Carl Randall

CARL RANDALL is a London-based British figurative painter whose work explores contemporary life through images of Japan and London. His paintings combine observational practice with an interest in portraiture, cultural identity, memory and the relationship between place and personal experience.

He studied Painting at The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, completed The Drawing Year at The Royal Drawing School, London, and received an MA and Doctorate in Fine Art from Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan. He is the recipient of the BP Travel Award at The National Portrait Gallery, The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, The Nomura Art Prize Japan, and several other national and international awards.

Randall has exhibited widely in the UK and Japan, including exhibitions at The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Academy of Arts, The Jerwood Gallery, Flowers Gallery, The Mall Galleries, Christie's London and New York, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work has also been presented at international art fairs in Switzerland, Turkey, Japan and Taiwan.

His paintings are held in public and private collections including University College London Art Museum, Tokyo Geidai Art Museum, The Royal Collection, The Tokaido Hiroshige Museum in Shizuoka, Japan, and Fondation Carmignac, Paris. His work in the Fondation Carmignac collection is held alongside works by artists including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gerhard Richter.

He has received commissions from London restaurants Kioku by Endo and Bob Bob Ricard City, and his work has been featured by the BBC World Service and CNN. His fine art prints are held in collections including the National Poetry Library, London Zoo, Cambridge University and Channel 4 News Studios.

In 2013, following his BP Travel Award, Randall presented a display of sixteen Japan paintings as part of the BP Portrait Award exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, accompanied by Japan Portraits, a catalogue documenting a decade of work created during his time living in Japan. He has also undertaken artist residencies in Hiroshima, creating portraits of Atomic Bomb survivors, and at the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix.

His work in The Royal Collection was commissioned for HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III).

JAPAN PORTRAITS

Japan Portraits is a series of paintings created during Carl’s decade living in Japan (2003–2013). The works explore contemporary Japanese life and society through the perspective of a visiting artist.

Large-scale black-and-white canvases depict densely packed crowds inspired by Tokyo’s streets, reflecting themes of overpopulation, isolation and urban alienation. These paintings were developed in collaboration with more than one thousand Tokyo residents, each visiting the artist’s studio to sit for their portrait. Other works combine figures and landscapes, portraying everyday scenes across Japan’s urban and rural environments.

Following his success in winning the BP Travel Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, Carl was commissioned to create a body of work documenting the people and places along the historic Tokaido Highway — the route connecting Tokyo and Kyoto famously depicted in the ukiyo-e prints of Ando Hiroshige. Japan Sketchbook presents the drawings and observations that informed these paintings, including studies made on Tokyo trains and portraits drawn from life, among them survivors of the atomic bomb during his residency in Hiroshima.

A selection of later works was created in the UK from memories of Japan, alongside private commissions, including paintings commissioned for the Japanese restaurant Kioku by Endo London.

LONDON PORTRAITS

Created after Carl’s return to the UK following ten years in Japan, London Portraits explores the people, places and atmosphere of contemporary London. The series captures iconic and everyday locations including Piccadilly Circus, Waterloo Bridge, the Thames, Primrose Hill, the Chelsea Flower Show and the East End.

The project also includes portraits of leading figures from British arts, culture and society, each sitter choosing a London location meaningful to them as the setting for their portrait. Participants include Julie Walters, Jo Brand, Nick Park, Raymond Briggs, Simon Armitage, Jon Snow, David Mitchell, Katie Leung, Dave McKean, Benjamin Zephaniah, Jeremy Thomas, Julien Temple, Akram Khan, Desmond Morris, Sir Antony Sher and Gregory Doran.

The series continues through privately commissioned portraits, with clients selecting their own London locations as personal backdrops, including works commissioned by the London restaurant Bob Bob Ricard City.

EARLY WORK

Carl’s early work, developed at The Slade School of Fine Art, focuses on architectural subjects and the atmosphere of London at night. Lit windows, shadowed interiors and isolated urban spaces explore themes of mystery, solitude and unseen lives.

Alongside painting, he created architectural mixed-media relief works that exist between painting and sculpture, exploring depth, perspective and the illusion of space. His early engagement with portraiture can be seen in life-drawn pencil and ink studies of friends, family, himself and residents of retirement homes.

