Sleepr

Image: Art Basel Miami artist residency booth (2023)

About the artist

Sleepr (Liam Key, b. 1988) creates playful, intricate environments that capture the landscapes of imagination, transforming fleeting mental images into vivid, enduring forms. With over 20 years in an esteemed academic career across universities in the fine arts and creative industries, Sleepr has developed a practice that combines rigorous inquiry, technical proficiency, and a sense of stunning clarity with an openness to curiosity and delight.

Working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, his work has been collected internationally and exhibited in London, Miami, and New York. Recent milestones include a sold‑out London exhibition and an artist residency during Art Basel Miami. Sleepr's practice centres on evoking a child‑like wonder around preserving the fleeting artifacts of imagination, reminding us that discovery and play remain possible throughout our adult lives.

Art Basel Miami: Artist Residency

In December 2023 Sleepr was one an artist in resident at the prestigious Art Basel Miami Art Week. In an extraordinary performance art performance to remain anonymous, he spent 5 days masked, inside a small opaque box, only able to be spoken to through a red phone, making art and channeling from the 'otherside'.

Sotheby's Hong Kong: Contemporary Discoveries Auction

In March 2023, Sleepr was included in the Contemporary Discoveries auction at Sotheby's collection, and was sold at auction in Hong Kong.

Secrets: Sold Out Solo Exhibition in London

In May 2024, Sleepr debuted his first solo exhibition of 12 large-scale works at 200cm wide. It was his first exhibition after posting online anonymously for more than 13 years. The show was sold out in advance, before the works were revealed.

Partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Visionary Art

In April 2025, Sleepr joined the Institute of Contemporary Visionary Art, an organization dedicated to developing the academic and philosophical maturity of visionary artists.

Studying Visions With Shipibo Shamanss In The Amazon Jungle

In October 2024, Sleepr adopted an immersive approach to his art, choosing to live in a remote part of the Amazon with minimal outside contact. This residency is part of his ongoing mission to document the 'other side'. His experiences will become part of his new Icaro series - a body of 12 works that will be released in 2025.

Explore the Sleepr Collection

The entire Sleepr catalogue consists of approximately 120 works. Each piece is unique and individually crafted, and stored on the blockchain forever.