Penny regards the complex, lengthy process of stencil production as important as the final piece and his methodology greatly informs his work. Like most street-based artists, Penny uses satire to initiate social commentary, intricately bound to larger aesthetic principles of the most current movements within contemporary art. Other themes include the juxtaposition of the industrial with the organic, playing with scale, the subtle subversion of reality and the creation of narrative within the inanimate. All of these notions translate equally from the street to the canvas and back again, while further considerations are given to the context and environment.
Penny was educated at Chelsea College of Art Design and Central Saint Martins and upon graduating, quickly established himself within the stencil art scene in London. He has received critical acclaim for his highly technical, intricately detailed hand-cut stencils, which he brings to life with the application of an idiosyncratic colour palette. His works are produced using highly complex stencils and spray paint. Penny hand cuts all his stencils using a scalpel, and one stencil alone can take hundreds of hours to cut. This process allows Penny to produce images with a yield so highly detailed that they are almost photographic.
