Barry Kamen British/Burmese, 1963-2015
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Portrait of Chief Joseph (Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt), 2015 -
Portrait of No Bear (Tseniwasin), 2015
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Positive 15 (II), 2015
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Positive 15 (III), 2015
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IT IT AN (after Titian, 2007
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Untitled (Buffalo Stance), 2007
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Untitled (Pink Hand on Historical Text), 1999
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Untitled (Caged Waits) , 1995
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and
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Hold on believe believe listen to your own heart
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Untitled (Caged Waits)
'He was a true artist....there was no sense of wanting' (Ib Kamara, 2025)
Barry Kamen (1963-2015) became well known as a model and stylist as part of the Buffalo collective led by Ray Petri in the 1980s, a movement which went on to change British fashion forever. Buffalo had a huge ripple effect worldwide - and Kamen’s legacy in styling and fashion is well documented. What is less known is his extraordinary work as an artist, with a mature and dedicated studio practise that spanned a 30-year period.
In 2015, after his death from an undiagnosed heart defect, his work remained in storage until 2022, when the Barry Kamen Estate was formed to explore his artistic legacy - with a mission to archive, research, exhibit and promote his work as an artist. The Estate counted as early patrons Ib Kamara (Creative Director, Off-White), British filmmaker Daniel Kleinman and Jonathan Freedman of Brutus Jeans.
Kamen was famously private about his studio practise, perhaps using it as a refuge from the commercial demands made of him in fashion. For this reason, his work never gained the support of a major gallery during his lifetime, although he took part in various important group shows throughout the 1990s. His first major solo show as an artist took place in 1989 at Jean-Paul Gaultier's studio; the exhibition sold out, and no works from that show remain in his archive. Notable later exhibitions in the UK included 'Art Tube 01' in 2001 alongside Damien Hirst, Yoko Ono, Fiona Banner, Gavin Turk and posthumously at the ICA in 2016 as part of Judy Blame's retrospective 'Never Again'.
However, with the work of his Estate, his work is slowly gaining a reputation as being an undiscovered treasure of contemporary art in the UK, especially since Kamen, as a British-Burmese artist and as a member of the the vast Asian diaspora, has a unique take on the aesthetics of British culture and colonial history. Christie's placed Kamen’s first ever work in auction in 2023. In 2024, his work gained its first posthumous exhibition in Japan entitled 'Barry Kamen: Is Is It And' at Lurf Gallery (Tokyo) and later at Estnation (Tokyo), with an accompanying clothing capsule based on the artist's own designs. That same year, Barry's work was featured in two major institutional exhibitions; 'The Fashion Show: Eveything but the Clothes (V&A Dundee, Scotland) and 'The Missing `Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion' (Somerset House, London).
In October 2025, to mark ten years of his passing, his first posthumous solo exhibition opened at Graces Mews, London. The exhibition attracted press from The Face, Monocle, System Magazine and others. While the Estate continues to work hard to gain institutional support for Kamen's extraordinary body of work, his work can be found in various private collections of the colleagues and friends with whom he contributed to form the British aesthetic, copied and reviered worldwide. Current collectors of Barry Kamen's artworks include Stella McCartney, Tyrone and Frank Lebon, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Helmut Lang, Azzedine Allaia, Rifat Ozbek, Georgina Goodman, Steve Barron, Takeo Kikuchi, John Maybury, Robert Elms, Gary Kemp, Mitsuo Suma, John Taylor, Diana Ross, Linda Bennet, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Naomi Campbell and Neneh Cherry.
Key Dates, Collaborations and Exhibitions
1963 - Barry is born in Essex, Harlow. He is the last of eight children.
1980 - Barry studies Art at Cambridge College of Art. Together with his brother Nick Kamen, Barry meets stylist Ray Petri, founder of the Buffalo movement. Barry and Nick Kamen become models, muses and collaborators of the Buffalo crew, along with Naomi Campbell, Neneh Cherry, photographers Roger Charity, Mark Lebon and Jamie Morgan, Talisa Soto and others. During this time, Barry works with John Galliano as he establishes his brand, before Galliano’s move to Paris in 1988.
