Aidan Phelan: Reflections of a Broken Mirror
17th March, 2025 17th April, 2025
Grove Gallery
156 New Cavendish Street
Fitzrovia, London
W1W 6YW
This spring, Grove Gallery will play host to Reflections of a Broken Mirror, the debut solo exhibition by Aidan Phelan. Running from 17 March to 17 April, the 30-piece collection offers an unflinching meditation on the fractures of contemporary society. Climate activism, the pressures of social media, the shifting landscape of justice—each theme is rendered in sharp, arresting detail.
Phelan, who grew up in Birmingham before settling in London’s Soho two decades ago, is no stranger to society’s darker currents. He has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of knife crime. That experience informs one of the exhibition’s most powerful works, a collaboration with The Ben Kinsella Trust, a charity working to combat youth violence.
The piece incorporates a letter Kinsella wrote to Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of his GCSE coursework—just months before he was fatally stabbed at the age of 16—alongside the teenager’s own delicate bird drawings. On the opening day, members of the Kinsella family will add the final strokes to the artwork, an intimate tribute to a life cut short and a call to action against the epidemic of knife crime.
Phelan’s journey to the art world has been anything but conventional. Once the man behind David Beckham’s most iconic hairstyles—including the infamous mohawk—he was a defining force in 1990s fashion, with work featured in GQ, i-D and Dazed and Confused. He collaborated with celebrated photographers such as Rankin and Mario Testino, launched a product range that lined the shelves of major retailers, and even fronted his own television show.
Ben’s mother, Deborah Kinsella, shared her heartfelt thoughts on his lifelong passion for art: “Ben’s passion for art stemmed from a very early age. He loved being creative with colour and techniques. He was always painting or making something and went on to gain an A for art in his GCSEs back in 2008. He wanted to be a Graphic Designer, and we have no doubt he would have achieved this. Our family are very thankful and humbled that Aidan and Grove Gallery will be using Ben’s bird drawing as a symbol of hope. We hope that it too can inspire others and have a positive impact for change for future generations to come.”
Then came the pandemic. Like many, Phelan found himself at a crossroads. Instead of returning to the salon chair, he channelled his energy into philanthropy, raising £2.3 million for NHS workers and spearheading initiatives in mental health and brain tumour research. Now, he has circled back to his first love—art—not as an escape, but as a reckoning.
With Reflections of a Broken Mirror, Phelan is not simply putting brush to canvas; he is probing the contradictions of modern life, forcing viewers to look into the cracks of their own world.
The Ben Kinsella Trust has educatedover 30,000 young people about the consequences of knife crime through their Choices and Consequences programme https://benkinsella.org.uk/
Aidan Phelan: Reflections of a Broken Mirror opens on the 17th of March, 2025 until the 17th of April, 2025 at Grove Gallery
©2025 Grove Gallery
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