Prefab77

Prefab77, also known as Peter Manning, is a UK-based artist whose origins and influences lie in England, California, and New York.

His initial training as an engraver and designer for Her Majesty in the British Army was fundamental in shaping his early UK-related subjects, before he went to New York to work in fashion and branding, which influences his current work. His fascination with portraiture and the female form stems from this period and is central to his imagery.

Living on Elizabeth Street in Nolita during the transitional 90s, between marginalized residents ready for anything and jewelry stores guarded by armed security, he fell in love with the layers of graffiti and posters that, over the years, created a neglected, urgent, idiosyncratic, and accidental beauty. At his doorstep, adding to this intoxicating visual mix, works by Swoon, Faile, Obey, WK Interact began to appear; it was a revelation and a calling that became an obsession.

His current work is the result of all his influences and obsessions. Weaving small elements of popular culture—money, street life, religious, musical, and political affiliations—into visually beautiful allegorical portraits, they express an abstract idea or convey a meaning not explicitly defined in the narrative. A modern fable, a story or a warning, often political, sometimes anti-establishment, but always stunning.

The style is fast, with sharp, stripped-down contours, a dark world of gangs, goddesses, and groupies, woven into a pure essence of rock and rebellion. A luxurious blend of print, acrylic, spray paint, collage, and varnish.