Ian Berry, previously known as Denimu,[1] is a British born artist based in Poplar, East London,[2][3] who creates artwork solely from denim.

[15] Apart from London, his artwork has been featured in galleries and Art Fairs across Sweden, Portugal (Calheta Madeira), United States (New Orleans, Miami, Fairmount, Asbury Park, Hamptons, Portland, San Francisco, Paducah).

This depth pushes the boundaries of conventional central perspective by building up layers that reach out from the picture plane and draw us in to look again.

[36] The Vice Creators Project wrote he 'develops his work by selecting individual pieces of denim and certifying each is a unique wash.

All together, the pieces collate into an established image from afar, bringing together light, color, and many of the elements of classic painting style.

'[22] As he portrays the changes in our cities, often depicting places that are closing down or at risk of with using denim he is adding a comment on the fading fabric of the urban environment".

[40][21] Levis unzipped said 'from a distance, indigo's high contrast and gradient fades create a stunning illusion of depth, light, and ultimately, photorealism.

Like Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry and Chuck Close before him, Berry is pushing the boundaries of Textiles as a medium, producing photorealistic denim collages depicting everyday scenes.

"[60] Art Critic Tabish Khan wrote it was a top 5 London Exhibition for Fad magazine 'What Berry can do with denim is astonishing.

[61][32] The scenes are the ubiquitous life of London residents that form the creative foundation for a series of poignant pieces of art made of azure and bright navy swatches of denim.

Framed within the lonely enclaves of home life, the settings of many of the graceful, hyper-detailed portraits are fixated on an isolated interior.

Wide, cinematic tableaus of a woman just waking up to bright sunlight is mirrored in two other similarly evocative visuals of a sleeping girl in a rumpled camisole.

Berry portrayed the interior of launderettes in Crisp Street Market, Poplar, Bow, Ladbroke Grove and Holloway Road in London.

[21][68][69] This interactive installation, titled the Secret Garden, was a piece that the viewer could walk through, on top of a denim path that was filled with various flowers and plants, from roses to cacti, wisteria to chrysanthemum that hung down like a trellis.

He had stated that while he was making the Behind Closed Doors piece, he was thinking of a woman with a perfect home but the children had grown up, leaving the nest empty.

As the last major manufacturer of selvage denim in the United States, its final products served as relics for newer generations to learn about in this exhibition.

It was in response to the changing High Street and the loss of a lot of independent Record Stores in the UK, where many in the music community and like minded people would meet.

[81] With Elvis to heavy metal, Bob Dylan, hippies and punk, the pioneers of youth music have worn jeans.

Many of the most famous album covers of all time feature this artisan fabric: the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers, and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA for example.

[88] Berry was commissioned to make a portrait of the late Formula One racing driver, Ayrton Senna, in 2015 to commemorate the 20th year of his passing.

The piece was unveiled in São Paulo, Brazil before the Grand Prix to the press and family and was met with positive reviews.

[88][89] The piece subsequently traveled around the world including to Amsterdam, Birmingham, Silverstone, Singapore, Rio, Barcelona Grand Prix, Turin at Adplog, at Williams, Hungary and Monaco[90][91] Respected Motorsport journalist Maurice Hamilton said 'I'm not in the least surprised that Ayrton's sister, Viviane, found it difficult to contain her emotions when she saw the work for the first time during an official unveiling last year.

And the nice thing is that the entire project has been associated with the Ayrton Senna Foundation, for which Viviane and the family continue to do such good work in the name of underprivileged children in Brazil.

At a launch party in New York Blondie performed and as part of the show a portrait of its leading lady, Debbie Harry was unveiled.

[96] Debbie harry was also one of the first to be seen to wear double denim[97] The portrait got rave reviews and reactions from the media on the opening night.

[98][99][100][101][102][103] Berry became friends with Blondie's Guitarist Tommy Kessler and made his jacket that he has worn on stage since 2013 including at glastonbury, UK.

[110] Berry's early works have featured Icons of Denim such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, in fact one of the first pieces he did was of Debbie Harry, and he stated it was nice in later years to get the actually commission to do her portrait.

[114] He has given lectures all around the world and as well as in the UK; he has spoken in the US,[115] Sweden,[116] Brazil, Holland[117] and gave workshops[118] Many schools do projects on Ian Berry and children are inspired to make works in denim like him.

[119] Many education magazines have featured Berry's work including Scholastic,[120] arts&activities,[121] Science & Vie[122] as well as National Geographic in Brazil and BBC Newsround in the UK.

[52] In 2018 he travelled the United States and gave lectures in many schools[123] and when he found that many students were inspired to do his work, but didn't have the correct equipment, Berry arranged for many companies to step in and donate tools like scissors, denim and rotary cutters.