ACCLAIMED British photographer Brian Griffin who grew up in Lye has been exciting art fans across the Pond with his first-ever solo exhibition in the United States.

Brian Griffin: Capitalist Realism, which showcases more than 75 colour and black and white images from 1979 to 1990, is currently running at New York's famous Steven Kasher Gallery.

Griffin, who worked in engineering for five years before studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic, quickly became recognised as one of the best of the best British photographers of the 1970s and 80s and his work has been featured in many of the most important exhibitions devoted to contemporary British photography.

Many of the pictures on display in the exhibition, which is running until April 9, are from the Thatcher years and embody the essence of the decade when Griffin invented a new photographic style, Capitalist Realism, parodying Socialist Realism.

It also includes photographs from two of Griffin’s early series' - Copyright, 1978, a reproduction of the persecution of Jesus Christ in his own apartment, and London By Night, 1983, which shows the aftermath of a fictitious nuclear attack on London, echoing the fear of the Cold War.

Griffin, who grew up in Stocking Street in Lye in the 50s and 60s, told the News: "It's going exceedingly well and I'm most happy to have a show in NYC which in photography is the ultimate commercial accolade.

"It's been a long journey from the beginners' class in the Hagley Camera Club in 1965."

Renowned for album covers he produced in the 80s for the bands including Depeche Mode, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Echo and the Bunnymen, Griffin moved into directing advertising commercials and music videos in the 1990s but he returned to his photography roots in 2002 and has since had more than 15 solo shows worldwide.

He has won a host of awards for his photography and video work over the years.

The 67-year-old snapper, who attended Halesowen Technical School, has also published 20 books and his photographs are held in permanent collections of many major art institutions including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London's National Portrait Gallery and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.