About

A short documentary film by
Nikodem Trzcinowicz

Andrew was born, grew up and studied in Leicester, England, earning a degree in Fine Art from DeMonfort University in 1999, at a time when Bridget Riley was visiting professor of painting.

He subsequently lived and worked in London for around 19 years and has only recently returned to his hometown.

While working in London, Andrew developed a style of painting he refers to a “paintings of paint”. These are created via a process of painting thickly onto a tile, often taking an existing work of art or photograph as reference, then transcribing the result onto a larger canvas, in oil paint, paying close attention to the movement of the paint, the curves and swirls and peaks. Theses shapes describe the action of the original brush, and freeze a moment in time, while showing the beauty in the paint itself, in some ways a little like a still life, but made of paint- rather than apples or flowers- for example.

At the same time, the referenced image is reinterpreted and presented in a new light. These images usually have personal or emotional memories associated with them; and this ephemeral aspect is captured in the swirls of colour and transparent glazes. Occasionally a figurative element is included, almost as a reference point, or anchor.

In some ways this this process of using, processing and separating source material is a reminiscent of sampling used in electronic music, where a riff or a beat is borrowed from somewhere else and used as the basis of something new

The work of the artist Glen Brown was quite influential in the development of this style. along with long dead great artists such as Bernini, Gentileschi, Goya and others.

Due to work, family and other commitments, Andrew didn’t create any significant new work between around 2009 and 2017, but while working for the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, and inspired by Japanese Netsuke, he starting to use jeweller’s tools to create small objects and sculptures from a substance called Tagua, also known as vegetable ivory; a type of sustainable palm nut from South America that looks, behaves and can be carved like ivory.

These small sculptures and objects went on to win multiple awards at the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Awards the “Jewellery Oscars”, they have also been exhibited in Leicester Museum, LCB Depot (Leicester), The Florence Trust and South Bank Gallery (London), among others.

A variety of interests often appear in, and sometimes influence Andrew’s work, including a lifelong interest in birds.