Cette semaine, direction la Californie avec le peintre Nick Mcphail ! Armé de son appareil photo, l’artiste s’aventure dans son quartier de Los Angeles pour capturer ses paysages urbains où les lignes architecturales se mêlent aux silhouettes organiques de la nature. Il nous invite même à visiter ses endroits les plus cachés et préservés du regard. Une source d’inspiration constante pour l’artiste qui, de retour à son atelier, reprend et restructure en peinture, ses compositions qu’il a photographiées. Des teintes pâles mais lumineuses, rehaussées de lignes aux couleurs crues, presque saturées, organisent et soulignent des détails dont nous prêtons généralement peu d’attention. Notre regard ne discerne plus ce qui relève du privé ou du public et une sensation presque de voyeurisme se dégage. A travers ces paysages absents de toutes présences humaines, Nick McPhail nous désoriente, nous révèle subtilement ces éléments cachés, et parfois interdits!
Une peinture lumineuse que l’artiste nous présente aujourd’hui.
Une peinture lumineuse que l’artiste nous présente aujourd’hui.
Could you give us a little presentation of you ?
I am Nick McPhail a painter and ceramist, I live and work in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in rural Michigan, and studied studio art at Michigan State University. While I was in undergrad I was offered a job working at an art gallery in Los Angeles, so I took it as an excuse to move across the country. The architecture and landscape of Los Angeles has been a huge inspiration for my work. My studio is located in my house, and many of my paintings are based, in part, on sites in my neighborhood.
My practice sits at the precipice of painting, drawing, sculpture, and other more functional objects. My paintings function as a contemporary exploration of history painting, and range in subject matter from immediate landscape based work to minimal line paintings.
Could you tell us about your work?
My paintings are based on photographs that I take on long exploratory walks. These photographs are just a starting point, and I freely manipulate the imagery as I work through a painting. I’m interested in the relationship between private space and public space, and how we are allowed or denied visual access to these different spaces. My work tends to be a little voyeuristic in a sense, and I try to push the boundary of what we are allowed to see. Thus fences, gates, barred windows, trees and stairs are all common motifs.
Give us 5 words that define your work and why?
Voyeurism – Looking into private spaces.
Absence – What’s missing is important.
Obstacles – I’m interested in objects that hinder our perception.
Disorientation – I like to create scenes that foster confusion as to where the viewer is located.
Urban landscape – Relationship between the built world and the natural world
‘Driveway’ oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in. 2018
‘Entryway’, 2019, huile sur toile.
What are your main inspirations?
I’m currently feeling inspired by the artwork of Rebecca Morris, Édouard Vuillard, Philip Guston, Mike Kelley, Roni Horn, and Pierre Huyghe.
What pushed you in this direction?
Getting outside and taking long walks is the way I’ve learned to cope with the anxiety I feel in the studio. The walks feed my painting practice by drawing my attention to natural compositions, the history of the built environment, and to perception in general. It’s a cycle that feeds into itself.
Despite the situation, do you have any plans ?
I had an exhibition scheduled in LA, and two in Europe… all of which are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve had a really hard time making any new paintings since the lockdown started. For me, it’s been a time of reflection, and trying to understand and cope with how the world is going to change. I’ve been working on some collaborations and different ideas on how to bring artwork to a public in this new age of social distancing. I think we are in for some major changes to the current systems, and it will be really important for artists to have a hand in redefining these systems. That being said, it’s been interesting to look back on my work from the vantage point of the current lockdown… empty streets without people.
‘Window’, 2018, huile sur toile.
‘Drive’, 2019, huile sur toile.
‘Reflection with Table’, 2019, huile sur toile.
‘Top of Hill’, 2019, huile sur toile
L'ensemble des oeuvres de Nick McPhail sont à retrouver sur son site et sur sa page Instagram