John Cowen is an artist making work about the environment and mankind’s impact on the planet. He studied Fine Art at university, specialising in painting, which led to a twenty-year career working as a designer and art director. While Cowen has had wonderful creative opportunities, they were mostly within the constraints of a commercial brief. Cowen always craved the unlimited creative opportunities working as an artist can offer. His work now explores the links between human and landscapes during our current era: the Anthropocene. Imaginary cities maps, panoramas, omnipresence of the human…
Cowen’s latest works introduce colour as a witness of our urgent need to reintroduce nature and its diversity into our too-much built environment.
Self-taught or art school?
Art School. I studied Fine Art at Birmingham City university and graduated in 2000. However, I went on to spend 20 years working as a graphic and web designer and made almost no artwork at this time. So when I started taking my art practice seriously again a few years ago – it felt like having to relearn a lot of skills and knowledge.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
It’s a tough question – there’s so many. Aside from the fact it would never fit in my house, I’d probably pick Lilith by Anselm Kiefer. It was my first introduction to him as a student and he became a big influence on my work for some time.
How would you describe your style?
Definitely abstract, but that’s a very broad term and probably not a helpful description! I have two closely related but very distinct series of work in my practice at the moment.
My drawings are incredibly detailed depictions of cities seen from above. They are painstakingly drawn – and while abstract – the pattern of road and building networks are so familiar you can read them as more figurative works.
The paintings have evolved from the drawings. They are much looser, often merging painted areas with drawn graphical areas. They’re built up of many layers and the final paintings can initially appear quite chaotic, loose or vibrant on the surface – but closer inspection will reveal grids and more precise mark-making.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
The process for my drawings is very simple. I start drawing from the centre of the paper and allow a shape and direction to emerge organically. The marks I use are essentially very repetitive, but I’m always looking for small variations that stand out for some reason. I try to highlight these and build the drawing around them, to make them more interesting and give each its own identity.
The paintings are built up of layers of pattern and colour. In the early stages there is no clear process, I think of the early stages as my sketchbook for the work where I try out colours, marks and compositions. As with the drawings I am looking for fragments that stand out to me as particularly interesting for one reason or another and then focussing on these to develop the painting around.
Is narrative important within your work?
I’m not interested in the works telling a particular story. However because the works are all more or less recognisable as cities, and my underlying environmental concerns have wide public awareness – it’s very easy for viewers to apply their own narratives to the work. This makes the works accessible which is important to me. The work’s message – of needing to re-evaluate our modern lifestyles and regain a sustainable way of living with nature – is a message that is critical to the world right now.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
This could easily become a very long list, but the top of my list today are:
Anselm Kiefer is definitely one. I love the scale of what he does and the incredible depth of entangled subject matter and symbolism around history, mythology, cosmology, alchemy, spiritualism and endless others. His German history paintings from the ’80s and early ’90s were a big influence on me as a student.
Mark Bradford is another favourite. Like Kiefer, I love the sheer scale of his works. His surfaces are incredible and I’m continually fascinated by the build-up and excavation back into layers of paper and paint.
Caravaggio, particularly his later paintings, is an artist I will always go out of my way to see. They’re stunning paintings with a surprisingly contemporary feel. Combined with the mystique built up around Caravaggio’s life and the stories about how the paintings were made makes them even more captivating.
What or who inspires your art?
Looking at artwork always makes we want to get into the studio and continue with my own – I just love being there and making work.
Our current climate crisis is also a huge motivation for me to make work. I’m very concerned about the impact we’re currently having on the planet and how little is being done to avoid the worst effects.
It’s authors and journalists such as David Wallace-Wells, George Monbiot, Naomi Klein and Mark Lynas whose writing has inspired me to make artwork that is focussed on the environment.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I have a home studio. Which is great for maximising the amount of time I’m able to spend there, but it’s relatively small and I’m rapidly outgrowing it. So I’m going to need to look for a bigger space soon. I like to keep recent work around me as a reference – so there’s a lot of pieces stacked up around the studio that I’m constantly having to move to avoid spilling paint on them.
Do you have any studio rituals?
Not really. I like to be able to walk straight in and start work. I do usually force myself to work for a period of time. If the work’s going well it’s easy to keep going. But if I’m struggling with a painting it’s easy to put the brushes down and think you’ll come back tomorrow feeling more
inspired. But I force myself to keep going with a painting because the solutions I come up with when frustrated and unhappy with a work are often the most successful.
What are you working on currently?
I have an ongoing series of paintings on the theme of Rewilding which I’m still very involved with. I’m currently working on two large canvases for the series as well as a series of smaller paintings on board.
Where can we buy your art?
You can buy work through my website at https://johncowen.co.uk. It should also be available through Artsy later this year.