EDUCATION:

2009-2012 Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geidai), Japan. Doctorate in Fine Art (Painting).

2006-2009 Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geidai), Japan. Masters in Fine Art (Painting).

2003-2005 Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholarship, Tokyo Japan.

2002-2003 The Royal Drawing School, London. The Drawing Year 2003.

1995-1999 The Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. BA Honours Degree in Fine Art (Painting).

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2026 Hampstead Art Society Summer Exhibition. Gallery 8, Mayfair London.

2026 Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Department Store, Brixton London.

2026 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. Mall Galleries London.

2025 The Distinctive Eye: Singular Voices in British Painting. Panter & Hall Gallery, Pall Mall, London. Ten figurative painters: Mary Jane Ansell, Jennifer Anderson, Frances Bell, Miriam Escofet, Philip Harris, Ishbel Myerscough, Anastasia Pollard, Carl Randall, Andrew Tift, Stuart Pearson Wright.⁠

2025 The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Royal Academy of Arts, London (invited to exhibit by RA Richard Wilson).

2025 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2025 Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Department Store, Brixton London.

2024 Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award. The National Portrait Gallery London.

2024 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2024 Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Department Store, Brixton London.

2024 Reassorted. Art critic William Feaver’s curated exhibition of 28 portrait paintings. Mall Galleries, London.

2024 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. Mall Galleries, London. Guest artist (invited to exhibit by Vice President Antony Willams RP).

2023 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2022 The Shutoko Expressway (60th Anniversary of the Tokyo Metropolitan Highway). The O Museum of Art, Tokyo Japan.

2022 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2022 The Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Department Store, Brixton London.

2022 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. Mall Galleries London.

2021 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2020 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. Mall Galleries London. Guest artist (invited to exhibit by Simon Davis RP).

2020 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, London.

2020 Christie’s, London (group exhibition/auction).

2020 Bunkyo Arts, Fuma Contemporary. Tokyo, Japan.

2020 ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries London.

2019 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2019 The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Royal Academy of Arts, London (invited to exhibit by RA Jock McFadyen).

2019 Last of the Tide: Portraits of D-Day Veterans. Portsmouth Museum.

2019 Art Fair Tokyo. Tokyo, Japan.

2019 Art Fair Osaka. Osaka, Japan.

2019  Indepth III. Bunkyo Arts, Fuma Contemporary. Tokyo, Japan.

2018 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2018 Sea of Desire. Foundation Carmignac Museum, Porquerolles Island, France.

2018 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Mall Galleries, London.

2018 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition. The Mall Galleries, London.

2017 Small is Beautiful. Flowers Gallery, Cork St., London.

2017 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Mall Galleries, London.

2017 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition. The Mall Galleries, London.

2016 ‘London Portraits’. Print display of portraits of 15 people who have contributed to British culture and society. The National Portrait Gallery London (Print Gallery, basement).

2016 Drawings from the Royal Drawing School. Christies New York, U.S.A.

2016 Last of the Tide: Portraits of D-Day Veterans. Portraits commissioned by HRH Prince of Wales. Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.

2015 Hibakusha Portrait Drawings, University College London Art Museum (UCL)

2015 ArtInternational. Istanbul, Turkey.

2015 Last of the Tide: Portraits of D-Day Veterans. The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London. Portraits commissioned by HRH Prince of Wales (King Charles) by: Paul Benney, Clara Drummond, James Lloyd, Jonathan Yeo, Catherine Goodman, Eileen Hogan, Peter Kuhfeld, Ishbel Myerscough, Carl Randall, Antony Williams, Stuart Pearson Wright, Martin Yeoman.

2014 Art Volta. Basel, Switzerland.

2013 BP Portrait Awards. The National Portrait Gallery, London; The Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland; The Wolverhampton Art Gallery, England.

2013 The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Royal Academy of Arts, London .

2013 Slade Print Fair, The Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.

2012 Art Taipei. Taipei City, Taiwan.

2012 BP Portrait Awards. The National Portrait Gallery, London; Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.

2012 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition. The Mall Galleries, London.

