Piers Secunda was born in London in 1976 and studied painting at Chelsea College of Art in London. Since the late nineties Piers has developed a studio practice using paint in a sculptural manner, rejecting the limitations imposed by the canvas.
Piers’ work has developed into a research heavy practice, which examines some of the most significant subjects of our time, such as energy and technology history and the deliberate destruction of culture.
Self-taught or art school?
I learned to draw and paint by copying Impressionist and Modern art, which I started doing when I was around 10 years old. When I was 16 I switched to copying Renaissance drawings. My art teacher at school taught me that if you can’t mix up a colour, that you can usually buy it, but not much more than that. I went to Chelsea College of art in the 90’s. It was remarkable time to be in London because the Brit-Art thing was happening at full speed, and that in itself was a remarkable education…
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
Drawing: Michaelangelo’s “Studies For The Libyan Sibyl”
Painting: Van Gogh’s “Wheatfield with Threatening Clouds” (Auvers)
Photo: Charles Duke’s photo of his family portrait on the Lunar surface
Sculpture: A Lynn Chadwick “Inner Eye” sculpture (with blue glass)
How would you describe your style?
Lucio Fontana with the volume turned up to 20.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I have a few:
The most important is that I make works with paint, free of the restraint of the canvas, often utilising sculptural techniques.
I also make a lot of my own inks, which often involve grinding down materials of geopolitcal interest (such as rust from the 9/11 steel beams) until I can use them as an ink. Thirdly I travel to places where I can take moulds of texture, which I want to integrate into my work. Sometimes these journeys are not safe and I’m expected to have high risk insurance cover – the type that pays out if you’re kidnapped or don’t come back. So far I’ve always managed to come back with the material I set out to procure, thankfully.
Is narrative important within your work?
Yes! there is a great deal of narrative that goes with the work, especially the works about the destruction of culture. There are intentions behind those works and the narrative is about why I think it’s necessary to produce them, to go to dangerous places to gather the materials and dedicate so much of my professional artistic experience to this exercise…
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I love Freud because for the intensity of looking. I love Van Gogh because he was almost unable to put a brush stroke wrong. I love Calder because they make me laugh. I love Judd because he was so uptight, I love Keith Haring because he was so free-form. I love Ai Wei Wei because he’s not scared. I love Hepworth because of her balance. I love Fontana because no one has truly unlocked his mind. I love Lee Krasner because they feed my soul a five course meal.
What or who inspires your art?
History unfolding inspires my art. I see and I want to have a dialogue, a conversation, an attempt to understand through making work, an exchange… and to express what I feel.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
It’s in East London. And it’s small… about 350 square feet. People are often amazed when they see how small it is and how small the actual working space is, within the room – probably about a quarter of the whole room.
Do you have any studio rituals?
Yes, I make Vietnamese tea – which I cant get enough of, switch on the extension cable which allows my laptop to play documentaries, music and audible books. Then I make a list of what needs to happen that day and finally, change into my studio clothes. I noticed recently that I always do these things in the same order…
What are you working on now?
I’m making drawings for the 20th Anniversary of 9/11. They are going to be exhibited at the US Embassy in London, which has organised the only US government backed exhibition about 9/11 and what happened afterwards. The drawings are made from photos which I commissioned photographers in Abbottabad (in Pakistan) to take, of interesting natural features around the remains of the Bin Laden house. There are ancient Bamiyan and Cypress trees, potato and wheat fields, spectacular stone walls. I’m using the rust from 9/11 Steel beams as ink. Rust is half way between steel and dirt. The works are a meditation on the continuation of life, the seasons, the crops which sustain the population and the slow and constant march of nature.
Where can we buy your work?
Everything I make is available from Thomas Jaeckel Gallery in New York City.
