“Kilim”

Interview with artist Richard Fett —

1. Who are you and what do you do?
I am Richard Fett. I am an artist that lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. I like to paint and draw.

“Window”
30”x40”
Acrylics on wood

2. Why art?
I like working alone and being my own boss. I enjoy expressing myself and executing my vision. I have always enjoyed many disciplines of art and levitate to many things creative whether it is a Broadway play, musical, concert, film, or visiting galleries and museums to view art.

“Window”
30”x40”
Acrylics on wood

3. What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an artist?
My earliest memory is remembering the focus and the process I felt while drawing automobiles as a toddler. My parents have been great about keeping everything I have done as a child. I knew at a young age I had an artistic talent. My days in school at all levels were reinforced with words of encouragement.

“Untitled”
20”x30”
Acrylics on canvas

4. What are your favorite subject(s) and media(s)?
I choose to work primarily with acrylic paints. I build up glazes until the finished product has a high gloss, smooth surface. I want the works to reflect the inspirations that fuel the work and that is the silver screen of cinema and the shinny pages of fashion magazines.

“Upside Down Susan”
36”x48”
Acrylics on wood

5. How do you work and approach your subject?
I think of an open ended narrative. I get family or friends to pose the dramas that appear in my mind’s eye. I sketch, then I take several photos and then mosh all of them up on my computer, cutting and pasting and creating an entirely new composition with the aid of different applications. I then transfer that composition to canvas or paper and then see what new turns that part of the process takes me.

“Man and Woman”
19”x32”
Acrylics on canvas

6. What are your favorite art work(s), artist(s)?
I admire the work of Edward Hopper. I worked at the Whitney Museum of Art and was fortunate to study the work so much more closely than the average person. While there I appreciated the works of Jared French, George Tooker and Paul Cadmus. I have drawn a tremendous amount of inspiration from contemporary artist Cindy Sherman. I especially admire her “Film Still Series” of photographs. Also, I have a rich appreciation for all art work of the Northern Renaissance and one work that blew me away in person is “The Birth of Venus,” by Sandro Botticelli, on view at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

“Sweater”
20”x29”
Permanent markers on paper

7. What are the best responses you have had to your work?
When my work is on display in an exhibition I receive gratification when people feel compelled to tell me their take on the work. Since I set up the compositions to have an open ended, mysterious narrative, the viewer becomes the co-author. The viewer’s new narrative is every bit as valid as the several open ended story lines floating around my mind as I execute a work in my studio.

“Fashion Couch”
17”x23”
Permanent markers on paper

8. What do you like about your work?
I appreciate the consistency and continuity of my body of work. Paintings that I executed in the 1990’s have a similar appearance to the works executed today.

“Fishnets”
17”x23”
Permanent markers on paper

9. What advice would you give to other artists?
My advice is to keep on working. I have had some success here and there. It is a really difficult career choice. However, if a young artist makes the choice to be an artist it is probably because there is simply no other choice.  Also, it is difficult enough to pay bills, then carve out the time to work in the studio, but also I have to constantly remind myself to promote. An artist can’t hide their fire for no one else to see and it is a constant battle for me and other artist to carve out the necessary time to juggle studio time, idea generation and exposure.

“Patience”
18×30 Inches
Acrylic on Canvas

10. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I see myself continuing my studio practice as a visual artist. I plan on making more time to promote myself and make a name for myself executing the disciplines that I enjoy to execute.

Richard Fett

LINKS —

Website: http://richardfett.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardfettptg/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richard.fett.7