2012 Jerwood Drawing Prize. Jerwood Space, London; Jerwood Gallery, Hastings; mac, Birmingham; The Gallery, Bournemouth University.

2011 Doctorate Course Graduate Exhibition. Tokyo Geidai Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

2010 Works on Paper. Gallery Ichimaenoe, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.

2009 The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Royal Academy of Arts, London. Guest artist (invited to exhibit by Mick Rooney RA).

2009 Tokyo Art Award (exhibition of best graduate artists in Japan). Gyoko Gallery. Maranouchi, Tokyo.

2009 MFA Graduate Exhibition. Tokyo Geidai Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

2008 Alien Eye, Tokyo Geidai Museum, Japan.

2007 ING Fresh Eyes on Formula 1. Mayfair Hotel, London.

2005 Hiroshima Art Document. Exhibition of international artists marking 60th anniversary of nuclear event in Hiroshima. Bank of Japan, Hiroshima City, Japan.

2005 Vol.2, U-35. Exhibition of Japanese and Western artists. The Red Brick Building. Yokohama, Japan.

2005 Six Faces. OS Gallery. Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.

2004 Being Present. The Jerwood Gallery, London. Group exhibition of young emerging figurative painters: Phil Hale, Brendan Kelly, James Lloyd, Jennifer McRae, Ishbel Myerscough, Carl Randall, Stuart Pearson Wright.

2004 Japan Arts. Tokyo Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Tokyo, Japan.

2003 The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Royal Academy of Arts, London.

2003 The Drawing Year Graduate Exhibition. The Royal Drawing Drawing School, London.

2003 Movements on Paper. Broadway Gallery, Cardiff, Wales.

2002 BP Portrait Awards. The National Portrait Gallery, London; The Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland.

2002 French landscapes by Royal Drawing Drawing School students. The Forbes Chateau De Balleroy, France.

2001 The Art Fair. Business Design Center, London.

2000 Royal British Artists Exhibition. Mall Galleries, London.

2000 The Art Fair. Business Design Center, London. 

1999 BA Degree Show. Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.

1998 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition Exhibition (1st Prize Winner). Mall Galleries, London; Philips, Leeds; Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester; Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham.

1998 Chelsea Arts. Chelsea Arts Society, London.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2014 Shōzō [肖像]. Berloni, London.

2014 The Tokaido Highway: Portaits from Edo to the Present [東海道ハイウェイ ー江戸から現代の肖像ー ]. The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum, Japan.

2014 Tokyo Portraits. The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London.

2013/14 In The Footsteps of Hiroshige – The Tokaido Highway and Portraits of Modern Japan. The National Portrait Gallery, London; The Aberdeen Art Museum, Scotland; Wolverhampton Art Museum. Display of 16 Japan-based paintings, as a result of winning the BP Travel Award 2012.

2009 Tokyo Portraits: Recent Paintings & Drawings. Bunkyo Arts, Fuma Contemporary. Tokyo, Japan.

2006 Works on paper: Recent Portraits. The Japan-British Society, Tokyo, Japan.

PRIZES, SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS:

2012 BP Travel Award, awarded by The National Portrait Gallery London. Prize to travel and produce an innovative portrait-based project, to be displayed at the Portrait Gallery. Randall won for his proposal to walk in the footsteps of Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker Ando Hiroshige, creating contemporary paintings along the Tokaido Highway - a route running from Tokyo to Kyoto as also depicted by Hiroshige.

2011 Nomura Art Prize, awarded by Tokyo Geidai University, for best graduate Doctorate work. Painting bought by Geidai Museum for its permanent collection.

2009 Keiseikai Foundation Scholarship, awarded to support artist in residency in Hiroshima, Japan.

2007 Formula 1 Artist in Residency, awarded by ING to represent Japan as artist in residence at the 2007 Japan Formula 1 Races. Work produced exhibited at ‘Fresh Eyes on Formula 1’ - a contemporary art exhibition in London, featuring artists chosen to represent various F1 races throughout the world.

2006-2011 MEXT Scholarship (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). Japanese Government scholarship to support Fine Art (Painting) studies at Tokyo Geidai University, Japan.

