Nigel Ip

I have always been of the opinion that if someone has the platform, power, and influence, they should at least use it for good. So if I’m going to lose the respect of everyone I know for my take on the Ed Sheeran fiasco, then at least it can end with my morals intact.

I think the art world is being unfair on Sheeran’s latest exhibition and collaboration with HENI.

Cosmic Carpark Paintings is basically a charity fundraiser, with paintings going for about £900 ($1,200) – which is relatively accessible – in addition to prints, signed posters, and exclusive clothing items. 50% of the net sales price is being donated to his charity, The Ed Sheeran Foundation, which funds grassroots music projects and music programs in schools to support youth access to music in the UK.

Painted in a disused carpark in Soho in the past year, Sheeran showed the paintings to his close friend Damien Hirst who, together with HENI founder Joe Hage, encouraged the singer to exhibit them.

I was never a fan of Hirst’s two previous HENI projects. The Currency (2016; announced 2021) was a pretentious, performative attempt at making money off the NFT craze, offering buyers a choice of either a physical artwork or the NFT version; the version not picked was subsequently destroyed. Paper Blossoms (2021; announced 2023) wasn’t much better.

With Cosmic Carpark Paintings, Sheeran at least tries to avoid the ego of presenting oneself as a ‘great’ artist making ‘serious’ and ‘good’ art.

Yes, he’s inspired by Jackson Pollock, and his paintings are very derivative (honestly, who isn’t these days?), but he’s not claiming to be the next great Abstract Expressionist. He’s just a guy who likes to paint in his down time, and one can really see that enjoyment in the spirited mark-making.

Look, great paintings, they are not. Reckless, messy, overdone, and extremely decorative, the best compliment I can give is that they weren’t as boring as I thought they would be. However, his interest in art was always there from a young age, only properly manifesting in 2019.

His father was a curator at Cartwright Hall, Bradford, and his mother worked at Manchester City Art Gallery, so at least he knows some art history. On the flip side, I’ve encountered many successful, ultra-commercial artists who can’t name three artists without mentioning Banksy, whose works are much worse, even more derivative, and truly believe they are producing ‘original’ work.

I don’t get that with Sheeran. In fact, he would probably be the first person to admit that everything requires practice and determination, and that no one is born with natural talent, as an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show from 2014 demonstrates.

Sheeran is also frank about his lack of aspirations in the art world. If he was planning to transition into full-time painting, then we might have further questions. But for now, we’re shoving him into a framework he never planned on entering in the first place. This is not the same as Robbie Williams’ recent solo show at Moco Museum in London. Sheeran’s just selling art to support underprivileged kids.

The art world has always been notorious for its snobbery and gatekeeping, despite visual art’s democratic and accessible intentions. The obsession with setting high standards for artists and art-making will never stop, especially when large sums of money are involved and opportunities for artists to exhibit/survive are increasingly diminished.

But Ed Sheeran’s HENI collaboration is not the battleground for that.

It’s just a lemonade stand selling Girl Scout cookies.

Ed Sheeran: Cosmic Carpark Paintings (10 July – 1 August 2025) is at HENI Gallery, 6-10 Lexington St, London, W1F 0LB, https://heni.com/