London Art Biennale to include painting by Jonathan Luxon of Orchard Road Studio Forres

An artist who once reached the later stages of Sky TV’s ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ competition is to feature in a prestigious international exhibition.

Jonathan Luxon, who is based at Orchard Road Studios in Forres, has had artwork selected for the 2025 London Art Biennale - a high profile event in the art world opening on July 16.

Jonathan was “extremely surprised and delighted” when he heard his oil painting ‘The Call’ was accepted, despite him often submitting work for major events.

He said: “Although I've had some luck, having work rejected is something artists get used to! In this case, 330 works were selected from 60 countries and who knows how many submissions, so I didn't expect to be successful.

“Also, this painting is unlike anything I've done before and I had no way of knowing whether it would capture anyone's interest.”

Held over five days at Chelsea Old Town Hall, the Biennale is organised in collaboration with London’s historic Gagliardi Gallery, a long-standing cultural institution in the UK capital.

The event showcases painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and mixed media, with a focus on artistic excellence and innovation.

Jonathan’s painting is known for its realist style, spiritually themed narratives, and life-like portraiture. He painted complex composition The Call earlier this year.

“It involved multiple sources,” he said. “A friend posed and, because it was necessary to achieve specific coloured lighting effects, the photoshoot took hours.”

The Call took another month to finish, involving around 75 hours of painting.

“The piece is about spiritual redemption and awakening in the postmodern age,” explained Jonathan. “I incorporated biblical motifs such as the symbolic city of Babylon to represent a materialistic man-made world system.

“In a sense, the red room represents Babylon, which the figure is about to step out of. It's the moment of her figuratively seeing the light.

“The young lady who modelled had recently had such an experience, so it seemed very appropriate to use her as the subject.”

Jonathan teaches art locally, including for the Findhorn Art Group whose work was recently exhibited in Forres Town Hall.

Having been based at Orchard Road since 2017, he is part of a collective with 10 other artists who occasionally get together for joint projects and exhibitions.

“It's nice to have the camaraderie,” he said. “Being an artist can be quite isolating.

“I love my studio. It’s a conservatory with lots of light. It’s very small but has everything I need to focus.”

For more information visit https://www.londonbiennale.co.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/orchardroadstudios/?locale=en_GB