Creative Play Comes to Ketchum Pleon With New 'Odds and Sods' Show by Dicky Graham

LONDON, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Meet the Artist on 17 March From 6 to 8 p.m.

Art@Ketchum Pleon proudly presents critically acclaimed and award-winning artist Dicky Graham, who has established himself as a firm favourite on the art scene with his humorous approach to assemblage, with fans including the Kooks' lead singer, Luke Pritchard, as well as Katie Melua and fellow artists such as the creator of the iconic "The Snowman", Raymond Briggs. Come and see for yourself what all the fuss is about at a new exhibition titled Odds and Sods from 15 March to 13 May, with a special meet-the-artist evening on 17 March from 6 to 8 p.m.

"If there is a uniting theme to my work, it is creative play", said Graham. "Recently, I have been using paint, text and married objects to create disjointed relationships and fragmented stories. I aim for the object's symbolic and meaningful nature, placed with my messy and loose painting, to imbue a richer portrayal of where I am from, where I have been, and the cultural divides I am part of. The boss places, diamond geezers, strange traditions I've left and found, anxious loves I grassed on, gobby toffs I met and safe las I love - all these mixes of slangs and ways of doing are put in one place to gain a deeper cultural self-definition. To connect all the dots and unravel weird and wonderful things that have come into my head, heart and hand, feels nuff dead good. Art is my manor, my language, my bezzie and greatest pleasure."

Dicky Graham was born in Liverpool and now resides in East London. A Princes Trust state-of-the-art award recipient, he works in the art department of Harrow school and recently finished writing and illustrating a children's story, "The Post Bird", which can be read at the exhibition.

The Art@Ketchum Pleon series is hosted by the London office of Ketchum Pleon, a leading European public relations consultancy and part of global public relations agency Ketchum. The programme offers local artists the opportunity to show their work in an art gallery established in Ketchum Pleon's London office, located at 35-41 Folgate Street. Art@Ketchum Pleon has showcased a number of famed British artists, including works by some of the U.K.'s leading linocut artists, such as Paul Catherall, Bodymap's David Holah, Karin Gunnarsson (photographer), John Lee Bird (artist), Gail Mallatratt (printer), Andy Whale (photographer), Monica Curtin (photographer), Tom Frost (illustrator) and others.

"We are so pleased to host the creative talents of Dicky Graham," said Avril Lee, partner and CEO of Ketchum Pleon London. "His playful work provides a great opportunity to foster creative thinking amongst Ketchum Pleon employees and open our doors to the larger London community to support these talented local artists."

Odds and Sods by Dicky Graham may be viewed weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from 15 March through 13 May at Ketchum Pleon London, 35-41 Folgate Street, London, E1 6BX. A meet-the-artist event is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, 17 March.

To request artwork images, please contact anastasia.ivanova@ketchumpleon.com.

To visit the Art@Ketchum Pleon Facebook page, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134279345573.

About Ketchum Pleon

Ketchum Pleon is one of the largest, most geographically diverse communications consultancies and the established European market leader. Worldwide, Ketchum has more than 2,000 employees in owned operations and operates in 66 countries with more than 100 owned and affiliated offices. Ketchum is a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC; http://www.omnicomgroup.com). Additional information on Ketchum Pleon and its award-winning work can be found at http://www.ketchumpleon.com.