July 8, 2008
this month on Cargo’s third wall, a complex, dark and eerie piece was put up with Oliver Winconek, a upcoming painter, who’s hand-crafted stencils and attention to detail has been garnering head turns from everyone who walks in the yard and from some rather big name artist agents as well…
How did you end up producing art?
I have always had a strong interest in art, even from an early age I have always visited galleries and exhibitions. It has just become a way of life for me now, I work long hours but its something I’m very passionate about so it’s worth losing sleep over. I have always created work on canvas but in the last couple of years have started experimenting with different surfaces and techniques, hopefully I am always learning, evolving and moving forwards.
Your new piece is very striking and detailed… What’s your method of painting?
I am primarily a painter although not in the traditional sense, I like to use acrylics and lay them down in a very smooth, almost graphical way to give a very clean end result. I frequently combine this with stencils and spray paint to create a piece, sometimes I will use only the one medium but more often than not its both. I don’t like to tie myself down to one technique and prefer to play around with things to get the desired effect. I am lucky that I have a strong traditional art background that has taught me to draw well so I don’t have to rely on computers to create a piece.
How did you get into stenciling in particular
Stenciling and street art are things that have always fascinated, I love the idea of taking art away from designated spaces and stenciling is a great way to do this. It always fascinates me how many hours of painstaking stencil cutting translates into what might only be a couple of minutes of painting yet the results can be stunning. Stencil art is heavily in fashion at the moment and so many Artists are picking up a spray can for the first time, its an exciting time but it is getting harder and harder to be original, I rely heavily on colour to set myself apart from others.
Where’s your favourite place to be?
Nowhere in particular, I do love to be in a big city, I love the buzz that only a big city can exude. As nice as it is to get away to the country or the sea I just always find myself yearning to get back. You can almost feel a heightened tension as you get closer to somewhere like London or New York, it’s incredibly exciting as an artist to pick up on that.
Any upcoming exhibitions or other cool stuff that you want to bump?
A well as being represented by Castle Arts in Canterbury I have just been taken on by OPUS Underground in Newcastle, I am involved in a group show alongside C215, Hush, Jef Aerosol, Pure Evil and the London Police. I will be doing some live painting on the night of the private view alongside some of the other guys. I have created some brand new work for the show so it will be great to show it off and see what people think
