Interview with Matthew Burrows

18/06/20
Interview with Matthew Burrows

Matthew Burrows (b1971, the Wirral) is a painter through and through, even though his strategies for approaching his work include numerous analogies to try to free himself from the weight of art history. His canvases are built up with thin layers of paint, creating the effect of a textured piece, woven in and out, much like a basket. He likes to think of the horizontals and verticals as a play between a structure that is given and a process that is open.

Burrows is also the artist behind the enormously successful #ArtistSupportPledge, a simple idea, launched on Instagram just before lockdown in the UK, and now a worldwide phenomenon, earning many artists more than ever before, and proving to be self-sustaining for the community. Using the hashtag #ArtistSupportPledge, artists and makers post works for sale on social media, which must be £200 or under, with the implicit promise that, once they have sold £1,000 worth, they will buy a work by someone else, thus feeding back into the economy, creating a form of subsistence culture.

Burrows studied as an undergraduate at Birmingham School of Art (1990-93) and graduated with a master’s degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in 1995. He lives and works in East Sussex, where the landscape, and his endurance runs through it, form an integral part of his practice. 

Burrows spoke to me for Studio International about how the pledge came about, his hopes and plans for its future, his thinking about his practice, and how he hopes to return to being a full-time artist very soon.

Read the full interview here

The impact of Covid-19 on artists. Part 5: the long-term outlook and the growth in online offerings

21/04/20

Part 5: the long-term outlook and the growth in online offerings

In the final instalment of this five-part essay, comprising conversations with artists around the world, we look at the possible long-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the art world and the rise in online offerings

What will be the lasting impact of the coronavirus on the arts and artists? It is hard to predict anything right now, when no one knows how long various countries will be in lockdown, and what travel restrictions will remain in place afterwards. Certainly, there seem set to be some long-lasting changes to the ways that many things are done. Sarah Strang, an artist and the director of Civic Room in Glasgow, speaks of flexibility being key – for artists and funders. There may well be clashes as shows are rescheduled, artists who were booked to be present may no longer be available (or able to fund their presence): “I don’t think the freelance workforce will come out well from this,” she says. “It needs a political, top-down decision to support this workforce.” In addition, she says: “Any artist, gallery, or arts organisation is continually fundraising, so it’s hugely precarious. This will have a huge impact. Many galleries will close permanently. If a commercial gallery can take the hit knowing it will have a good Frieze, it might be OK, but Frieze is only a breath away. The art world runs on two things: the ability to travel rapidly and internationally and the hand-to-mouth nature of earnings and artists being able to work. As we saw with the 2007 financial crisis, people don’t rally afterwards, we don’t bounce back, we still haven’t. And this is financial and physical, nobody is resilient, and it’s a world collapse, not just one country that can be bailed out.” 

Read the rest of part five here