Jayson Lilley is a contemporary British artist and printmaker known for his distinctive cityscapes, combining the precision of screen printing with painting, collage and expressive mark-making.
Architecture and the energy of the city sit at the heart of his work. From London to New York and Tokyo, Jayson builds richly layered compositions in which intricate urban detail is set against expansive skies and luminous areas of metal leaf.
With a background in graphic design and advertising, his work combines strong composition with a continual fascination for materials. Maps, banknotes and even vintage Monopoly boards can become part of the artwork itself, transforming familiar objects into unexpected surfaces on which to explore the character of a city.
CITY | PRINT | MATERIAL
Building the City in Layers
Jayson Lilley's cityscapes begin with places we think we know. Through print, paint and unexpected materials, familiar skylines are taken apart and rebuilt into something distinctly his own.
London landmarks, the skyline of New York and the energy of Tokyo provide familiar reference points, but Jayson isn't interested in simply reproducing a view. Instead, the city becomes something he can explore through layers of screen printing, painting, collage and expressive mark-making.
Screen printing provides precision and structure. Against that, fluid marks, areas of paint and hand-drawn details introduce something much less controlled. Expanses of metallic leaf can transform a sky, while intricate architectural details encourage you to move closer to the surface.
That contrast sits at the heart of Jayson's work: a city can feel vast from a distance and extraordinarily detailed when experienced up close.
Maps, Money and Monopoly
Sometimes the surface itself becomes part of the story.
Jayson has incorporated culturally familiar materials into his work, from maps and banknotes to vintage Monopoly boards. Rather than simply providing a background, these objects introduce another layer of association with the city depicted.
A London Tube map can become the foundation for a view across the capital. A Monopoly board — already filled with familiar streets, property and ideas of ownership — can be transformed into an entirely new artwork. Elsewhere, collage, metallic leaf, spray paint, pen and oils are brought together on a single surface.
The approach reflects Jayson's background in graphic design and advertising, where composition, typography and visual communication all matter. But the hand-finished elements ensure that the precision of printmaking is continually interrupted by something more spontaneous.
From the City to the Coast
Although major cities have long provided Jayson with inspiration, his visual language isn't confined to the metropolitan skyline.
More recently, familiar Norfolk locations have entered his work, including Norwich and the North Norfolk coast. Cromer Pier, coastal architecture and local landmarks are approached with the same combination of printmaking, colour and layered materials found in his London, New York and Tokyo pieces.
It creates an interesting connection between very different places. Whether the subject is Manhattan, central London or the Norfolk coast, Jayson is ultimately exploring the same thing: the visual character that makes a place instantly recognisable.
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