Step into a world of colour, culture & collectibles with the new by British artist Aaron Kasmin.
Returning to Sims Reed Gallery with even more vivacity and charm, Playing with Fire is the new solo show by British artist Aaron Kasmin. Opening this summer from 30th May – 17th June 2025, Playing with Fire will mark the artist’s sixth solo exhibition with over 30 new diverse and colourful works.
Playing with Fire takes inspiration from the world of American matchbook advertisements, a visual language that Kasmin celebrates, to reflect the vibrancy and complexity of mid-20th century culture. While matchbooks were once small, transient objects, Kasmin’s dynamic works breathe new life into these forgotten pieces of advertising history, capturing themes of food, fashion, nightlife, and travel with an updated, contemporary twist.
For his new exhibition and for the first time Kasmin will be incorporating iconic London landmarks — including the Trocadero and the Beau Brummell statue in Piccadilly — into his compositions, weaving them into the narrative of his American-inspired imagery. The artist’s signature bold colours and striking compositions are now more complex and layered, with greater depth and more interaction between figures and scenes.
Kasmin's myriad of nostalgic chalk pencil drawings are drawn from the artist’s own treasured vintage matchbook collection. Having acquired his first matchbook in 2012, Kasmin became an avid collector of Lion Match Company’s matchbooks and was inspired by their lively and inventive images that reflect the rise of America’s consumer culture, originally mass-produced for advertising purposes. In the early 1920s, the humble matchbook soon became the most effective advertising medium and embraced by almost every industry. Its broad range of subjects are colourfully reflected in this exhibition. Each piece tells a story—a moment frozen in time that draws on the exuberant glamour of the early to mid-20th century, evoking the golden era of Hollywood, the jazz age, and the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Aaron Kasmin comments, “Matchbooks are not just forgotten ephemera; they are visual stories of an era, capturing the birth of consumer culture and the excitement of advertising as art. With Playing with Fire, I want to shed new light on these miniature masterpieces and remind us of the power they once held.”
Aaron Kasmin: Playing with Fire: Thursday 29th May – Saturday 14th June
Private View: Wednesday 28th May
Times: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
Sims Reed Gallery, 43A Duke Street, St. James’s London, SW1Y 6DD
Further Information: www.gallery.simsreed.com