#catlin guide

I have been selected as one of the UK's most talented new artists in this years Catlin Guide. The publication will launch at The London Art Fair, 21-25 January.

The 2013 Catlin Guide features a selection of 40 recent graduates to watch: and we are proud to say that once more we were tasked with printing the beautifully boxed book. Here we meet one of the artists: New Sensations shortlisted RCA graduate Steven Allan, a Scottish painter who specialises in anthropomorphic depictions of everyday objects.

Steven Allan – There’s Always Time for Tea.

Has being Scottish and your subsequent move to london informed your work? and if so in what way? I wouldn’t say that being Scottish has had an overriding influence on my paintings, but my roots have certainly influenced the black humor that is evident in most of my work.

Why do you think you focus on a confusing and tragic landscape? Any particularly sad stories in your past that have made you this way?! I don’t think my paintings are necessarily just tragic or confusing – but they can often be interpreted that way. I think there are many less obvious things at play as well. Like Hogarth, I am interested in the tragicomedy aspect of humanity. I want to depict real life situations but obscure and twist them around to both bend and underline their meanings.

Steven Allan – One Off The Bunch.

Objects such as bananas and snails are a feature of your art – what draws you to these most curious and disparate of subjects? I don’t tend to dwell on why I paint this, or why I paint that but If pushed for an answer I guess I Identify in some way with these kind of ridiculous objects. I look at a banana in the fruit bowl, browning, overripe. It’s such a sad image to me – the last banana that no one has gotten round to eating – destined for the bin. It can say a lot about where your heads at to be painting a version of yourself into such an object. The snail I don’t paint so much anymore. Most images are a passing phase. They completely captivate me at the time but at some point I’ll move onto the next image that captures my imagination. With the snail paintings I was just interested by this slimy little creature that carried its house on its back. How I choose an object is pretty much that simple –its really just about my desire to visualize that subject in my paintings.

Steven Allan – Stains Of A Decade.

Subversion is a key element of your artworks – any future subversive ideas that you would like to work on? Currently I am working on a hybrid painting, which involves two very disparate images that visually seem to fit together. I came across this really odd photograph of a gimp in a pvc balloon suit and then thought about coupling it with something else I’ve been looking at a lot lately – Bertie Basset of the famous liquorish allsorts. As a child I always though there was something quite scary about Bertie Basset. He’s supposed to be approachable and sweet but he’s his strange anthropomorphic figure with a liquorish black hole for a face. Taking Bertie’s head and putting it on an inflatable gimp suit just seemed to be more in spirit with what he was all about in the first place so I decided to make a painting about it.

Steven Allan – The Faithful Companion.

What is your work process? (using materials and in the studio) Well for me it’s a really intuitive, complex process and it can take a long time. I use alot of unconventional tools I find in diy shops and of course an array of paint brushes and palette knives. I’m always on the look out for different objects that I can manipulate paint with. I also use allot of paint mediums, depending on what effect I’m after. Some give the paint a matt finish, some a gloss, some thicken paint and other speed up drying time. It all really depends on each individual painting.

Steven Allan – We’re All In This Together.

How has being part of the Catlin Guide aided your career and what do you hope for in the future? Being part of the Catlin Guide so far has been a great experience. I was surprised to see an image of my painting in the Guardian and also get a quick review. I am also going to be putting work in the London Art Fair which will be featured in the Catlin Guide’s stand so I’m looking forward to that. All in all it’s been a great experience so far and I am extremely thankful to Justin Hammond who had the belief in my work to give me this great opportunity to get my work out to a wider audience.

He that’s born to be hanged will never be drowned.

Geoff Litherland – I Knew it Would Come to This (The Old Horizon).

Also check out the work of Geoff Litherland, who creates abstract landscape collages that tap into our current obsession with other worlds. To find out more about the selection process read our interview with Art Catlin founder and curator Justin Hammond.

Tom Howse - Garibaldi Ice-Cream ; Oil on Canvas ; 71 x 101cm

Sensational colours in these paintings by Tom Howse, who was featured in this year's Catlin Guide to New Artists in the UK.

