I studied my BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UAL, where I explored anatomical themes of the body through sculpture, installation and drawing. Since then I've been busy producing exhibitions, events and workshops in London over the last three years - including a brief stint on BBC4, as you can imagine 2020 was a stark difference!
My practice explores the impact of drawing live and aims to shine a contemporary light on this ancient tradition. Aristotle once said 'Life is in movement' I aim to convey this concept.
In early 2020 I was approached by NYC Art Centre to put on a solo exhibition during the annual TriBeCa Art Fair in New York City. I was thrilled to receive a grant from Isle of Man Arts Council supporting the show however due to the COVID-19 pandemic the exhibition was unfortunately postponed until it could be held in a safer setting. Now that we are looking to reschedule for the latter end of 2021/early 2022 I anticipate the show incorporating some lockdown works and thus exploring themes relating to the current climate.
Working as an Artist during the pandemic has been more challenging than I thought it would be. My studio was closed for safety reasons and my home environment isn't well suited to making or storing artwork, a struggle felt by many London based Artists. If you are lacking facilities or don't work well at home it can be difficult to muster motivation. I've explored virtual life classes which help to keep my hands busy but I find it incomparable to the excitement and struggle of real time drawing which dictates much of my style. I couldn't recreate the work with a different process so I decided to stop trying to do what I did before and make something entirely different. In hindsight I find this reflective of how we are all learning to adapt.
Since then I've started large scale painting as a resolve to my energetic style. I've always loved painting but never explored it in depth, maybe because I studied sculpture or the fact it's never been present in any studio setting I've been a part of. However leading up to the first UK lockdown I was using a lot of pastels and vivid colours which initially sparked my interest. I love Frank Bowling and Ian Reyner Smith who both use the materiality of painting as a concept. I usually start with a loose idea of what I'm going to do but I really let the act of it dictate the finished piece. I think of my paintings as skies or oceans, some conveyance of weather and earthly forms which we for some reason or another associate with our emotions. I feel there could be something to unpack there through the process of painting so I'm definitely excited.
I've also been getting through a very large archive of life drawings, revisiting and restoring old works. It's been interesting to see my style develop since I was taking classes at IOM College. I've recently restored a body of drawings from a class at Foster & Partners Architects, one of which was shortlisted for the Columbia Threadneedle Prize at Mall Galleries. I'm extremely excited to be launching an online shop on shopify and instagram where all of these original pieces will be available to buy. Shipping available to the Isle of Man of course! I will likely be posting my paintings on my artgram soon as well so please don't hesitate to let me know what you think at @lucysavageart
