George Shaw talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Shaw, who was born in 1966 in Coventry, UK, makes paintings and drawings that are a response to a particular place but also a deeply personal engagement with memory. Although his paintings depict identifiable locations within Tile Hill, the postwar housing estate on which he grew up in the suburbs of Coventry in England’s Midlands region—from the houses and garages on the estate, to playing fields, community centres, pubs and shops and the woods beyond—they are steeped in recollection, potent with signs of human presence, including Shaw’s, but barely ever occupied by people, and even then only by the artist. As a result, these paintings have a curious relationship with time, a factor only enhanced by his use of his own photographs as the source image for his compositions. Tile Hill is the setting in which his identity was formed as a young person, in which he became himself, and the hundreds of paintings he has made of it since follow its changing face, moments of aging, destruction, dereliction and renewal. Over time, this lifelong magnum opus has come to tell a multi-volume story of Shaw’s life—a multifaceted self-portrait. He reflects on this idea of reflecting a person or body through place, with reference to one of his more enduring heroes, James Joyce. He also discusses the symbiosis of his subject matter and his use of enamel paint and the relationship between his photographs of Tile Hill and the paintings he makes from them. He reflects on the importance of music and the social and political culture around it in defining his identity and its legacy in his life and work today. He discusses the role of imagination in the extraordinary output of William Blake, his early response to fantasy artists like Chris Fosse, and a huge wealth of historic painters that have been important to him since, from John Everett Millais to John Constable, Mike Kelley, Titian and Rembrandt. He also reflects on the role of his father’s “curriculum” of films that he watched from his youth onwards, and its significance in relation to his paintings. Plus, he gives insight into his studio life and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?
George Shaw: Albion Groans—Part Two, Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, London, until 14 November; George Shaw: Living Room, curated by Jonathan Watkins, Apt Architects, London, until 18 December; George Shaw: My Haunts, Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, UK, 7 May-27 June 2027.
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