Theo Bardsley

Theo Bardsley (b. 1997) is a British figurative painter living and working in London. A self-taught painter with a background in History of Art from the University of Manchester, Bardsley draws on both art-historical references and the people, places and experiences of his everyday life. His large-scale, richly textured paintings function as a kind of visual diary, transforming encounters with friends, relationships, pubs and the city around him into scenes that move between observation, memory and invention.

Bardsley presented his debut solo exhibition, Two Sides of Sunday, at Court Tree Collective, New York, in 2025. His work has also been included in Domestic Relics at Saatchi Gallery, London (2026), curated by Delphian Gallery; Tailored Perspectives, presented by M.A.H Gallery at Drake’s, Savile Row, London (2023); and Summer Freestyle at Court Tree Collective, New York (2023).

Through a layered approach to painting, Bardsley brings contemporary experience into dialogue with the history of figurative painting, creating images that explore memory, intimacy and the narratives embedded within ordinary moments.