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14/2/2007

Harry Pye

Sartorial Contemporary Art, London

Me, Me, Me. 10 new paintings, an autobiography and one hour of television

"As a child I loved drawing more than anything else. But after graduating from Winchester School of Art in 1995 I lost all desire to make paintings and began expressing myself in a variety of other ways. Throughout my twenties I published fanzines containing interviews with artists I liked and began curating art shows for other people. Over the last 7 years I've probably organised more shows and told more artists what to do than any other independent curator in London . When I hit 30 I was suddenly filled with an urgent need to collaborate with friends on paintings of comedians who have stopped being funny, lonely kings, young British Muslims who've been shot at by the police, a former chess champion who has lost his concentration, a magician who has lost his confidence, and a doctor who is about to lose his patience.

I put myself in my work and I paint people who I imagine feel the way I do. Maybe I make the work I do because I'm trying to kill off a part of me I don't like or a person I'm in danger of turning into. The battle is still being fought and I'll only know when the dust settles. To coincide with the show I have hand written my own autobiography which is entitled, "My Struggle". There are only five copies (and I'm keeping one of them). In it I talk about where I'm from and where I'm at. With the kind help of cameraman and editor Gordon Beswick and comedy performers such as Richard Herring and Robin Ince I have managed to put together 60 minutes of TV. This means visitors who come to the show will at least get a glimpse of how good it would be if I was given my own TV station.

I've been inspired to make paintings by seeing films like: The Entertainer, The Little Prince, Down by Law, Billy Liar, and Sweet & Lowdown. Reading tabloid newspapers such as The Daily Star and children's books like The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Little Bear and Where the Wild Things Are, and a poem by Viv Stanshall called, "With My Mouth Turned Down by The Night". Listening to records by Alex Chilton, Bob Marley, Morrissey, Ian Dury, and The Streets. Looking again at the work of artists I've always liked such as Henri Rousseau, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Philip Guston, Peter Blake, Francis Bacon and Michael Andrews. I am also influenced by the artists I've collaborated with such as Rowland Smith, Liz Murray, Adrian R. Shaw and Marcus Cope. Me, Me, Me is my first solo show and I'm very excited about it because I know that after all these years I am finally starting to get good. I have suffered for my art and now it is your turn."

Private View Thursday February 15th 6.30pm – 9pm

Sartorial Contemporary Art
101A Kensington Church Street - London
Opens Tues-Sat 1:30-6:30pm.or by appointment

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