Art Market Blog - Interview with Artist Brad Bannister In order to give you all an insight into the world of the artist I interviewed the very successful abstract painter Brad Bannister.
News-Antique.com - Feb 13,2008 - Art Market Blog - Interview with Artist Brad Bannister
When collecting or investing in art is is just important to understand and appreciate the world of the artist as it is to have an understanding of the art market. In order to give you all an insight into the world of the artist I interviewed the very successful abstract painter Brad Bannister whose website can be found here:
http://abstractpainting-bannister.com
Interview with artist Brad Bannister:
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?
I have always been interested in art, I’m left-handed,
extremely visual in my perception and personality,
so my interest in art is probably partially biological.
I worked many years trying different media and styles
as I went. Developing a personal style for me has been
very tough over the years because of my natural
curiosity and tendency to overindulge that curiosity.
I was curious about too many media and styles so
my focus was diffuse, rather superficial in it’s
development. I scattered myself over painting,
prints, ceramics, sculpture, castings . . . I experimented
all the time. I did some good work, had some shows
and made some sales along the way but it took
nearly 40 years to get to where I am now. I feel much
more resolved about my work now than even five or ten
years ago. I’m working with an increasingly strong
vision, and feel above my questions and doubts now,
instead of below them. I can get into the creative zone
very quickly now. I know what I am going to do and
I can execute with real command. I struggled and
worried over the years as my style changed like an
amoeba. I produced unevenly, making half
statements, etc. - now I essentially feel on top of
the world with my work. As I examine my progress
and the progress of many other artists I see that this
kind of development is necessary and somewhat common.
How do you handle the business side of being an artist?
Not at all well. Again I tried a little of everything, with
occasional small successes here and there. I joined artist
associations, got some group shows, went to art fairs,
put on small studio shows, bothered galleries both small
and large, and even started my own website. But considering
the incoherence and vacillation in my style over those
years it is probably better that I did not get a lot of serious
exposure. Although I see that many major artists have
gotten early exposure for very unmemorable work however,
and it did not seem to hurt their careers. If you look
at the works of Max Beckmann, Kenneth Noland,
Jackson Pollock, Antoni Tapies and most other notable
artists you will see that they were getting recognition
early in their careers for completely unrelated styles that
lacked most of the power of their mature and celebrated
works. While their production was usually journeyman
in quality, it was more academic or experimental in
