Horace graduated in 1975 with a degree in Fine Art from Coventry's Lanchester Polytechnic. Although most of his career has been defined by his involvement in music, art has always been in the frame!
As the bassist with The Specials, Horace has spent lots of time 'on the road'. Over the past three decades, this has afforded him the opportunity to visit some of the world's best art galleries and view some of his favourite paintings up close. As well as bringing home piles of laundry, his bags are always bulging with new art books which he 'just had to buy'! His visits to galleries, the art books and hundreds of photographs, have all inspired his current work and influenced its development over many years. With iconography as a unifying theme, all his paintings pay homage to traditional forms of 'iconographic writing' but with a contemporary twist.
UoB CREATIVE ARTS MAGAZINEOct 2012
Horace Panter, whose name you may recognise from his success as bass player of the ska band 'The Specials' has created a series of paintings inspired by his love for the blues... Read more...
FRED PERRY BLOGOct 2012
Horace Panter was studying for a degree in Fine Art when he and some friends formed a little band called The Specials. Several albums, tours and trips around the world later, art is back in the frame for the musician and painter who has used these opportunities as inspiration for his work... Read more...
SABOTAGE TIMESAug 2012
Horace has spent lots of time touring. Over the past three decades, this has given him the opportunity to visit some of the world's best art galleries, which have inspired him to begin painting himself ... Read more...
BBC NEWSAug 2012
Horace Panter from The Specials is exhibiting some of his artwork in Folkestone to coincide with the town's Skabour Festival... Read more...
BBC SOUTH EASTAug 2012
BBC South East interviews Horace about the closing ceremony of The Olympics and his solo exhibition at the Space Gallery in Folkestone ... Read more....
London Evening StandardNov 2011
Specials bass guitarist swaps his plectrum for paint brush. He met Jerry Dammers at art college and abandoned painting for a career with Eighties ska band The Specials. But now Horace... Read more...
Sunday TelegraphNov 2011
Musician and artist Horace Panter shows us round the art room in his Coventry home. Our house, in Coventry, was built as a ribbon factory in the 1830s. There was a tank factory down the road, so the... Read more...
Culture 24Nov 2011
The Specials bassist Horace Panter reveals eye for iconography at London Strand Gallery. Whatever you think of their quality, it's been a vintage year for musicians swapping...Read more...
ArtRabbitOct 2011
Horace Panter: ‘Robots, Saints & (Extra)Ordinary People’ The Strand Gallery 22nd Nov - 3rd Dec 2011 The Specials’ bassist unveils his debut art exhibition which expresses, through.... Read more...
Pop Art Rock Girl YeahSept 2011
Pargy interviews Sir Horace Gentleman
– Artist and bass player with The Specials.
Horace Panter is known to many as Sir Horace Gentleman; bass player and key member... Read more...
Art ProjectJan 2011
As The Specials gear up for what appears to be the final tour of their current reunion, the band have been enjoying some much deserved down time. One member of the band who has been... Read more...
BBCJan 2011
Horace Panter of The Specials makes art centre stage. Read more...
Scream Editions, London
The Artist Gallery, Aberdeen
The White Room - Bath
The White Room - Leamington Spa
Croft Wingates, Market Harborough
No 9 Gallery - Birmingham
1Love Art - Bristol
St Pauls, Birmingham
Metropolis Art, Bournemouth
Icon Gallery, Singapore
The launch of Horace's exhibition at The White Room Gallery in Leamington Spa was a huge success. It ended up being one of those evenings where there were so many people it was quite difficult to see the paintings!”
The White Room Gallery, Royal Leamington Spa
We had the pleasure of hosting a solo show for Horace in late 2011 at The Strand Gallery. Not only is he an artist of exceptional talent
but a real pleasure to work with. The show
proved to be a knock out success and we
look forward to the prospect of partnering
with him again in future”
The Strand Gallery, London
It is great to work with Horace on his prints; he is really fastidious about the colours so
together we always aim to recreate his original
paintings as closely as possible. As an artist,
he is incredibly hard-working, often working on
several pieces at the same time and keen to
experiment. He's a great guy.
Nina Bale, Ginger The Art Of Print
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