About
Edward Luper is a London-based artist whose work explores the meeting of East Asian art traditions and contemporary visual culture.
Born in London in 1988, Edward found drawing to be his principal form of expression from an early age, with reading and writing presenting greater challenges due to dyslexia.
He studied Modern and Classical Chinese at SOAS, University of London, before spending a year at Beijing Normal University, where he studied Chinese calligraphy and painting under the master Chen Xiaolin. He subsequently completed a Master of Studies (MSt) and Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) at the University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis examined the life and work of the Ming dynasty artist and poet Xu Wei (1521–1593), research that took him across China in the artist's footsteps.
Edward went on to study Chinese woodblock printing at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou and Japanese woodblock carving and printing under Hiroko Imada at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. His interest in Japanese prints began with his first job, at the age of eighteen, at the Japanese Gallery in Angel, London.
Working across printmaking, painting and contemporary ceramics, Edward draws on his knowledge of Chinese and Japanese art to reinterpret historical imagery and traditional techniques. His 36 Views of the BT Tower series reimagines the visual language of Japanese ukiyo-e through the landscape of contemporary London. A print from the series was featured in A Tale of Two Balconies, published by the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, in association with Giles, Ltd., in October 2024.
Following travels to Jingdezhen, China's historic porcelain-producing centre, Edward began developing contemporary ceramic designs in collaboration with local artisans. Drawing on Chinese antiquities, traditional porcelain decoration and Japanese visual culture, these works combine historical references with playful interpretations of modern life.
Edward's work has been exhibited at the Jiangsu Provincial Museum, Nanjing (2017); the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge (2018); and Bonhams, New Bond Street (2021) and Knightsbridge (2022). His painting Cat and Cricket was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in 2024. In January 2026, his print BT Tower Beneath Daffodils was exhibited in Homage to Ukiyo-e – Beauty that Transcends Time and Space at Artglorieux Gallery of Tokyo, Ginza Six. Prints from 36 Views of the BT Tower have also been sold through artelino's specialist Japanese-print auctions.
