Julian Tan | Artist Interview

ARTSG: How did you get started doing what you do?
Julian Tan: Oh the usual route, Art School, record deal, paint. I had a ten year break from making art, I resumed painting when the itch got so bad it was stopping me from sleeping.

ARTSG: How would you describe your creative style?
Julian Tan: Slapdash and rigorous in equal parts.

ARTSG: What’s your inspiration?
Julian Tan: The human condition and the grime and mess of living.

ARTSG: What is art to you?
Julian Tan: Something that is the product of the nervous system. There is more art in a painting than in a thousand photographs because a painting is the product of a million different tiny decisions and reflexes made between hand and eye, brain and muscle, conscious and unconscious thoughts. The surface of a photograph is flat and un-animated, it contains no physical trace of the psychic handwriting of its author.

ARTSG: What does your typical day look like?
Julian Tan: I realised some time ago that I am unable to do anything of value in the mornings. I tend to drink coffee and read until around 1pm. After that I gradually ease myself into my working day, really hitting my stride at around 4pm. I tend to get 4-5 really productive hours in any day. I need music and peace to really relax and allow that subconscious part of my brain to run the show, which is when my best work is made.

ARTSG: How long does it typically take for you to finish a piece?
Julian Tan: A really small one can be made in 2 or 3 days. the larger works can take over two months to wrestle into submission.

ARTSG: How do you keep motivated?
Julian Tan: I Love to paint. Motivation is rarely a problem to me, my hours in the studio seem precious and just the thought that there may come a day when I have to do other things to pay the rent is enough to panic me into a fever of activity.

ARTSG: How would you say your surroundings have influenced your work?
Julian Tan: I consider my studio to be a neutral space, a kind of haven that shields me from my external environment. My work is definitely ‘other’. Living in London exposes a person to a deluge of sensory information,. For me it is essential to have a place where i can close the door on that cacophony.