Zubair Ansari

Zubair Ansari known as Zoobs (born 26 April 1972, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom) is a British artist. He is dealing mostly on the subjects of Human Character Development, Motivation, Excellence and Meaningful Existence.
Biography
Zoobs was born in Chelsea, London, on 26 April 1972. His mother is of Pakistani decent and his father is of Indian decent. Zoobs is the youngest of two sons. He was raised in Fulham until 1976, and then in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey, where he attended junior school, high school, and university.
The early loss of Zoobs’ father would later factor into his artwork. The young Zoobs found solace in art and crafts at school and seemed to excel at all artistic subjects.
Ansari studied in Fine Art at Slade School of Art. He had first class BA in Art Direction at Kingston University in London.
In the late 1990s, Zoobs was awarded a scholarship to train under the mentorship of the Serge Lutens at Shiseido Cosmetics International in Tokyo and Paris.
In 2000's early works (Dreamlover, The Gambler, Fame) caught the eye of Guy Hepner, who brought Zubair to public attention in the 2004 Here/Now exhibition where he was featured amongst international artists such as David Lachapelle, Takashi Murakami, Rankin, Mario Testino.
Zoobs had a first solo exhibition in 2007 Ego Is The Enemy at The Salon Gallery, London. The exhibition featured work such as The Eye, I Dream Of Madonna, Don't Look Back, Morgue.
He has delved into a subject close to home, that of the complex relationship of parent and child, life and death and it's the impact on personal development. Created works: Hollywood Scroll (2009), Gaganess (2010), Pussy Cat Where Have You Been? (2010), Pink Aleph (2011), and Emerald Aleph (2011).
In 2012 Zoobs created a series of canvassed celebrity portraits (shown on 2012 solo exhibition Remix at Mew 42 Gallery, London). The exhibition featured Madonna in Madonna and Express Yourself (2012), Amy Winehouse in Back From Black (2011), Elton John in Elton Magic (2011), Prince William in King of Pop (2011), and Kate Middleton God Save The Future Queen (2011), purchased by Dolce & Gabbana and currently showcasing in their flagship store in Bond Street London.
Zoobs work is concerned with the pursuit of excellence, human nature and it's consequential result of emotional conditioning, truth, systematic lies, the mysterious and the unknown.
Early life and training
Zoobs showed an interest in art early on in life and excelled at creative subjects at all levels of schooling. After finishing high school at Kingston Grammar School, Kingston, Surrey, Zoobs studied Fine Art at the famous Slade School of Art in London, concentrating on life drawing and the human form. This was followed by a foundation course in Art & Design at Kingston University, where later in 1996 he gained a First Class BA Honours degree with an emphasis on photography, and he was awarded a commendation in art and design by Faberge. At this time, he also won a prestigious award by the Royal Society of Arts which earned him a priceless internship with Shiseido Cosmetics, Ginza, Japan, and later on at Shiseido Europe, in Paris.
Early career
Zoobs career started in 1996, after he won a priceless award by The Royal Society of Arts in London, and he was flown off to Tokyo, to begin his internship at Shiseido Cosmetics, in Ginza. He worked as a graphic designer, logo designer, product designer, make up designer and artist, and photographer, working on various domestic and international brands, including Cle de Peau. His time at Shiseido, Tokyo, proved a priceless experience, and he was offered to work at design headquarters of Shiseido Europe, in Paris, where he worked as a designer on the main international Shiseido brand, and assisted the then creative director for the brand, Serge Lutens, on the image making and campaign design. Serge Lutens was a huge inspiration for the young Zoobs, and he left Paris and returned to his hometown London knowing that he was to follow his personal creative compulsions, and work as artist, and for himself.
Professional career
* 1994 Debut / The Gallery / Islamabad
* 1997 Shiseido Ltd ‘From Designers’ exhibition / Ginza Space, Tokyo
* 1998 Shiseido Ltd ‘From Designers’ exhibition / Ginza Space, Tokyo
* 2001 An Ideal of Perfection / Red Fort, Lahore
* 2004 Here and Now / Guy Hepner Gallery London
* 2005 Photo London / Royal Academy of Art
* 2006 Ego Is The Enemy / The Salon Gallery, London
* 2010 Zoobs vs Lodola / Opera Gallery, London
* 2011 One Is The Magic / Opera Gallery, London Blakes Hotel, London
* 2012 The Optimist - An art exhibition for world aids day, East Gallery, London
* 2012 Jungle City / Manhattan, Guggenheim, NYC
* 2012 Remix by Zoobs / Mews42 Gallery, London
* 2012 Hallowed Be Thy Name / Mews 42 Gallery, London
* 2012 Arts For India / Group show / Saatchi Gallery, London
* 2013 Consolidate the Experience / Ivy Brown Gallery, New York City
* 2014 Consolidate the Experience 2 / The Out Hotel / ivy Brown Gallery, New York City
* 2016 Insanity Fair pre-show / The Agency / Carrie Livingston, Los Angeles
Major Works
* Dreamlover 2003
* Runaway Lover 2003
* The Eye 2003
* Fame 2004
* Hollywood Scroll 2009
* Gaganess 2010
* Lady Mama 2010
* Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where Have You Been 2010
* God Save the Future Queen 2011
* King of Pop 2011
* Emerald Aleph 2011
* Pink Aleph 2011
* Madonna 2012
* Back from Black feat. Amy Winehouse 2012
* Elton Magic 2012
* The Lovers 2013
* The Kiss 2014
* Solitude 2014
* The Son of Moan 2014
* The Revenge of Mr Cecil 2015
* The Jester's Symphony 2015
* A Man's World 2015
* Fierce 2015
* The Castle of Manhattan 2016
* The Antagonism Between The Heart And The Mind 2016
* You Screwed My Head I Lost My Mind 2016
* British Hero / word search series 2017
* The Social Anxiety series 2018
* No News is Good News 2019

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