It's been 2 years since Sean Norvet had his last solo show in Tokyo, and after seeing his smaller works in group shows in the meantime, we were eager to see a full-on elaborate solo exhibition by the LA-based painter. And lucky for us, on May 11th, Richard Heller Gallery will be presenting Arrangements, Norvet's long-awaited solo debut with the gallery.
As fans of his work and the ways he is deconstructing and disrupting his subjects while collaging a wide range of familiar, everyday visuals, we were curious to see what he worked on for this showcase. His concept of patching up characters and surrounding scenes from goods they consume is an original take on the classic figurative painting that results in psychedelic and humorous visuals. After seeing some teasers on his Instagram, we've decided to get in touch with Norvet, have a peek inside of his studio and chat about the new body of work.
Sasha Bogojev: Would you say that this show could be a milestone in your career?
Sean Norvet: I think it’s a progressive step into where I’m trying to go next. I want to expand and push forward my figurative/portraiture work, but at the same time explore deconstructing/disrupting environments and abstractions in the future. I want to put some more weapons into my arsenal and broaden into some new ideas.
It feels good to be proud of the new work, and I’m ready to keep pushing things forward.
After following your work for a couple of years it feels like you finally got the right chance to show what you can do. What was holding things up until now?
Thank you! I don’t feel like anything was holding me up, but more to what you said — it’s that I was given a great opportunity to show what I want to do.
How does it feel to be coming back into the spotlight?
Excited about sharing these paintings, and for that reason, it feels great.
How much and what did you think changed in your work since the last solo show in Tokyo in 2017?
There’s been a lot of critiquing and being honest with myself. Not being afraid to fuck up. An insane amount of covering up and restarting paintings that are almost finished, while having fun with the work and not taking things so seriously at the same time. It feels like I’m honing in on a new chapter, which is exciting for me.
You're back to non-portrait images after a long while. How was it painting those again and any further plans with those?
Yeah, there’s one full figure painting in the show, and it came out great. I definitely want to expand more, so I can’t wait to explore some new ideas.
The Revenge of Stressman seems to be the main image of the show. Can you tell us a bit about it? Where is the horse rider in urban space coming from?
The Revenge of Stressman is definitely a main piece of the show. It represents some of the ideologies that are starting to show within my work. Pushing and pulling from drab reality until it achieves a psychedelic euphoria. The low sharing space with the high. Celebrating and finding the beauty in the massive overload of information, not the shame. Ephemera meeting divine forms of nature.
Its also been a while since you worked on such a scale. How did that feel?
A bit intimidating at first, but once you’re in the groove of things it’s fun. I love the impact that a large scale painting can create.
Were all the works planned specifically for the show and is there a connection between all of them?
There were some planned ideas originally, but over time, ideas changed and intuition kicked in. I just let the work evolve naturally. I began adding repetitive elements/objects from one painting into the next which gave some connection between some of the work.
What type of repetitive elements can we expect and do they have any meaning?
Things like cropped grim reaper skull (found in an underground comic), psychedelic color warps, candles, raspberries, etc. They are kind of loosely based off of some symbolism that might be in a Vanitas painting. Honestly, there's not really any deep meaning, but more of clashing different elements together. Low shares space with high, everything's considered equal.
Did the show turn out the way you hoped for and would it be any different if you had another month to work on it?
Really excited about this body of work. Extra time is always good, but at the same time, I think it’s better to just get them out into the world. Move onto the next!
Any personal or professional plans for things after?
We’ll see what happens! Hopefully, travel a bit and then get back into the studio flow.
Sean Norvet's "Arrangements" premieres at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica this weekend, May 11, until June 15, 2019.
