b. 1980, England
Claus Stangl is a visual artist based in Sydney, Australia.
He’s been a finalist in Australia’s most popular art prize, the Archibald Portrait Prize, twice. Firstly in 2020 with his portrait of Australian hiphop artist L-FRESH The Lion and again in 2022 where he won the Packing Room Prize with a portrait of Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi.
Claus has spent most of his life devoted to studying visual art, primarily working in acrylic on large-sized canvases. Claus has said he enjoys the challenge of giving acrylic soul and visual depth – something he feels is more easily achieved with oils.
Prior to working as an artist, Claus spent eighteen years as a creative in the advertising industry. He began his career as an art director in some of the worlds top agencies – Dare London, Clemenger BBDO, DDB and Leo Burnett. Then in 2015 he joined the team at Facebook/Instagram where he spent almost five years working as a creative strategist.
Two decades of creative industry experience have influenced his work as an artist, instilling a fondness for unique ideas that are executed with bold simplicity.