2005 The Gen Foundation & The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Scholarships, to support exhibitions and art projects in Japan.

2003-2005 Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholar. 20 months working in Tokyo Japan as an artist, whilst gaining lasting knowledge of Japanese language & culture.

2000 John Adams Fine Art Award, awarded by Royal Society of British Artists, Mall Galleries, London.

1999 Duveen Travel Scholarship, awarded by the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL). Two months travel to visit art museums & galleries throughout Italy.

1998 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - 1st Prize. National annual UK watercolour competition, with over 1200 entries (£15000 1st prize).

1997 William Coldstream Painting Competition, 2nd Prize. Annual University painting competition awarded by the Slade School of Fine Art.

1996 William Coldstream Painting Competition, 2nd Prize. Annual University painting competition awarded by the Slade School of Fine Art.

1996 Railtrack/Slade School Painting Competition, 1st Prize. Awarded by the Slade School of Fine Art & Railtrack PLC.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE:

2007 Fuji Speedway, Shizuoka, Japan. To paint the Formula 1 Races for ‘Fresh Eyes on Formula 1’ - a contemporary art exhibition in London, featuring artists chosen to represent various F1 races throughout the world.

2006/2009 Hiroshima City, Japan. Invited to meet and paint portraits of survivors of the atomic bomb for 'Hiroshima Art Document' - an exhibition of international artists marking 60th anniversary of nuclear event in Hiroshima.

2002 Students from The Royal Drawing Drawing School & The New York School of Art. The Forbes Chateau De Balleroy, France.

PUBLICATIONS:

2019 ‘Ways of Drawing: Artists’ Perspectives and Practises’. Drawings from The Royal Drawing School London’s faculty, alumni, and established artists past & present. Carl’s drawings ‘Portrait of Donald Richie’ and ‘Mr.Kitazwa’s Noodle Bar (ink study)’ included in the book. Published by Thames & Hudson. 

2018 ‘Gateways to Drawing’. Published by Thames & Hudson. Carl’s drawing ‘Shibuya’ used on front cover, and ‘Study for a London Café’ inside. Featuring drawings by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, van Gogh, Raphael, Durer, Ingres, Breughel, Daumier, Cezanne, Delacroix, William Blake, Ando Hiroshige, Alice Neel, Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth, Frida Khalo, Henry Moore, Marlene Dumas, Paula Rego, Frank Auerbach. ISBN: 0500841209

2018 Walk on the Wild Side: The Masterpieces of the Carmignac Collection. Featuring Carl’s ‘Tokyo Portrait’ painting, and works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring, Martin Parr, Andreas Gursky, Jean-Michel Basquait. Published by Skira. ISBN: 8857230287

2014 ‘Carl Randall: Shōzō’. Solo exhibition catalogue, published by Berloni Gallery, London.

2013 ‘Carl Randall - Japan Portraits’. 120 page full colour catalogue illustrating paintings and drawings made in Japan. Foreword by English author Desmond Morris and introduction by Japan writer Donald Richie. Bilingual English/Japanese. On sale at The National Portrait Gallery and The Hayward Gallery London. ISBN: 978-0-9926089-0-3. 

2013 The BP Portrait Award Catalogue. Special 8-page feature of Carl’s BP Travel Award work, with essay written by Carl Randall, and illustrated with his paintings made in Japan. Published by The National Portrait Gallery, London.

SELECTED PRESS/REVIEWS:

2018 CNN. ‘The Japanese Grand Prix: F1 in Japan’ (The Circuit). Includes interview with Carl Randall about his Japan paintings.

2017 Art & Design (Beijing-based arts magazine, February issue). 'Portraits of Eastern and Western Folk'.

2016 BBC World Service: World Update. 'Painting the Faces of Japan's crowded cities'. BBC video interview with Carl Randall about Japan paintings.

2014 Modern Weekly (China’s largest culture/arts magazine). Article & interview about Japan work (April issue).

2014 Mainichi Shimbun (one of Japan’s largest newspapers). Article & interview about Japan work (April issue).

2014 Japan Update Weekly Magazine, London (Feb. issue).

2013 Artists & Illustrators Magazine. "Tomorrows World": 4-page article about 2012 BP Travel Award show at The National Portrait Gallery (August issue).

