Ermsy

Born in the north of England and now based in Paris, Ermsy works across drawing, spray-paint murals and commercial commissions. He traces his fascination with art back to the age of six, though he pursued a formal education in graphic design before committing fully to painting.

Even as a student he was already painting graffiti freehand, developing the raw, improvisational sensibility that still underpins his work. After experimenting widely he settled into the style he is now known for: a satirical, often irreverent reinterpretation of American pop-culture iconography, in which cartoon staples are recast in disorienting, hallucinatory scenes that are simultaneously nostalgic and subversive.

His work operates under the umbrella title Took It Easy© — a wry, branded persona running through his gallery shows, prints, apparel and trading-card releases. The blend of gallery-grade fine art with a self-sustained merchandise ecosystem reflects a distinctly street-informed, DIY approach to building an audience alongside traditional representation.

Ermsy began exhibiting publicly in 2012 across the UK and USA, and his profile grew through the 2010s via collaborations with 10 Deep, Cartoon Network and Converse, as well as inclusion in URBAN NATION's Project M/12 in Berlin in 2017. He is represented by Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles and continues to release editioned prints and originals to a global collector base.