5 emerging designers and illustrators to look out for at Pick Me Up

Pick Me Up insider and co-curator Cat Love tells us who we should keep an eye out for in the “Selects” section of this year’s show.

Corin Kennington
Corin Kennington

Ahead of the opening of illustration fair Pick Me Up we spoke to co-curator Cat Love about who to look out for at this year’s event.

Love has been involved in putting together the Selects category, which this year focuses on illustrators and designers who have graduated in the last three years.

While Love stresses that the category has been curated to demonstrate a broad range of techniques and processes – and that there’s a lot more to see – we’ve asked her to pick out five not-to-be-missed talents.

Corin Kennington

Corin Kennington

Cat Love: “We’re thrilled to be showing Corin’s work at Pick Me Up as we haven’t shown many sign writers in Pick Me Up Selects in the past seven years.

“He only graduated from the London College of Communication last year, but we love how he brings his own unique contemporary twist to the more traditional elements of sign-painting.

His work has a bold graphic edge, and we’ll be showing a recent set of his typographic prints alongside one-off, reverse painting on glass pieces.”


Rachel Lillie

greenhouse (c) Rachel Lillie

CL: “We love the peaceful quality of Rachel’s evocative woodland illustrations. They come from her love of walking and weave narratives of historic events and folk tales into the texture of the landscape.

She’s also made a series of wooden sculptures made from found pieces of wood that reference traditional craft practices and show the breadth of her skills as an artist.”


Isabel + Helen

Isabel + Helen

CL: “Creative duo Isabel + Helen’s kinetic installation the ‘Noise Makers’ is one you can’t miss! They’ve designed and built a group of self-playing musical instruments which will play themselves for one minute, every 10 minutes.

“Since graduating from Chelsea College of Art, they’ve gone from strength to strength and done some amazing things including designing a series of Christmas window displays at Selfridges last year inspired by the solar system and exhibiting at the 2015 London Design Festival with a ‘Constructivist Swing’”.

Isabel+ Helen

Julian Glander

Julian Glander

CL: “USA-based illustrator, animator and game designer Julian Glander creates off-the-wall characters that merge a plasticine style with 3D design and a healthy splash of humour. Keeping a sense of movement in his space, Julian has produced some lenticular prints which follow you around the room and 3D foam models of his trademark characters.”


George Douglas

George Douglas (1)

CL: “Another of our really fresh graduates is George Douglas, an illustrator and artist who uses found photographic materials to create collage works that explore themes of collecting, Britishness and the magic of randomness and chance. The results are eerie, funny, colourful and archival all at the same time.”

anatomical drawing 2 copy- LR

Pick Me Up runs from 21 April – 2 May 2016 at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA

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