ANTHONY WHITE

Fugitive, oil on linen, 51 x 51cm, 2010

 

What are you working on in your studio right now?

I´m working on a large commission for a filmmaker from New York. The painting has taken about six months and there are many many layers. The painting is 100x 150cms and weighs around 40 kgs at the moment. It is really annoying but at the moment I feel like developing the surface and physicality of paint as much as possible. They are sort of turning into dense relief sort of paintings.

Can you describe your working routine?

My work routine starts like this: I work on the painting first, that has the least amount to lose. I make huge amounts of changes trying to find the right relationship between colour and power of gesture. I scrape off large areas of paint on the floor if it’s not working and I keep these scrapings often applying them to other works. This generally takes 4-5hours.

I clean up a bit from the previous day. Sometimes this turns into procrastination as well, so you have to watch yourself. I sit down and think about things and write in a stream of consciousness style about where the work is, and then I get back into it. I often work on 15 paintings at once and recently alternating between works on paper tacked to the wall. After this I’m stretching canvases, and cleaning up and paperwork editing images in photoshop etc.

Can you describe your studio space and how, if at all, that affects your work?

I guess the bigger the space the longer for the creative process of where I make a mess and then create work, then clean up…make work…There seems to be a cycle.I like bigger spaces as it lets me be able to leave all the work hanging on the wall. I detest easels I like to see the work as flat as possible against the wall. Sometimes I will also let the work migrate to the floor and work above it.

Reproduction, oil/collage on handmade paper, 80 x 60 cm, 2011

Tell me about your process, where things begin, how they evolve etc.

My process annoys me. I want to be rational and logical and measurable and certain about things. But the way I am, I work in many different directions at once. Which means lots of mess and lots of things unfinished. I jump between drawings collage and painting to gain insight into each different working method.

When a piece isn’t working then I turn it to the wall and work on something else. I think the moment you enter the studio you see the work with “fresh eyes” and you are able to discern clearly the changes that need to be made. I need to not see a work for some time to be able to resolve the work

What are you having the most trouble resolving?

When is enough enough? Its hard to edit your work and be ruthless in the edit of the image. I mean to be as concise as possible  it is quite difficult.

Do you experiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?

At the moment I’m trying to set parameters in every aspect because my process is really spontaneous. Quite often Ill find myself taking home things off the street, I think objects speak to you at certain times and we as artists have an obligation to listen to that. But we also need to be project driven and not all over the place sort of avoiding what I was meant to be doing. So I would I work better with parameters but sometimes I think you need to bend/break the parameters as well.

Regime, oil on linen, 150 x 120cm, 2011

What does the future hold for this work?

I think I haven’t really found whether I’m an abstractionist or more representationally inclined. I’m think the work feels like its on track but not at it’s final destination. In fact I’m not sure if it ever really gets to a final destination, but at the moment I’m content with the progress of the work

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes just an unashamed plug…. It's with great pleasure I invite you to the opening night of Scratching the Surface at Iain Dawson Gallery. The show opens on the 6th of October.I will be in Sydney for the opening.The works in this exhibition were made on residency at The Leipzig International Art Programme, Germany.