AFTER NYNE MAGAZINE

Q. Alan, tell us a little about the inspiration behind ‘To a Hidden Place’, which is currently being
held at The House of St Barnabas?
The paintings in this exhibition are part of an ongoing series called ‘Running From the House’ and are about the language of Landscape Art and the ways in which styles in art evolve and precipitate changes in the way we perceive our environment. An inspiration is a work by Alighiero Boetti called ‘For the Collective Psyche of
Nature’ which I first came across in my twenties and still seems relevant to me today. I’m interested in juxtaposing different historical ways of painting. These latest works are informed by sampling photographs and making montages taken from diverse sources; random observations, Classical and Baroque
paintings and found objects. I try to create new and unexpected narratives that unfold other ways of seeing.

 

Q. The setting of a members club is very different to that of a gallery. How do you think your
work will be received by the guests of The House of St Barnabas? 
I like the idea of presenting my work in a site-specific context and The House of St. Barnabas as well as being a member’s club is also an extraordinarily beautiful Georgian building. The paintings were specially made to fit into the architecture of the main staircase and the drawing room. I’ve had an enthusiastic response from the members. The audience at St. Barnabas are well informed and accustomed to seeing some of the best
innovative contemporary art, chosen by the curator Katie Heller. There are works by Cathy de Monchaux, Gilbert & George, Jeremy Deller, Mark Titchner, Chris Levine, Gordon Cheung, Rebecca Stevenson, Jeff Koons, Anders Moseholm and The Chapman Brothers among others placed throughout the building. I find showing there better in every way than in a standard commercial gallery which is after all only a shop with art on the shelves.

Q. I saw the image of the 2.5 metre oil painting being lowered from the fourth floor of your art
studio! You’ve never been known to shy away from a large canvas. Are the dimensions of your
work significant to how much you feel you need to express or are you just more comfortable
working on a larger scale?
The large scale paintings tend to be created for an existing place and have a particular impact
within the architecture. The painting you’re referring to while being part of the whole exhibition
was specially commissioned and is sited at the new Marco Pierre White restaurant at Threadneedle Street. It’s more involved to make the same kind of expressive gesture on these works as in the smaller paintings so they tend to be more designed. There’s a significance in how the work is used so yes there is a difference in how I approach them. The ideal is to create large works which are as revealing and in a sense as intimate as the studies.

Q. How do you spend your time when you are not painting or creating?
Would I be the only artist to say there isn’t any distinction.. walking , reading, conversations,
traveling.. it’s all part of the work.. I have to say, on the coast at St. Leonards-on-Sea there are an unusual number of artists, writers, musicians and film-makers and I tend to hang out with the people I’m working with on various projects so the studio life spills over into the social whirl.. in Copenhagen where my partner
Patricia is based things are slightly more structured. We plan ahead and try to get out to
exhibitions especially at the amazing Louisiana which is a contemporary art museum in the
woods with it’s own beach.

Q. What’s next for the art of Alan Rankle? Can you reveal something as an exclusive to the
AfterNyne community?
A recent commission was to install seven paintings in a villa on a new island resort, Isle de la Rose in the Venice Laguna and the whole project is having a grand launch event in June so we’re working towards this as well as making a book about the paintings and a temporary exhibition to run concurrently thoughout the biennale. A related exhibition will be held at Federico Rui Arte Contemporanea in Milan Back in the studio I’m starting to work with the artist Rebecca Youssefi on a music video for a track from a new album by Steve Finnerty who’s taken time out from playing with Alabama 3 to writarini 2015e a suite of songs which are compelling and politically relevant.

Luciana Garb
https://clairemeadows.wixsite.com/afternyne