Josh Jones Alan Rankle Interview
Le Cool London

How did you get into painting Alan ?
I started painting when I was at Goldsmiths and nearly everyone else was making quite random
conceptual art.. I guess I needed to connect with art history.

You’re based in St Leonard’s-on-Sea, down near Hastings. That area’s got a fantastic reputation
for hosting and producing some wild street artists; does the reckless undertone of the town aid
you in inspiration?
Well the town certainly has some kind of a reputation… and it’s pretty inspiring. You know there have
been some amazing artists living here since the 1830′s and the street painters certainly add a bit of zest
– my favourite among the Banksy and Ben Eine’s you see around is a guy called Jeffrey Disaster who’s
got a great show right now at the Lucy Bell gallery..

You have a painting hanging in Marco Pierre White’s restaurant in Threadneedle St, do you ever
worry about the effect a restaurant environment might have on the well-being of a canvas?
Ha! Well thankfully Marco’s isn’t exactly a chip shop so I wouldn’t say there’s much of a problem
from any deep-frying fallout… the upside is people take a lot more notice of the art when they sit
across from it for three hours having a good time. An average gallery visit would be like, what 15
minutes? So it’s quite a privilege to have the work properly viewed.

You also have work hanging in the House of St Barnabas members club – do you prefer to have
your paintings hanging in these busy communal spaces rather than a gallery?
Yes I do prefer it, and for the same reason. It’s good to have my work viewed in context as part of a
real dialogue, with people, places. Especially when they’re as vibrant as St. Barnabas – the clientele
there are interested and well informed. My work there is part of an ongoing exhibition curated by Katie
Heller and includes Cathy de Monchaux, Gilbert & George, Jeremy Deller, Mark Titchner, Chris
Levine, Gordon Cheung, Rebecca Stevenson and The Chapman Brothers among others placed
throughout the building.

Is it easy to get lost when working on a massive canvas? How often do you have to step really far
back and check it’s all going to plan?
There’s always a lot of moving around working on the paintings; they’re often on the floor having
paint poured over them… it’s a combination of big gestures and fine detail so I’m stepping back and
forth a lot.

Where can we see more of your work?
There is a show on now ‘To a Hidden Place’ in Soho at the House of St. Barnabas, which goes on until
22nd May and you can always see the large pieces like ‘Serpentine’, which I made in collaboration
with Kirsten Reynolds at the Double Tree by the Hilton Hotel on Hyde Park. The next solo show is in
Milan at Federico Rue Arte Contemporanea ..you can ask my agent Dominic Weston Smith for all the
details.