Mark Hancock
The transformations that a work goes through are passed over with regret in the knowledge that quite good has to be sacrificed to the hope of better, often in vain.
As a figurative painter I am aware of the history that I inherit. My work tries to deal with this through homage and direct quotation. I do not see figuration as a ‘return to order’, a regression into traditional academia or mimetic representation. The conventions of figuration and the weight of painting’s history and the orthodoxy of modernism are all issues up for re-evaluation.
I like to juxtapose images to create provocative compositions. There is a narrative to my work that can be unearthed if the viewer so desires. I believe a painting should be self contained and able to stand on its own and not require explanation.
My influences are wide and varied. Rembrandt and Caravaggio are constant companions together with Rubens, Titian and the ‘greats’. Contemporary artists such as Jenny Saville and Eric Fischl also inspire me as do Gerhard Richter and Glen Brown among others.
My current paintings are the result of a desire to pull back and simplify what could become an over complex, over-worked surface, yet not to lose any of the depth.
As a figurative painter I am aware of the history that I inherit. My work tries to deal with this through homage and direct quotation. I do not see figuration as a ‘return to order’, a regression into traditional academia or mimetic representation. The conventions of figuration and the weight of painting’s history and the orthodoxy of modernism are all issues up for re-evaluation.
I like to juxtapose images to create provocative compositions. There is a narrative to my work that can be unearthed if the viewer so desires. I believe a painting should be self contained and able to stand on its own and not require explanation.
My influences are wide and varied. Rembrandt and Caravaggio are constant companions together with Rubens, Titian and the ‘greats’. Contemporary artists such as Jenny Saville and Eric Fischl also inspire me as do Gerhard Richter and Glen Brown among others.
My current paintings are the result of a desire to pull back and simplify what could become an over complex, over-worked surface, yet not to lose any of the depth.