Q&A with Steve Fricker
As one of KMA's most celebrated artists, Steve Fricker, has been working with the gallery since early 2018, with a successful exhibition, entitled Storytelling, of that summer. His fantasy paintings take you on an imaginative journey.
I am excited to reveal more about the man, his mind and about being an artist.
Why did you decide to be an artist?
For most children, painting and drawing are as natural as breathing, but it is sadly discouraged when they reach a certain age. I persevered because I was better at art than any of the other subjects I was compelled to endure!
What is the first thing you do when you get into your studio?
The first thing I do is put the kettle on.
How often do you paint?
I paint every day if possible.
How do you overcome any creative blocks?
We all have days when it feels like the shutters have come down and you just have to accept it when it happens. The only thing to do is to go and do something completely different and accept those bad days are just as much a part of the creative process as the days when creativity flows.
Your paintings evoke memories of childhood. What was your childhood like?
We are all fascinated by our childhoods, it forms the opening narrative of our lives no matter how deprived or privileged. I think artists unconsciously or not, are preoccupied in explaining the past and the present to themselves and the world.
For your paintings, you gather found objects. Tell us about how you go about this.
I am interested in objects that bear the scars of utility, of repeated use and endeavour. It might be a piece of rusting engine or worn-out kitchen utensil, they can be part of a still life or a narrative painting. I like the idea that objects outlive the owner, that humanity is a transient backdrop in a world of objects.
I like to encourage the pursuit of collecting art. Yet collecting can be something children do from an early age. Did you collect as a child and, if so what did you collect?
Children are natural collectors. I remember collecting anything and everything; bus tickets, matchboxes, buttons …..I think it connects to creativity. Artists are like Jackdaws, collecting objects and scraps that may harbour the kernel of an idea.
Each of your paintings has a narrative; your works have characters and objects. Do you have an idea of the story before your paint or is the object always the starting point?
The paintings come from a doodle in a sketchbook. I fill sketchbooks with scribbles that may suggest the nucleus of an idea, sometimes not immediately apparent. But there is only one story; the Human Condition: who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going?
How do you keep your imagination alive?
See above!
Your characters’ features are always unclear, why is that?
Because definition becomes a barrier. The human condition is not one of clarity.
Tell us more about the characters in your paintings and their purpose?
The character of the figures in my work is unimportant. The character of the objects is more significant.
Perspective plays a central role in your paintings. Often you seem to play with or exaggerated it. Tell us more about this?
I found it tremendously liberating to abandon the rules of perspective and to lose the tyranny of the horizon. I found anything becomes possible when you free yourself of these strictures.
Your works have a 1930/1940’s feel to it. Why do you think that is?
I am not entirely sure why my work has that particular feeling, it may be because succeeding decades begin to come closer to my own or received memories and therefore perhaps subconsciously, I am depicting characters that we find difficult to read.
Do you dream? Can you tell us about a dream you have had?
We spend a huge amount of our lives asleep, dreaming. I never remember my dreams!
What place has inspired you most?
Where you are now has to be the most inspirational.
If you could travel anywhere where would that be and why?
I think we have to re-evaluate travel, just as we are questioning many old certainties. It was accepted once that travel led to spiritual enlightenment, now it’s becoming a global problem. I am very interested in being right here.