Marcus Aitken | Interview

MIXED MEDIA MARCUS

A big welcome to Marcus! Not only is Marcus Aitken the most generous, friendly, down-to-earth guy, he also happens to be a mixed-media master! He uses a very clever combination of layering, distressing and blending to build a multifaceted surface, which adds a super cool depth and drama to the work. Coming from a design background, Marcus Aitken has evolved his practice through mixed media, sculpture and jewellery design. He brings his experiences from previous practices to enrich his new works. The results are vibrant, energetic paintings with exciting sculptural elements. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Mr Aitken.

  • When did you first fall in love with art, and realise that you wanted to pursue it as a career?
  • I grew up watching my mother paint and fell in love with the process of it all at a very early age. I think I quoted in my school leavers book when I was about 17 that I was going to be "living in a shed, going mad painting my artwork", I've gone mad, thankfully I don't live in a shed, but my studio is a shed, so my mystic vision has turned out half true...
  • What’s integral to the work of an artist?
  • Being yourself.
  • How has your practice change over time?
  • When I graduated from UAL in 2012 I started my own Jewellery company and was set on doing this, I then moved on to creating these pop art style sculptures made from mannequins which featured in some of Secret Cinemas installations. I think I have now settled into being a painter, but I still do my own self-initiated projects on the side, just to keep myself on my toes. 
  • Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
  • Watching Paul McCarthy's (not the singer) 1995 video the Painter. He takes the piss out of the art world (because let's be honest it can be ridiculous) and taught me that there are no boundaries in your work. 
  • Any current projects you can talk about?
  • I've just completed a collaboration project with The Pilgrm hotel in Paddington which you can go see for the next 2 months. Go check it out!
  • Have you collaborated with other artists? Do you have any artists you would like to collaborate with?
  • I've done a few small collaborations over the years with various artist friends, I am always up for collaborations of all sorts, so HMU! :-) 
  • If you could communicate one thing to an upcoming artist about being represented what would it be?
  • Only work with really really nice people.
  • Name 3 artists you'd like to be compared to...
  • Franz Kleine, Ralph Steadman and Cy Twombly.
  • One last hard question... What's your favourite colour?
  • Lol.....I am a sucker for a deep blue.