8 min
Carol Robertson Floorr Artist Interviews
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- Visual Arts
"Geometry allows me the freedom to channel a myriad of different material. It removes the potential chaos of having too many subject options, yet remains open to sensory or poetic influence."
Could you tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been a practising artist and where did you study?
I live and work in London and have been a practising artist since 1981 when I completed my MA in Painting at Chelsea School of Art. Prior to that I’d been a BA student at Cardiff College of Art from 1974 to 1978. I knew I wanted to be an artist from an early age… I never had any doubts about going to art school and was quickly drawn towards painting and non-figurative art.
Could you tell us about these repeating geometric forms you create, would you say you are quite obsessed with certain shapes?
Geometry allows me the freedom to channel a myriad of different material. It removes the potential chaos of having too many subject options, yet remains open to sensory or poetic influence. I work with a variety of different geometric formations but it’s true to say I find the circle to be the purest, the most universal of all geometric shapes. I never tire of its associations with art and architecture, with ritual and religion and with the cosmos. I’ve been making circle paintings since the late 1980s and feel sure I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day/studio routine? What is your studio like?
I always walk to my studio, which takes about half an hour. The walking part is important …it clears my head and leaves me fresh for working. I’m lucky that my route takes me mostly off-road, through London Fields and then along the Regents Canal. My studio is in a beautiful 1930s building, owned and managed by ACME, an artist’s studio and housing association, and I’ve worked there for over 20 years. It has a cohort of about 30 artists and my partner Trevor Sutton works there too. He and I have a close dialogue; we visit one another’s studio every day.
I keep the studio tidy and organised… too much disorder interferes with my thought process. I normally work in series, on several paintings at any one time. I start intuitively, by pouring layer upon layer of unstructured liquefied oil paint over the canvas. Adding the meticulous over-painted geometric detail comes later. These combined processes satisfy my need for both chance and order. I try to achieve an atmospheric spatial quality in the grounds so as to create the equivalent of an environmental space in which the geometry can exist. Once the grounds are done, next comes the drawing and then finally the careful over-painting. The colour changes a lot. It’s never achieved in one go, so there’s a discreet physicality in the history of the surface.
Pointstar, installation shot, Flowers Gallery
Pointstar, installation shot, Flowers Gallery
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
"Geometry allows me the freedom to channel a myriad of different material. It removes the potential chaos of having too many subject options, yet remains open to sensory or poetic influence."
Could you tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been a practising artist and where did you study?
I live and work in London and have been a practising artist since 1981 when I completed my MA in Painting at Chelsea School of Art. Prior to that I’d been a BA student at Cardiff College of Art from 1974 to 1978. I knew I wanted to be an artist from an early age… I never had any doubts about going to art school and was quickly drawn towards painting and non-figurative art.
Could you tell us about these repeating geometric forms you create, would you say you are quite obsessed with certain shapes?
Geometry allows me the freedom to channel a myriad of different material. It removes the potential chaos of having too many subject options, yet remains open to sensory or poetic influence. I work with a variety of different geometric formations but it’s true to say I find the circle to be the purest, the most universal of all geometric shapes. I never tire of its associations with art and architecture, with ritual and religion and with the cosmos. I’ve been making circle paintings since the late 1980s and feel sure I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day/studio routine? What is your studio like?
I always walk to my studio, which takes about half an hour. The walking part is important …it clears my head and leaves me fresh for working. I’m lucky that my route takes me mostly off-road, through London Fields and then along the Regents Canal. My studio is in a beautiful 1930s building, owned and managed by ACME, an artist’s studio and housing association, and I’ve worked there for over 20 years. It has a cohort of about 30 artists and my partner Trevor Sutton works there too. He and I have a close dialogue; we visit one another’s studio every day.
I keep the studio tidy and organised… too much disorder interferes with my thought process. I normally work in series, on several paintings at any one time. I start intuitively, by pouring layer upon layer of unstructured liquefied oil paint over the canvas. Adding the meticulous over-painted geometric detail comes later. These combined processes satisfy my need for both chance and order. I try to achieve an atmospheric spatial quality in the grounds so as to create the equivalent of an environmental space in which the geometry can exist. Once the grounds are done, next comes the drawing and then finally the careful over-painting. The colour changes a lot. It’s never achieved in one go, so there’s a discreet physicality in the history of the surface.
Pointstar, installation shot, Flowers Gallery
Pointstar, installation shot, Flowers Gallery
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
8 min