Urban Masters
Group show
Opera Gallery, London
2012
Urban Masters is a group show curated together with Opera Gallery London and ANV.
We asked international artists from the street art and graffiti scene to pay tribute to the masters that inspired them with their own tools and techniques. The response was phenomenal, with participation from fantastic artists from all over the world: Australia, US, Latin America and Europe.
Nick Gentry – Interview with 1883 Magazine
We would like to know something more about your background; is there a moment in your life when you realised you wanted to be an artist?
Rather than any specific defining moment, art has always been the way that I naturally express myself. Having been that way since I was a young child, I don’t know what the alternative would feel like. I do remember drawing one of my first pictures and getting a satisfying glow that I can’t fully describe.
What's your earliest memory of art making?
Growing up I spent a lot of time drawing in my room and art was always the subject that meant far more to me than any other at school. It might explain why I got into trouble in the other classes! I was lucky enough to be encouraged by my parents and teachers, so I progressed over the years.
To the younger generation grew up in the digital era, floppy disks and VHS are just antiques, relics of the last Century; how did you first come up with the idea of using discarded media in your work?
Of course my generation can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia, but younger people tend to see the work from that artefact or relic viewpoint. My ideas usually start out life as a rough scribble on some paper or the wall.
I have a natural propensity to question everything, so as a starting point - why does a painter need to use a plain white canvas? It occurred to me that obsolete media would be ideal to use as a base for my painting. Why not? Especially when the art of painting itself could be seen as outdated or obsolete.
I wondered, what is it that makes them so interesting for you?
Some of this obsolete media marks a generational shift into a new digital world. I feel lucky to have been born at a quite unique point in time where I have witnessed both sides of this change. In the end though, tapes, disks and polaroids are just something that I grew up with and maybe some kind of unconscious bond was formed there.
Aesthetic value aside – which is indeed remarkable – when I look at your paintings I instinctively think of how easily and quickly our technology becomes obsolete and therefore useless; would you say your work has any proper critical, or social if you like, intent?
It’s clear enough that technology is all around us now. As it becomes integrated into the human form it raises identity questions. Where does the human end and the technology begin?
I find it captivating to see the way things change and the relentless speed of those changes. Obsolescence is a wide-reaching, ruthless process and we rarely find the time to look back. I use the recent past as a reference for my work, but I feel it is very much about the present moment.
How do you usually approach a new artwork? Can you walk us a bit through your creative process?
Each work starts not with me, but with other people. More specifically, artefacts that contain some history or a fragment of a life story. There is no apparent connection at first, but people from all over the world send me very personal objects with which to make art.
I then assemble this variety of media to construct the canvas. The canvas often forms the subject of my work, with the painting on top merely serving as an access point - not the subject. In some ways this could be seen as a reversal of the traditional approach to portraiture.
What artists inspire you the most at the moment?
In terms of other artists, I only really regard that as a specific form of inspiration. So for example, by looking at the violent form and colours of Francis Bacon, that might inspire me to fine-tune something I have already in that respect.
The greater form of inspiration might come from a very wide range of memories and feelings. The point is that most of it is unconscious and maybe that is what gives it real power. Sometimes an odd match can be a perfect match, only a viewpoint can determine that.
Your work is often linked to the urban art scene; do you see yourself more as a street artist or a studio painter?
Street art is a natural and convenient way for artists to get their work seen. The idea of painting in the streets and running away from the police is exciting, but in reality I’m at my best in the studio. There is something about finding the right setting in which to create art. The mood and feeling of a place can really have an impact on the work and it’s interesting to visit different artists studios to see that.
You are based in London; is your work somehow influenced by the city's environment?
London is the perfect place for me to create art. Even the grim weather has a focusing effect. The city is full of faces from all corners of the world and to me it’s natural to deal with faces and eyes as subject matter. I’m looking to find out who I am and I believe everything is connected, so that means I have to find out who ‘we’ are. The question of identity could be a lifelong study.
As a last question, what's next on your agenda?
My work is going to be in the Urban Masters group show with Opera Gallery in a secret location in London. Some incredible artists who I have a lot of respect for will be involved, so it’s a great feeling to be a part of that.
Participating artists
Bom.K (FR) – Blo (FR) – Brusk (FR) – Gris1 (FR) – Jaw (FR) – Kan (FR) – Sowat (FR)- Lek (FR)- Roa (BE) – David Shillinglaw (UK) – Zezão (BR) – Sweet Toof (UK) – Blek Le Rat (FR) – Ron English (US) – Mac1 (UK) – Matt Small (UK) – Alexandros Vasmoulakis (GR) – El Mac (US) – C215 (FR) – Joe Black (UK) – Seen (US) – Risk (US) – Remi Rough (UK) – Sixeart (ES) – Zeus (UK) – Mentalgassi (DE) – Nick Gentry (UK) – The London Police (NL) – StinkFish (CL) – Rone (AUS) – Banksy (UK) – Kid Zoom (AUS) – Nick Walker (UK) – Shepard Fairey (US)