Artist Guy Denning

Bristol has long been acknowledged as something of a Mecca for urban artists. The city has churned out no end of talented, politically driven artists over the years, using the canvas as loudspeaker for parody, celebration and outrage. But beyond the veiled commercialism covering countless bedroom walls, we find the real aesthetic that transcends the urban art stencil.

Drawing on traditional techniques to create striking portraiture, Guy Denning has exhibited across the UK, Europe and USA, earning a cult following in the art world that seems to finally be seeping into the mainstream. His visceral paintings are instantly recognisable, using intricate brushstrokes to tear across the canvas, each infused with emotive power representing the traumas of modern life.

February’s exhibition, We Are All Prostitutes at the East End’s Signal Gallery, marked his return to London, bringing with him another untapped urban artist, Frank Rannou, he met in France, where he now lives. Typically political, the exhibition explored the exploitation of women in the sex industry and how we all compromise our morals when faced with want and greed.

We spoke to Guy about his distinctive style and artistic upbringing, his inspirations for We Are All Prostitutes and what we can expect when he makes his return to Signal Gallery this Autumn.

We Are All Prostitutes is quite a striking title – and also the title of a song by ’80s punk band The Pop Group; what was it that inspired you to name the exhibition after this song?

‘I suppose to a degree I must have identified with the sentiment in the lyrics. I saw my children struggling in their early adult lives to fund university study, or to find decently paid work or to be able to afford to bring up their own children and I felt that another generation were subject to the same compromises that my generation had to make. I think this current generation have to make even greater sacrifices of personal autonomy after being promised so much by the “children of Thatcher”. I was angry on behalf of my children and their friends that nothing has really changed from when I was their age – in fact I think it’s clearly worse.’

Much of your work is very politically driven. What do you think it is that makes the brush such a powerful mouthpiece for artists?

‘I think an audience look at painting as representing a specific choice by the artist to represent a given idea. They look at the imagery, title and context within the other work in the exhibition and they construct an idea of what the painting represents to them. People look for meaning in painting; it seems to be a fundamental desire to pull meaning from an object, like a painting, that is clearly placed on display for their consideration.’

How do you feel your artistic background as a self-taught artist has impacted on your career and reception in the art world – if at all?

‘I didn’t set out to be self-taught. I made repeated applications to universities through the ’80s and early ’90s to get that (in my mind) important validation of a piece of paper with BA Fine Art written on it – they just continued rejecting my applications. There is still a degree of gallerist prejudice against those that haven’t got this supposed accreditation of quality. In that respect the art world has opened up a little. I started drawing when I was a child and I can remember it being noticed by others at primary school. I started oil painting when I was 11; I did it because I clearly found it filled a need in me and not because I was aiming towards a career in art.’

Do you have any advice for self-taught artists out there?

‘You’ll learn more through your own investigations than you will from being told how to progress in a formal manner. The best lesson is learnt from your own mistakes.’

As an advocate of independent artists and galleries, do you think the current rise in corporate funding of the arts will impact on the work being produced?

‘Of course it will affect the institutional and public art displayed. A company is not likely to sponsor a show that is critical of its actions in the world. That is why independent galleries are so valuable to a public perception of the political value of art.’

You recently gained exposure for your portraits of the Occupy Wall Street protestors. What was it about these people that inspired you to make them your subjects?

‘I was initially frustrated by the apparent invisibility of these protests in the mainstream media and when they had become too apparent to remain invisible I was angry at their negative portrayal. I wanted to take the individuals out of the context of the protest and focus on their individual humanity. I wanted to show that these protests were about ordinary people pushed into an unfamiliar place out of frustration with an impersonal world. For a small number of people I had become someone breaking an important and unknown story.’

When you visit London, where are your favourite places to visit?

‘I’ll always plan in advance to see what exhibitions are on show while I’m there. The National Gallery usually gets a visit if only to see ‘Young Spartans Exercising’ by Edgar Degas. It’s one of my favourite paintings.’

Did you get chance to see any exhibitions in London while you were here?

‘Unfortunately not. We did walk up The Mall while some manner of military ceremonial rehearsal was going on involving much nonsense on horseback in 19th Century historical uniforms. That may count as some sort of postmodern art performance.’

What’s next?

‘I’m looking to slow down my painting. I’d like to produce more measured work. The October Signal show will be the first exhibition of work under this new personal regime. The subject is the third part of the Divine Comedy – Paradise. It refers quite heavily to the medieval notion of courtly love which I can relate to our modern day obsession with celebrity. We project unrealisable and perfect desires onto people we will likely never actually meet. It’s the perfect subject for me. A celebration of personal dysfunction and Hollywood excess – Sex, drugs, profane and sacred love!’

For more of Guy Denning’s work, visit his website  and also his ‘Drawing a Day’ Blog.