David Krut Publishing

We’re thrilled to share a recent interview with Joseph Hart in Elephant Magazine, a London-based art publication. In the article, Hart discusses what it is like to be an artist in New York, a city he describes as  “the best and worst of everything,” and what is currently inspiring his recent work: Cy Twombly, Gericault’s La Radeau de la Meduse, Fred Wilson, Norm Abram’s craftsmanship, Nobody’s Darling by Alice Walker, a well-prepared meal, John Stezaker, Miro, wandering around the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

When addressing the content of his work in reference to the figurative and architectural elements, Hart reveals his interest in framing devices, which are often intended to remain outside of the artwork: “Figurative elements come and go in my work. Within the context of a museum, I like the relationships between figurative sculpture and the mechanism used to display them…I see an interesting paradox between the sharp and rigid architecture of display devices and the organic figurative forms that they support. These observations are a crucial component in my work, along with an emphasis on playing with line, breaking down shape and form, unraveling and exploding things, trying to relax, and not worrying about making masterpieces.”(29)

By  giving insight into his work, Hart offers his inspirations, his desire to just make work outside of institutional pressures, while enjoying his new favorite moment: spending time with his newborn daughter and “watching her learn to smile.”(29)

Image above:  Untitled (Le Radeau). Collaged paper, acrylic, colored pencil and graphite on paper, 2009. 71 x 56cm

See Elephant Magazine website for the an excerpt of the article:

http://epub01.publitas.nl/46/62/magazine.php#/spreadview/2/

Keywords: Painting, History, Arts-and-Culture, Design, monograph, Photography, Art, South-African, International, Bookstore