1984 - Barry and Nick Kamen appear in the iconic edition of The Face magazine, styled by Ray Petri. Barry appears in many seminal BodyMap shows from 1984 as model and collaborator.
1985 - Barry goes to Tokyo and begins working with Rei Kawakubo for Commes des Garçons, producing sketches and design material. As a model, Barry walks for Commes des Garçons with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
1986 - Barry assists Helmut Lang on his first four shows in Paris, including his first collection launched at the Centre Georges Pompidou. During this year he also works with Jean-Paul Gaultier on his inaugural show in Paris.
1989 - Ray Petri dies . Barry has his first major solo show as an artist, in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s studio in Paris, under the exhibition title ‘Treasure’. The sold-out exhibition receives a lot of press attention. Barry appears in Neneh Cherry’s era-defining music video for her single ‘Manchild’, styled by Judy Blame. He also designs the album cover for UB40’s hit album ‘Labour of Love II’.
1990 - Barry designs album covers for UB40 album ‘Homely Girl’ and four Nick Kamen singles. Barry has his first gallery show at Gallerie Vivienne, Paris, also under the exhibition title ‘Treasure’.
1991 - Barry begins his first major body of mature, abstract canvasses with the title ‘Caged Waits’. This same year, Barry is flown to New York to design the cover for Diana Ross’ album ‘The Force Behind the Power’.
1995 - Barry exhibits the “Caged Waits’ series in Bearspace, London. Many canvasses are sold; buyers include Helmut Lang, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Tatjana Patitz and others.
1997 - Barry is commissioned to make a backing film for the Rolling Stones. He also is commissioned to make films for Elton John, Diana Ross, Oasis, Aerosmith and Peter Beard. Barry begins work on another major series, under the title of ‘and’, painting large and small scale works based on drawings of his own left hand.
2001 - Barry is chosen to exhibit work from his ‘SHOULD’ series as part of the groundbreaking ‘ARTTUBE 01’ exhibition on the Piccadilly Line, London. Other exhibiting artists include Yoko Ono, Gavin Turk, Vivienne Westwood, Juergen Teller, and Damian Hurst; all giants of contemporary art and design.
2002 - Barry’s art film ‘patRIOT’ is exhibited as part of the prestigious Polstar Art programme in Leicester Square, London. He designs the album cover for Nick Kamen’s album ‘Whatever Whenever’.
2004 - Barry is appointed Freelance Art and Fashion Director for PEN Magazine, Tokyo (until 2007).
2006 - Barry begins work on his major portraiture series under the title of ‘Is Is It’. He will continue to work on this series until 2011.
2009 - Barry begins to work as a consultant for PUMA. He also styles the influential 'Monarchy in the UK' series, shot by Jamie Morgan, for Arena Homme+ magazine (Fall/Winter 2009).
2011 - Barry begins work on his ‘Plaster’ series, using adhesive plasters as canvasses for portraits and other themes.
2012 - Barry is part of the PUMA styling team that designs Usain Bolt and the Jamaican team’s kit for the London Olympics 2012.
2015 - Barry collaborates with Takeo Kikuchi on his 2015 collection together with stylist Harris Elliot. In October 2015, Barry passes away in his studio whilst painting, as a result of a rare and undetectable heart condition.
2022 - The Barry Kamen Estate is founded by Tatiana Strauss-Kamen as Executive Director, alongside Glen Erler as Director and Florence Woodfield Morais as Curator and Associate Director.
2023 - Christie’s London place Barry Kamen’s canvas in a public auction for the first time. Barry’s work is included in other group shows in major UK institutions, including Somerset House (‘Missing Threads’) and V&A Dundee (‘Everything but the Clothes’)
2024 - A group of Barry's works travel to Japan for his first posthumous exhibition in Japan entitled 'Barry Kamen: Is Is It And' at Lurf Gallery (Tokyo) and later at Estnation (Tokyo), with an accompanying clothing capsule based on the artist's own designs.
2025 - Barry's work gains unprecedented interest as his first major solo exhibition opens at Graces Mews, London, to coincide with ten years since his passing. The exhibition, led by previously unseen film works restored and curated by Frank Lebon, receives press attention from The Face, Monocle, System Magazine, among others.