Bartosz Beda - Facts at 7pm ; Oil on board ; 60x70cm ; 2011

Bartosz is profiled in this year's Catlin Guide to New Artists in the UK (I'll be highlighting picks from the guide for the rest of the week). He's inspired by current media, including television and the internet.

I'm guessing the tense blue figures in this painting don't have good news to share...

        http://www.artcatlin.com/

Justin Hammond is an art dealer, curator, writer and publisher. In 2007 he devised the Catlin Art Prize, an annual showcase for the most talented new artists in the UK and later went on to compile The Catlin Guide, recognised as the essential reference for collectors of emerging artists. In 2010 he published An Unspoken Arrangement to coincide with Alex Ball's debut solo exhibition and was behind the now infamous Whose Coat is that Jacket You're Wearing?, held in a disused tailor's shop during Frieze. He has recently completed The Catlin Guide 2012.

                                                                  The Catlin Guide 2012: New Artists in the UK The Catlin Guide 2012: New Artists in the UK launched on the evening of January 17th at Art Projects, part of the annual London Art Fair. Once again presented in a rather luxurious slipcase and deigned by the guys at YES, this third edition mirrors its predecessors by profiling 40 of the most promising new graduates from art schools across the country. The book is an elegant object in its own right and is fast becoming a collector's item. The first volume has sold out and is changing hands at inflated prices on eBay, while just a handful of the 2011 edition remaining. Q.  What was you initial inspiration behind the initiative? A.  I was running a gallery in Hackney, working with artists straight out of college. Invariably, the same scenario would play out; the first 2 or 3 months after graduation would be a breeze – artists would be swamped with exhibition opportunities – but slowly that would peter out and without the infrastructure of college, some found it difficult to sustain their practice. That was partly how the Catlin Art Prize came about. It's a second opportunity for artists to showcase their work 12 months on from graduation. I ask them to develop a new body of work....it's never just a case of chucking together another 'best of' show. The Catlin Guide extends that support to 40 new graduates by detailing their future projects and aspirations for the coming year. It's very much about looking forward and supporting new artists at a crucial time.

                                                                   Foe-me by Davide Maione (Gelatin silver print)

Q.  How did the insurance group Catlin come to be involved? A.  Catlin sponsored the first prize in 2007 and the relationship has evolved from there.We set up Art Catlin to encompass the prize and the book. Q.  How does the selection process work? A.  I'll survey around two thousand artists each summer. There's no application process but I do consider hundreds of recommendations from course tutors, collectors, gallerists, bloggers and critics. I'll also look at which graduates have been awarded prizes by their art schools or other organisations. Ultimately, it's down to me to select the final 40, but it's essential that The Catlin Guide is an accurate representation of what's coming out of UK art schools and not just a reflection of my own tastes.

                                                                     Catlin Guide artist Gabriella Boyd in her studio

Q.  What specifically do you look for in the work of graduates across the country? A.  Potential is the key criteria. I want artists to demonstrate the skill and desire to progress. In the Preface to the new book I talk about selecting artists with the ability to shape the dynamic of contemporary art over a prolonged period. It would be depressing to think that new grads have already made the best work they can. Q.  Are you seeing any unusual trends that have surprised you ie. consistently good work from unsuspecting schools? A.  Yes, in the first Catlin Guide I profiled 2 artists from the Art and Philosophy course at Duncan of Jordanstone College in Dundee, but I could have chosen 3 or 4. It was an excellent final show; a disproportionately strong set of original ideas. Graduates from the Scottish schools feature pretty heavily in the most recent book, especially the Glasgow School of Art. I really like Camillo Paravicini's series of photographs called The Collectors, and BA painting grad Gabriella Boyd is already receiving a lot of attention. I asked her to make some very small paintings for the book launch at the London Art Fair. Elsewhere, I consistently seem to come across interesting painting in Falmouth and Manchester.

                                      From the series The Collectors by Camillo Paravicini (Inkjet print)