2013 The Jackdaw Magazine, London. "Easel Words - Carl Randall": article about 2012 BP Travel Award show at National Portrait Gallery (July/August issue).

2013 Yomiuri Shimbun (one of Japan’s largest newspapers). Article & interview about Japan work

2013 Glass Magazine. Article & interview about Japan work.

2013 Yoo. Article & interview about Japan work (Aug. issue).

2007 Car & Driver Magazine, Japan. “ING Fresh Eyes on Formula 1”. Article about F1 artist in residency (Dec. issue).

1998 The Sunday Times. 'Fresh Fields, New Faces'. Article about winning 1st prize in the 1998 Singer & Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition (September 6th).

ARTIST TALKS:

2022 The Swedenborg Society, Swedenborg Hall, Bloomsbury, London. ‘Painting Modern Japan’. Organised & invited by The Japan Society London.

2022 Isoo Contemporary Art Space, Iran. Online talk of Carl’s 30 year painting career, followed by a Q&A by audience members (talk translated live into Persian).

2021 Metralla Rosa (channel dedicated to in-depth conversations with prominent personalities in the creative world), with Carla Tofano. General talk about painting career and artistic practice.

2019 The Art Academy, London. Talk about painting career and artistic practice.

2015 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre. ‘Art, Identity, Migration’. In association with Ben Uri Gallery London.

2015 University College London Museum. ‘Hibakusha Portrait Drawings’ (survivors of the atomic bomb, Hiroshima).

2014 Charterhouse School, Surrey, UK. ‘Japan Portraits’

2014 Berloni Gallery, London. In conjunction with solo exhibition of Japan work ‘Shōzō [肖像]’.

2014 The Shizuoka City Hiroshige Tokaido Museum, Japan. ‘Portraits from Edo to the Present - Paintings of the Tokaido Highway’.

2014 The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London. 'Tokyo Portraits'. In conjunction with Daiwa solo exhibition (in discussion with Andrew Stahl, Head of Painting at The Slade School of Fine Art). 

2013 The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. ‘Japan Portraits’

2013 Cambridge University. ‘Painting Japan’ (MEXT Japanese government scholarship talk).

2013 The National Portrait Gallery, London. ‘2012 BP Travel Award – Portraits of Modern Japan’ (as part of the 2013 BP Portrait Awards).

2011 Tokyo Geidai Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Portraits: Expressions of Community & Isolation’ (Doctorate thesis).

2005 The British Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. ‘Works on Paper: Portraits of Modern Japan’.

2004 The British Council, Tokyo, Japan. ‘Contemporary Painting in the UK’.

COLLECTIONS:

Paintings/artworks in the collection of:

The Royal Collection (The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London).
UCL Art Museum, University College London.
Foundation Carmignac, Paris France.
Tokyo Geidai Museum, Japan (Tokyo University of Fine Arts Museum).
The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art, Japan.
Singer and Friedlander Bank, London.
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London.
Fuma Contemporary Tokyo, Japan.
Railtrack PLC, London.
Kioku by Endo, London.
Bob Bob Ricard City, London.
Ikeda, Mayfair London.
Berloni London.
Tony & Maureen Wheeler (Lonely Planet founders).
Jo Brand (comedian).
David Mitchell (novelist).
Michel Strauss (former head of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sothbey’s London).

Fine art prints in the collection of:

National Poetry Library, Southbank Centre London.
Zoological Society London (London Zoo).
Channel 4 News Studios, London.
Kings College, Cambridge University.
The National Film and Television School.
Aardman Animation, Bristol.
Curtis Brown Group, London.
Kent University.
Akram Khan Dance Company, London.
Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds.
Hanway Films, London.
Bar Italia, London.
The Japan Society London.
The Comedy Store, London.
Benjamin Zephaniah (poet).
Jon Snow (journalist/newscaster).
Jeremy Thomas (movie producer).
Katie Leung (actor).
Raymond Briggs (illustrator/writer).

All artwork copyright the artist Carl Randall © 2026