You’ve got two major exhibitions on – at Timothy Taylor Gallery and YSP – as well as being included in Frieze Sculpture Park. Please can you tell us what inspired each group of works being shown?
The exhibition at YSP was the first show that I started working on of all of them and it was curated by Helen Pheby, Head of Curatorial Programme at YSP. We wanted to try to recreate the feeling of the studio and allow the audience to experience all of the works within it including some of the very first works I made alongside works that were made more recently such as the large scale tapestry. Some of the sculptures at YSP date back to 2010 and it’s great to bring some of these early works back.
The Timothy Taylor show explores pairs and the space is interesting because it is a townhouse and I wanted to create a different atmosphere in each room. The first room has a monumental piece which plays with the idea of surface and width. For this show I created works in turquoise, black and cadmium red as I’ve been really interested in those colours. The upstairs room features single stacks and 10 different variants of the same colour. These are shown alongside a tapestry. The whole space is dealt with in a different way to the YSP show as each room creates a different environment for the public.
At Frieze, Idris designed the Deutsche Bank Lounge and I had a large-scale bronze work in Frieze Sculpture. I made the patina on the surface by burning the colour into the bronze.
It was amazing to have a work on view in Regent’s Park and to experience people reacting to it, including children. This was the first time I was able to see my work in a public setting as it is normally commissioned for private collections.
You work in a variety of mediums – tapestry, sculpture, painting and drawing. We also loved your peg works that you did early on your career. Are you particularly drawn to one at the moment and why? And we read that ceramics might be next – is that right?!
I’ve always been drawn to everyday materials, especially early on in my work. I like using materials that you can buy easily and that people recognise. I like to mix materials and see what happens. I often start my work with a drawing. I just worked on my first stained glass for Claridge’s which resembles a watercolour (below at The Painter’s Room). I am focused now on making a new stained glass work for my upcoming exhibition at Château La Coste next summer.
Your stacks have become one of your signature pieces. When and why did you start making them and how have they evolved?
I started making the Stack sculptures in response to my grieving process after having a still born baby. I felt that the intensity of colour was a way to think about hope. I was fascinated with the fragility of surface which goes back to when I was at the École des Beaux-Arts and my work in pigment at the time. When I went through this experience, I thought a lot about this idea of surface and pigment and it was the perfect material to go back to. Pigment has an incredible beauty to it as well as a fragility which reflected my feelings at the time.When I first started making these works, it was about holding on to the baby I had lost but now these Stacks are symbolic of any kind of grief. They have also changed in shape over the years.
Your husband Idris Khan is also an artist and you share your art studios. How do you think your work is effected by being married to another artist? Is it better for it?
I think so, I think we are really lucky because our studios are right next to each other so we often talk about what we are doing and naturally ideas filter between us. Idris works in a series and starts with developing an idea before he starts the project. I was never like that and I would always get right on it and throw myself at something and start the making process right away. Now I do take a bit more time to consider the work before starting and that’s a really good lesson I have learnt from him. We often have exhibitions simultaneously and I often ask his opinion on some of my works. It’s nice to have someone you can talk to about these intricate details. We talk about art all night long as well so it’s never ending! But that’s ok because we both love it.
You live in East London with Idris and your two children. Why did you choose the area where you live and also your studio?
We always lived in this area and everything was dictated by the studio. We managed to find it by just driving around. It’s an old toy factory and we waited for a while until our neighbours had moved on and managed to get these four spaces. It’s a great space with a 6m ceiling which has allowed me to make large works.
Please tell us some of your favourite places in London to eat, drink and shop?
There are some great restaurants in Shacklewell Lane in Hackney which I love. I would recommend The Painter’s Room at Claridge’s which I was commissioned to design. I also love going to markets such as Columbia Road (right) and Portobello Market.
Is there a place in London that you escape to?
In London, the studio is my best escape. Outside of London, we also have a little house in Petworth that we are working on.
Which artists inspire you?
The list is endless but I love Matisse, Alexander Calder, Chris Ofili and Louise Bourgeois. I also love painters including Rauschenberg and de Kooning.
Which exhibitions are you looking forward to seeing this autumn?
It’s been a busy autumn so there are a few shows that have opened already that I would love to see including Paula Rego at Tate, George Condo at Hauser & Wirth.
Can you tell us what’s coming up next in 2022 for you?
This year, Idris and I are working on a joint commission for the new Christmas tree for the Connaught Hotel which will be unveiled in November. In 2022, we are both having solo exhibitions in different spaces at Château La Coste and I am working on a 6m bronze as part of that show. I will also have a show in China at the end of year.
A Little Bird Loves
