Dan Coombs
"I'm more interested in a relationship to music than to narrative. Musical structure is created through colour , interval and radiance. The archetype is Matisse's painting "Music " (1910 ), where the figures are composed like a chord. Matisse was thinking about Stravinsky ,whereas I'm thinking about Aphex Twin."
Could you tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been a practising artist and where did you study?
I've been an artist for 21 years, since my first exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in 1996. Before then I studied at Ruskin ( 1989-92) and RCA ( 1992-94) .
Your paintings are full of deformed figures, like they are melting or seen through water. Could you tell us a bit about these figures?
Actually its not the figures that are themselves distorted, but the space around them . The perspective is simultaneously that of particle and wave. The figures are nobody in particular - everybody and nobody.
Are there any narratives to these paintings, do you create a story for these creatures?
At the moment I'm more interested in a relationship to music than to narrative. Musical structure is created through colour , interval and radiance. The archetype is Matisse's painting "Music " (1910 ), where the figures are composed like a chord. Matisse was thinking about Stravinsky ,whereas I'm thinking about Aphex Twin.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day/studio routine? What is your studio like?
My studio is up high in Hackney Wick, an area of rapidly expanding property development, Olympic and industrial landscape, islanded by canals, edged by terrain vague. I build up to making a painting over a long period of time, making collage studies, drawing and under painting. When I finally paint, I paint very fast, wet into wet. The rest of the time is spent watching and listening.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
"Dog" 1951 , by Alberto Giacometti.
How do you go about naming your work?
Its like naming a place.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
I haven't done a solo show in London for three years and I'm planning a show of my new work in London next year.
All images courtesy of the artist
Publish Date: 23/11/17
