Antony Micallef, whose latest exhibition runs through June 30 at Pearl Lam Galleries Hong Kong, first came into prominence after winning second place at the 2000 BP Portrait Award. Since then, his work has become highly collectible, appearing in exhibitions in many of London’s most famous museums and in the collections of celebrities including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (as the PR person who told us this puts it, “this is not particularly relevant but nonetheless juicy”). On top of this, GQ Magazine called him the man who “will change the face of modern portraiture.”Following the opening of his latest exhibition, titled “Raw Intent,” ARTINFO spoke to the English painter to discuss his new work and his relationship to portraiture. Excerpts:How have you produced the works in this exhibition?There are two types of work in this show. The first is when you have these photo-real backgrounds, similar to Rembrandt’s backgrounds, or those by Velasquez. They’re painted in this “old master” style, and they’re done with loads of layering over very fine glazing, which take weeks to prepare, so it’s a slow and meticulous process. On top of that, once it’s completely dry, you apply the paint to form the figure. The background itself can take weeks to produce, but the figure maybe one or two days. You have to be quick because you have to really try and capture that energy, and the only way in which you can really do that is by painting at a very quick speed. I’m also using a huge amount of paint, applied with foot-long brushes and knives and squeegees, and when these are loaded with paint they become very heavy. It’s physically exhausting and also a reason why there are splashes on the paintings and different types of marks. You really punch into the canvas.The other type of painting is when the whole canvas is covered in this thick paint, in the same physical, fast manner. These have a different feel. The paintings with the photo-real backgrounds are as if they’re staged. They’re calm and abstract. But with the heavy marking painting, the energy is inescapable — it’s all over the canvas.What has changed in your work since your last exhibition?I started painting like this just over a year ago. Since then, I feel like my dexterity is far better and these paintings seem more sophisticated than those I produced before. The red series in this exhibition is totally new, and really something I’d never tried before. My work has changed dramatically over the last 10 years or so. It used to be about social commentary as well as a number of other things, but now, instead of me having to illustrate my work, I feel like the paint is doing the talking.Why did you decide to use more impasto in your work for this exhibition?Painting is a language. When you speak you can shout, whisper, or do other things. I could do this work with thinner paint I guess, but it would be saying something completely different than what I want. I’m just using the language to express something.In the press release for this exhibition, it says that you do not want your works be read as portraits. What would you like them to be read as?I want people to look at this work however they want, but I think it’s misleading for people to see them as me. They used to be self-portraits, but now they’re just their own things. I just use myself as a vehicle, as information; as a way of seeing how the light is hitting my face etc. Whatever comes out, I’m really happy so long as it feels raw, and I feel it breathes on its own and has its own power. I don’t paint these to look like me, but there’s so much emotion in these paintings, all of which say something different. They feel like when they arrive, I’m meeting someone. I’m painting these pieces and giving them an initial charge. It’s like I’m excavating and uncovering things, rather than building them. It’s like I’ve got my hands in the Earth and I’m pulling things out with my bare hands. Not to mention that if portraits were genuinely how I see myself, my friends would probably be a bit worried about me!“Antony Micallef: Raw Intent” runs through June 30 at Pearl Lam Galleries Hong Kong
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