We LOVE William Crump's Frame & Canvas series
We're infatuated with the Frame & Canvas series of moody paintings by New York artist, William Crump. The gorgeous layers of oil, flashe, and acrylic feel silk-spun. Click for the interview- William discusses aspects of his life as a painter as well as a parent.
Artist Statement: Courtesy of MoMA PS1 Studio Visit
In these new paintings titled; Frame & Canvas, I begin by breaking down nature to it’s purest form and rebuilding by means of adding, taking away and adding again until a finished piece is revealed. This approach is something of a reverse for me. The previously imagined narrative is gone. Instead, I begin with the unknown and work my way towards the edge of the known.
While each these canvases share a relationship to surface, color, scale, and boundaries, they remain intimate and separate of one another, choosing instead to cast off any formal sense of geometry, figure or irony. One defining similarity of these paintings is the ghosting of the stretcher, which is consistently present through the canvas. Here the foundation is not only revealed, but embraced as an equal component to the work.
"At the core, my work has always been about a romantic version of a distinctly American question: how to cross the desert between our heroes and ourselves. I've explored the idea of being caught between who we thought we should become and what we in fact have become."
PS: Does fatherhood play a role in your art?
WC: Fatherhood doesn't play a direct role in the context of my work, however it has an enormous impact on my art making practice. Being a father to an 8 yr old daughter is not always conducive to being a full-time artist.
A lot of artists I know choose to blend their art life with their home life. I have great admiration for that, however, I try to think of it as wearing different hats. When I'm with her I'm in father mode and when I'm making work I'm in artist mode. There are plenty of times when those two things are one in the same, but for piece of mind I try and keep them separate. The advantage of this is when I'm in the studio I can focus solely on making work and when I'm with her I can give her all of my attention.
We (William and his beautiful wife Agatha, a graphic designer/director) try and expose her to a lot of ideas and talk about the work she sees outside of our home. It's challenging to maintain an open critical dialogue on art with her. It's also somewhat humbling to hear the brutal honesty of what an 8 yr old might think of what she is seeing. What is rewarding about that she is exposed to new work and and ideas. When she really likes something she lights up and asks a lot of questions.
City-girl Willa: 8
PS: Can you share any new upcoming projects?
WC: This past year has been very busy and full of highs and lows as most artists can attest too. Earlier this year I had a solo show with Station Independent Projects on the LES. More recently I curated a group exhibition titled; American Pharaohs at TSA Gallery in Brooklyn, which is an artist collective that I'm a member of. At the moment I am writing and applying for grants and residencies, which has become an annual ritual for New York artists, as most of them are due mid-January.
Beyond that some group shows and I'm starting a new body of work in my studio. My goal is to combine some of the different mediums I work in, namely painting, drawing and collage, bringing them together in one coherent style.
That's going to take some time and a lot of exploration.
Some older mixed-media favorites
Willa + William
Follow the artist on Instagram.