Felix Treadwell’s paintings invoke the surrealist vocabulary of artists such as Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, wrapped in a cloud of nostalgia for youth and the comfort of childhood.

In a soft palette of soothing blues and pinks, one of Treadwell’s hypnotic, unearthly figures dances with the setting evening sun. His canvases are focused and pared back to essential elements, creating a calming effect that counteracts our daily bombardment of visual media from the likes of social media and television.

In Treadwell’s world, the sun not is not merely a remote celestial body floating in space tens of millions of miles from Earth, but a personified character who interacts with the figures as a gentle, sensitive character. The sun dances and plays with his persons, mimicking and engaging with their movements; instead of a secondary worshipping position, his protagonists engage with the star as a friend and a healing force.

His work brings together disparate influences such as the 1960s BBC children’s show The Magic Roundabout and the works of Yoshitomo Nara as well as contemporary fashion. Treadwell lives and works in London and holds a BFA from the Camberwell College of Art and an MFA from the Royal College of Art. He has had solo exhibitions at Carl Kostyál in London and The Hole in New York, both in 2023.