Artist Interviews

Read artist interviews featuring some of the most exciting established and emerging figures in the art world. Our conversations with contemporary artists get to the heart of what makes them tick, exploring the development of their style, their inspirations and the stories behind their recent work. Discover our artist interviews to get to know the people whose works that you can browse and buy in our online store.

Our top artist interviews

One of our most popular recent interviews was a talk with Nelson Makamo, a South African painter and winner of 2018’s Rise Art Prize known for his expressive portraits. Our conversation with Kelvin Okafor, who creates intricate photorealistic pencil portraits, dove into his unique fusion of the technical and the conceptual. You may also enjoy our interview with Fred Ingrams, in which he discusses both his technical process and what drew him to start painting the Fens.

Interviews you won’t want to miss

Among our contemporary artist interviews, you will find our Q&A with Philip Vaughan, author of the landmark 48ft-tall Light Tower which graced the London skyline from 1972 to 2008. You can read about the machinations and motivations driving rising star Anna Sofie Jesperson. Our interview with Mark Chadwick may also be of interest, where the colour master shines a light on the inspiration behind his vibrant abstract paintings.

“Losing Yourself to your Thoughts” a Q&A with Paul Brown

We caught up with Rise Art abstract artist Paul Brown and talked about all things abstract art. The illustrator-turned-abstract-artist revealed to us how some of his biggest setbacks in life have led the way for moments of pure artistic inspiration and how “sometimes the smallest thing can set fireworks off”. From his greatest influences, to the catharsis that creating offers, Paul took us on a journey through his art and “the open-ended story of abstraction”.
By Tatty Martin | 14 Jul 2020

Rogan Brown and the Art of Science

Rogan Brown is a contemporary artist who is redefining the world of sculpture. Eschewing traditional materials such as stone and metal in favour of fragile paper, he creates sculptures that explore the natural world and science with fresh eyes. These artworks place organic forms under the microscope, magnifying them and distorting them to present new perspectives.
By Rise Art | 16 Jun 2020

Artist Interview: Geoff Diego Litherland

Made in a style of “post-apocalyptic romanticism”, Geoff Diego Litherland’s landscape works show a dual-world. In pieces such as The Future is Binding and Goodbye Enemy Starship, an enclosed portal reveals a different reality. Geoff describes these octagonal shapes as “window[s] from a spaceship looking back” towards Earth. These openings are often looking back into a long-gone and idyllic, untouched land.
By Verity Babbs | 03 Jun 2020

Artist Interview: Benjamin West

Ben West’s work takes full advantage of the joyful, provocative, and visually exciting potential of collage. Ben’s professional background in graphic design and photography shines through in his careful selection of the images he works with. Despite his work’s slick and blemish-free appearance, Ben doesn’t use computers to edit his compositions. Ben works hands-on, collecting natural source materials himself such as flowers, then combines them for his pieces and with hand-cut images from pri
By Verity Babbs | 02 Jun 2020

Q&A with David Gilliver

We interview David Gilliver, a Glasgow based artist who specialises in two very different forms of photography: Macro, and Light Painting. “I think if I were to just specialise in a single form of photography I would go slightly mad. I seem to have found a wonderful balance between two very different genres and styles of photography that offer me a broader platform for expressing myself.” - David.
By Bethan Street | 27 May 2020

Q&A with Lee Ellis

Lee’s figures are contorted, often completely faceless. They strike the viewer with a deep light/shadow contrast, bursts of pure colour, and a real emotional intensity that is sometimes troubling. The artist works across various media (paint, charcoal, block print) but the ghostly confrontation of his portraits pervades each material. Living and working in Bristol, Ellis took the time to tell us about his career, process, and future plans.
By Rise Art | 20 Mar 2020

Life and Art with Seçil Erel

Throughout spring and summer 2020, Connective Spaces, Liverpool Street Station by Seçil Erel will hang in Avenue Restaurant as part of a new exhibition celebrating some of our most promising abstract painters. To mark the occasion, I wanted to dig a little deeper into what makes this, and the artist’s practice in general, so special.
By Phin Jennings | 04 Mar 2020

Spotlight on Héloïse Delègue

We interview Héloïse Delègue, a London based artist that skillfully riffs between her textural memories, both past and present.Simultaneously revealing and concealing, Delègue's work provides a rewarding insight into a world that brims with possibility and only teases at catharsis.
By Rise Art | 06 Feb 2020

Peeling Back Contemporary Collage with Peter Horvath

Horvath’s work demonstrates the power of collage to subvert expectations and create thought-provoking works. Using mainly images from early 20th Century advertising and Hollywood, these pieces explore early consumer culture. However, by taking these images out of their usual context, Horvath repurposes them and completely redefines their meaning in fresh and interesting ways. We caught up with Peter to find out a little more about his artistic journey, process and some of his plans for the futur
By Rise Art | 17 Dec 2019

Krista Kim: Understanding Techism

We interview Krista Kim, who’s bold digital colorfield DNA has become a modern icon. “It is integral that art and the intention of serving humanity is at the core of all technological innovation and that is why I feel compelled to advocate this philosophy as a bridge between art, Tech.”
By Phin Jennings | 08 Nov 2019