Inside the Studio
A Closer Look Inside Several Saatchi Art Artist Studios
At Saatchi Art, we know that one of the most exciting ways to discover a new artist is to see them in action inside their studio space. Every week, we invite our collectors to take a peek into the studios of our talented artists on Saatchi Art. Through our Inside the Studio series, we invite you to preview their works-in-progress, learn about what inspires them, and see their work hanging on their studio walls or in recent exhibitions.
We’ve done a roundup of some of our most recently featured artists whose work we know you’re really going to love.
Read on to discover more about some of our artists in our Inside the Studio series. You can click through to learn more about each artist. At the very bottom, you’ll find a link to all Inside the Studio visits.
Works in progress.
I am interested in what it is to be human. In particular, what it is to be a woman. I am interested in what makes us beautiful, not an idealised, received social idea of beauty, but rather the strange, fragile violence of living in a body. Bodies are beautiful, furious, delicate, dangerous, violent places to live. I want to paint the people, in particular, the women, who in spite of that, quietly triumph. I try to paint heroes. I want not only to paint flesh, I want to paint what is under the flesh. The bones, blood of course, but the mind and the desire, too. – Stacey
The major themes in my work evoke the human condition. For me, making painting is a way of reflecting on observed or lived experience and communicating that. Through my practice I hope to create a dialogue, both internal and external, that in some way resonates with viewers. My recent work was inspired by thinking about memory as a dynamic and creative process that underpins who we are now, and can lead to our experience of the contemporary. I am interested in how this is reflected in the process of making my paintings, through the transformation of an image, the editing and embellishing processes of interpretation. – McNeil
View of the artist’s studio and works in progress.
I have a taste for existentialist philosophy. For some of their followers, there are two states or modes: “being around,” which is our ordinary way of living; and “being ourself,” in which we are aware of the true nature of our surroundings and ourselves. Through some of my works (such as Landscape Under Construction) I have tried to show these ideas by the juxtaposition between a shiny ordinary object within a powerful decaying structure. – Batalla
Alfonso’s studio.
In my paintings, I am exploring the general theme of man’s relation with his environment by combining real images of the landscape around me with my personal remembered images. Everything we see is filtered by experience and memory. These remembered landscapes shouldn’t display a specific topography, but they are means of expression for inner experiences and conditions. I have always loved nature and have been fascinated by everything that the earth encompasses: sea life, mountains, forests, or simply the weather. It all matters to me. I am also a huge fan of nighttime. The night is readily used to create a haunting atmosphere. – Vetter
Tanja’s studio.
I met the writer Jed Perl in 1993 (he was moderating a panel discussion at The Kansas City Art Institute) who said: “What an artist makes of painting is not so much a matter of freely choosing among a variety of options as it is a matter of making the most of a few intuitions that are absolutely one’s own. Every time a painter paints, we want to see what those intuitions are.” I like this because it creates a standard that transcends notions of form, content, and beauty. It’s an idea that applies not just to my own studio process but to my engagement as a viewer. – LaChance
The artist’s studio.
I am primarily interested in the physical world and the human experience of that, what it literally feels like to be alive, right now. Of course there is a huge psychological component to this “condition” as well, which is addressed, albeit less directly. Also, I think a lot about the rapid evolution of digital culture, in which, although much fuss is made about connection, touch in the literal sense of the term is increasingly rare. One could say that I paint this world inch by inch, or more accurately, pixel by pixel, as I create and reference my own digital photographs as source imagery. Although the end result is quite realistic, I am careful to maintain a balance between a rich, lively paint surface and visual accuracy. Painting must retain a little wildness in my humble opinion. – Nadelhaft
The artist at work.
The best advice came from my great teachers at the Art Students League in New York. Among these gems was a statement from Sherry Camhy. I was working on a large composition on paper which could not be corrected in the event of a mistake. I hesitated to make bold and spontaneous marks and she advised, ‘It is better to be dead wrong than tentative.’ This helped me later to often jump in and fail or succeed or perhaps just learn something new about the materials I work with. – Antonides
The artist at work.
The theme I pursue in my work is everyday life. Our lives are being influenced by many things such as politics, TV, advertisement, work, etc. Because of this cascade of influences, we are not in control of our life….These are the themes I pursue: the fake reality, the manipulated environment, the artificial life. The fairy tale series, for example, is based on this imaginary life, that fantastic world. The repetition of words and text is a way to emphasize the idea behind it. It reflects the need we have of always wanting more and never being satisfied. That is also why I like to use the word ‘more.’ The fairy tale quotes, “once upon a time,” and ”happily ever after,” reflect how we (I) try so hard to live the life we dream of without really knowing where we go. – Gromas
Thomas working in his studio.
My main interest is mark making. The simplicity of lines or grids and the process of the making are what interests me. Hours, days and often weeks of drawing line after line, tiny squares or dots is a process I find exciting, it often feels like an endurance test. I never know whether I will be happy with the work until it is finished, but I am not scared of destroying or cutting up a drawing. Before I do that it might sit in my chest of drawers for weeks/months while I get on with something else. – Doornkaat
Close-up of a work in progress.
The most important theme in my work is the exploration of the influence of the public domain on private life. As an inspiration source, the surrounding metropolitan works both for and against creating art in my studio, which can be seen as a metaphor for an inner experiment. Although I have trouble shutting out the hectic life that comes with it, I’m at the same time fascinated by the anonymous charisma of modern architecture. Within the structure of repeating facades of glass and concrete I can imagine a geometric world full of suspense, a multicoloured labyrinth of spaces and look-throughs in which it is not exactly clear whether it is inside or outside. The question arises if we as observers are part of the structure or excluded from it? In other words, can our private life penetrate into these anonymous constructions? – van Hanja
The artist’s materials.
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