Ready, Camera, Action! Welcome Back To The World Of Ckirk…

Interview by Melanie Deare

Ckirk’s life reads a bit like a plot to a good cult movie. For more than a decade he rambled across the country consuming legendary amounts of booze, drugs, sex, misadventure and jail food. Yet in 2005 he sobered up, settled down, married and turned his insatiable appetite towards becoming a successful artist. After taking the Dallas art scene by storm, he turned his focus toward a broader global audience. His works are featured in publications (both in print and online) worldwide. Then like any gripping plot line there’s a twist - in 2010 he turned his back on the public eye in an attempt to allow himself to grow as an artist in private. A year later he’s back and a new chapter begins…

Hi ckirk, so you were a guest artist in our November 2010 group show ‘Back of Beyond’ and now you’re back with a vengeance with some impressive new work. Can you fill us in with what you’ve been up to creatively this past year?

Well, I completed a handful of mixed media canvas pieces sometime in March 2011. The works touched on the many aspects of the human condition, animal nature and faulty ideas. I’d started the paintings during the Fall of 2010 after a summer long absence of studio work. I don’t think I so much as picked up a pencil during the summer, but I did spend many hours indoors studying figurative art from different time periods and from a slew of different artists. I learned quite a bit both technically and history wise.

I spent the rest of the year doing drawings and paintings on bristol, vellum, and builders paper indoors…although I did complete a couple more canvas pieces during this time. The works done later in the year were a bit softer than the ‘harder edged’ paintings that were completed in March. The new work consists mostly of portraits of people that are close to me. I’m guessing that all the angst that built up during my summer of study without painting, was viscously released on the first slew of paintings released in March 2011! Comparing the two sets of paintings, it’s apparent to me that the latter works were done while in a very different, more relaxed state of mind.

So can you tell me a bit about who or what inspired your new work?

There were many inspirations for the 2011 collection. I spent much of 2010 studying figurative works ranging from old masters to contemporary artists. A few artists whose work particularly caught my eye are Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, William Kentridge, Francis Bacon, Caravaggio…the list could go on! Some artists I admire for their technique, some for strength of hand, some for texture and instinct.

So what materials do you tend to use? Is there a creative ‘tried and tested’ method that works best for you?

I’m currently using oil for upcoming 2012 work, but last year I used whatever I had handy in my studio. I used compressed charcoal and chalk quite a bit, acrylic, spray paint and prisma were also used. I like to use tape and collage paper and newsprint in my work as well. I often paint over the collage though, so it really becomes more texture than anything else. I have to say other than the traditional approach to drawing there’s really no one trusted method I use. Sometimes I’m very careful and considerate while doing a piece and other times I’m violently erasing, rubbing, or slopping paint over the canvas!

It’s very exciting to hear that you’re curating a show in the Caribbean which will include the work of well-known artists such as Jaybo Monk. Can you elaborate on this at all?

Co-curating really; I select the artists and make contact. The Seven Minus Seven people handle most everything else. I’ve correspond via email with many of the artists for a couple of years now so it’s not like asking a complete stranger to participate. They’re all nice people which makes working with them all the easier. As far as details go, all I can say at this point is Jaybo Monk, Fran Williams, Lou Ross, George Morton Clark and myself will have work to exhibit. The show will be in mid-January at Seven Minus Seven in St.Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

So looking into the future, can you see clearly where your work is going or do you create more organically than that?

It’s really hard to say where the work will go. I have experimented with sculpture, constructs, print making and more over the years, and my art has undergone changes. I think the medium used surely determines the ‘look’ of a piece. Though I’ve been drawing on human and animal figures from the time I was a little boy, so I’m convinced that the figure will be a permanent fixture in my work.

One last ‘wish list’ question! If you could exhibit alongside any artist past or present who would it be?

Geez! That’s a difficult one. There are so many artists whose work I admire that I can not even begin to answer that question.

Thank you so much to ckirk for his exclusive interview with Red Propeller Uncut. To view more of his work please click HERE and you’ll be redirected to our website.  

Disco Fever Hits Dreweatts Urban Art Auction this Wednesday 6th April!

If the buzz at the Bonhams Urban Art Auction earlier this year was anything to go by, it would well be worth keeping an eye on TRXTR’s latest piece ‘Disco Damage’ as it goes under the hammer this Wednesday 6th April at Dreweatts London. With ‘Dying To Huff Study’ selling for 7 times the guide price, followed up by manic sales of his work on the website the next day…we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next! If you want to bid but can’t be there in person on the night, it’s just as easy to participate online.

Click HERE to go straight to TRXTR’s lot and view the full catalogue. Happy bidding!

To see what work of TRXTR’s Red Propeller have available please click HERE.