London City Airport Commission: Gerry Buxton

To commemorate the recent sale of London City Airport, printmaker Gerry Buxton was commissioned to create a screen print capturing the airport in all its glory. A limited edition run of 30 prints are now available to buy online!

London City Airport

Gerry Buxton

In celebration of London City Airport's recent sale, and its success thusfar, east London artist Gerry Buxton was commissioned to create an artwork capturing its prowess. Cityscapes, transport and especially planes are a common theme within many of Buxton's works. This, alongside his Hackney dwelling makes him the ideal artist for the job!

Gerry Buxton was delighted to be selected:

"It has been a real privilege to work on a print for London City Airport. Since moving to London I have been fascinated by the number and the frequency of planes flying overhead, and they have become a recurring motif in my work. I leapt at the opportunity to be able to photograph the planes and the airport from the runway and to begin to build an image I feel captures the life and movement of a typical day at the airport. I wanted to create a bold and vibrant print that embodies the thrill of taking off to new destinations."

 

Gerry Buxton working on his screen print

To complete the artwork, Buxton visited the aiport and spent hours on the runway taking over 500 photographs of planes taking off and landing. Eventually he narrowed it down to just 9 images in two locations before digitally combining then by painstakingly tracing the most vital elements, and choosing the 5 colours for the screen print from these highlights.

One very large piece was created as a unique work and is due to be hung within the airport's main terminal (pictured below), but Buxton was also commissioned to create a run of 630 limited edition A2 sized screen prints. One of these has been given to each of the airport employees as a gift, but there are still 30 left available to buy online!

Gerry Buxton and London City Airport CEO Declan Collier unveil the artwork

It's an exciting time for London City Airport, and Gerry Buxton's vibrant, energetic artwork is the perfect piece to celebrate the future of the airport that last year welcomed a record 4.3 million passengers through its gates, and now serves nearly 50 destinations across Europe and the USA.

Chief Executive Declan Collier said about the commission:

"With London City Airport at the heart of the regeneration and growth of east London, it’s apt that we’ve commissioned Gerry Buxton, a local creative talent, to produce this memorable artwork. With our new owners now in place and a record breaking year under our belt, we’re looking to add colour to our plans to continually improve the only airport actually in London, including further expansion."

Congratulations Gerry! We can't wait to see what you get up to next...

To see more of Gerry Buxton's screen prints of iconic cityscapes, browse his portfolio here >>