What Happens on a Studio Visit
For anyone who has been invited and is quietly unsure what is expected of them.
People arrive at studio visits braced for an examination. It is considerably duller than that and nobody is being tested.
It Is Mostly Looking
An hour, of which about forty minutes is standing in front of things without saying much. That silence is normal and welcome. The worst studio visits are the ones where someone feels obliged to produce a response to every painting.
You Are Allowed to Not Like Something
Genuinely. I have four paintings in here I am not sure about either. Saying “I don’t know about that one” is more useful to me than politeness, and it will not cause offence.
Ask What It Is Made Of
The questions I most enjoy are technical. What is the ground, why linen rather than canvas, how many layers, what is that dark passage actually made of. Nobody asks and everyone is curious.
The Practical Part
Nothing is expected. You are not obliged to buy, or to decide anything on the day, and I would rather you went away and thought about it. If you do want a painting, we will talk about it after you have left, by email, which is easier for both of us.
And Bring a Coat
Refshaleøen in January is an old industrial building with the heating philosophy of one.
