British artist Will Thorburn (born 1983) creates works that are both decorative and anatomical. The forms in his paintings are suggestive of limbs, internal organs, plants, palm trees, vines and reclining nudes. Also, occasionally, of wires and sockets that seem like conduits and dispensers of electric power. The purpose is to come up with a space where “the organic and inorganic merge”. It is as if the paintings are offering a microscopic vision of our increasingly bionic world.
Influenced equally by fauvism and pop artists such as Tom Wesselmann, Will seeks to evoke the vivid sun-drenched energy of the Mediterranean coast in his art.
He explains further: “Colour is a key factor for me in my recent work. I spend each summer in the south of France and I realised where the unashamed exuberance of colour used by artists like Matisse, Derain and Monet was coming from. I’m interested in breaking that down, unsettling it by combining imagery of opulence and fertility with anatomical references and science fiction-influenced forms.
“I want the pictures to develop a life of their own, and often think of working in the studio in relation to creating a garden; I take a lot of inspiration from images of Moroccan riad gardens taken on a trip there. With that relation to the organic, I want the pieces to have an unpredictability; I love the way Kirchner uses unexpected colour combinations, or Guston creates highly awkward compositions that are somehow incredibly effective.”
Will Thorburn lives and works in London. He studied Critical Fine Art Practice at Brighton University and completed his MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 2016. His work has been exhibited at numerous locations throughout the UK, including Schwartz Gallery, Alon Zakaim Fine Art and Candid Arts Trust, and abroad at Art Miami and The Other Art Fair.
Links: Website (www.willthorburn.com) | Twitter (@Will_Thorburn) | Instagram (www.instagram.com/wthorburn)
Images used with permission.
On Art and Aesthetics 