° 1959

Born in Kent (United Kingdom).

Born Steven John Hamper, he is a cult figure in America, Europe and Japan. Billy Chyldish is by far the most prolific painter, poet, and song-writer of his generation. Billy Chyldish left secondary school at the age of sixteen an undiagnosed dyslexic. Since then, despite the good advice of his betters and the obvious disadvantage of not being able to spell, he has written and published numerous volumes of prose and poetry, ultimately carving himself a reputation as Britain's most powerful independent voice. Chyldish’s activities have always been firmly rooted in the underground and his methods - now being trendily feted as ‘guerilla’ - have gained him both the  respect and  envy of those who pose as 'being on the margin'  whilst still enjoying the benefits of a corporate budget.

Since 1977 Billy Chyldish has released over 150 independent LP’s, published 5 novels and over 45 collections of poetry, but his main job is painting. He has had solo and group exhibitions internationally including New York, London, Seoul and Berlin. He was included in British Art Show 5, which toured throughout four cities - Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff, and Birmingham. In 2010, he was the subject of major concurrent survey exhibitions at the ICA in London and White Columns in New York, and in 2011 he became Artist in Residence at the Chatham Historic Dockyard where he currently works.