incorporating pieces by famous British artists that were burned in 2004 in a major warehouse fire at Momart in London, brought him a great deal of attention from the press. Semple was born in Bournemouth, He initially studied art in Poole which he recalls was a very powerful and inspiring experience, here he was greatly influenced by abstract expressionism, then he moved to Bretton Hall in Yorkshire to study painting and printmaking. Here he became greatly inspired by Pop Art in particular Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat and the works of Jeff Koons.

In 2000 Semple nearly died from a peanut allergy. This experience spurred him into the art world, and gave him the motivation to start painting.

Semple emerged from hospital and took on the persona of ‘Nancyboy’ producing over 3000 works of art between 2000 and 2003 and selling these via the internet worldwide. It was this that cemented Semple’s reputation worldwide. In 1999 she had his first major London show at the A&D gallery. It was called ‘Stolen language – the art of Nancyboy’, and was typically incorporating fragments and images that he had found within popular culture, consisting of large paintings, screen prints, t-shirts and panels. His combination of found imagery and text became one of Semple’s trademarks.

Although these early events caused Semple to be well known in art circles, he was largely unknown by the public until he dropped the Nancyboy name in 2003 and Uri Geller became his manager in 2004. However it was his piece ‘RIP YBA’ that cemented Semple in the public consciousness. This memorial piece to the works lost in the Momart warehouse fire, caused huge controversy as it had undertones of Semple’s dissatisfaction with the London art scene, and also seemed to mark the end of the ‘YBA’ period.

Semple predominantly works with painting; however he also collaborates with fashion houses and other artists, including Jasmine Di Milo, Just Another Rich Kid and Leslie Deere.

Due to Geller’s involvement many of Semple’s collectors are from celebrity society including the likes of Debbie Harry (Blondie), Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), and Robin Gibb (Bee Gees).

External links • Stuart Semple’s website • Stuart Semple’s fansite • Article about Momart warehouse fire (Telegraph)