Liam Scully's Liquidation Sale Now On!

Liam Scully is selling his entire catalogue of work dating back ten years, as his past practice goes into administration. 'Liam Scully's Liquidation Sale' will raise money to undertake a residency at Skaftfell Centre for Visual Art, East Iceland. By supporting him you not only acquire original work but you enable him to start a fresh body of work, purchases over £250 will receive a mystery work posted direct from his residency in Iceland.
Prices start at £10 up to £700.

Our Kate (smile), oil, enamel, acrylic and porridge oats on canvas, 2013, POA

For all enquires and advanced studio visits contact Liam via facebook or badrenalin@hotmail.com
Join the event page and see works for sale!
More works available can be viewed here
Read interview below for Liam Scully's account.

Elizabeth Homersham interviews Liam Scully

Art writer Elizabeth Homersham interviews Liam Scully about his project 'Liam Scully's Liquidation Sale' an initiative to raise funds for his forthcoming residency in Skaftfell Iceland.

There's something about the liquidation sale that seems very tongue in cheek and totally in keeping with the tone of the work of yours I've seen. Can you comment on this? I mean I realise that it's a fundraiser but you could have done that more quietly, selling cheaply to people you know or through an 'artist's car boot fair'... I kind of love the theatricality and the literal cheapness of the way you're framing this sale.

 I have always reacted to what is around me, something to do with my impulsive nature. My wife, Vanessa came up with the title and I said yes that is truly brilliant. But like what is happening around us, high streets closing up, families struggling to feed their kids while the rich jolly it up, I am very serious in what I say. I am forever broke yet continue to make my art regardless, the art builds up and storage is becoming impossible. What’s more I have been offered this residency in Iceland and I have to find a way to fund it, this way I kill two birds with one stone, do away with old stock and make some money to make new stock. I do like the cheap element; many artists overrate themselves with ridiculous prices that no one in their right mind should pay. Recently at London art fair I see young galleries showing young artists who are technically competent yet excruciatingly uninteresting; their prices are inflated beyond belief. These are artists likely to drop out of fashion very quickly and the collectors will be left with a worthless picture. Yet a veteran and true original like Rose Wylie can be purchased for as little as £3’000, here you are buying a piece of art history. So it doesn't worry me that I may cheapen myself, I am not a fashionable painter and I am happy to be playing by my own rules.

Private Jet and Bagels, enamel, gaffa tape and acrylic on canvas, 2013

What's up for sale?

 Pretty much everything I have done in the last decade that is still in my possession. Some of the work I consider not so good but I am putting it out there so the people can decide, drawings from 2004, 05,06,07 are there right up with works made the week of the sale. Dieter Roth, an artist who had a studio in Iceland where I am heading was unconcerned with ‘quality control’ this freaked out some of his collaborators such as Richard Hamilton, I relate strongly with that unapologetic attitude.

Coke is it, acrylic on paper, 2004

Anything you don't want to part with?

No everything must go, I have spent long enough with most of the work and I think 2013 is a potential turning point for me, where I can make new work without the burden of older pieces. Who knows I may see the old pieces again one day.

Have you catalogued/photographed the stuff you hope to sell? 

Vanessa has helped document most of the work but there are definitely drawings that have not been photographed, if something like that goes I will snap it with my mobile phone.

Is there some criticism of the art market/the way in which art is valued here?

I guess I feel disenfranchised with the "art market". Since 2003 I have been working hard to make my work and so on, the few occasions where I have shown my work to a potential gallerist they have not wanted to take me on, or things look promising and the gallery goes bust a week later, this is alienating so I have to create my own opportunities. I wouldn't want to criticise the art market as some day I would like to be a part of it, I am simply highlighting at this moment we are separate entities. People often say your work is only worth what people are willing to pay for it and the people I know, or the people that appreciate my work don’t have a lot to spend. Therefore this sale is for the people who genuinely like what I do. The whole sale is an interactive performance where everyone’s a winner.

How cheap are liquidation prices?

Drawings will be as little as £10 up to £700 for my painting of Mr Blobby that is framed. Small paintings are on average £250 but some are £50. Compared to my contemporaries these figures have been liquidised.

a selection from 'Currant Bun series' 2008, acrylic on paper, £75, size A0

Do you intend to explore new techniques or subject matter once all this old work is out of the way?

Yes that is an important part of this whole thing, like business going bust and being bought out by a new company I think after Iceland there will definitely be new things happening.

What do you hope to gain from your residency in Iceland?

Space and fresh air will do wonders for my psyche, I feel my current painting is too much about claustrophobia, anxiety and frustration and I need a change. London is not the most accepting place for my work; I refuse to play up to certain expectations. On the other hand Leipzig in Germany has been very generous in its response to my work, where I have shown numerous times and even sold ambitious scaled work. I hope Iceland will be kind with an appreciation for my energy and style too, I have a feeling I may receive more acclaim abroad, so it is good to expand ones horizons.

Studio and accommodation at Skaftfell in Iceland

Do you hope to meet new people from this sale?

Yes I hope to reach people who are not familiar with my work; that would be great! I love to meet new people.

Does the idea of liquidation/closing down sale imply some concern of yours for other failing businesses, shops and galleries?

Death of the high street is a worrying sight, I dread to think what their replacement will be, more empty offices? It will be a great shame to loose HMV and Jessops, both are stores that I actually enjoyed visiting. These stores are only the tip of the iceberg with many more to follow, however according to government figures unemployment is coming down.

An artist doesn't really ever close down unless death ensues but metaphorically I am closing down a period of my practice and evolving, the money and the removal of my old work is contributing to my future development, you could say the supporters are bailing me out of stagnation. 

ROSE WYLIE PAINTER TO TAKE NOTE OF

Kill Bill (film notes) detail, oil on canvas, 180 x 308cm

Painting these days tends to be dull whilst claiming to be sophisticated and clever, yet the most sophisticated painting in a truly sophisticated sense is that of the artist Rose Wylie.

This week Rose Wylie opened her first UK retrospective “big boys sit in the front” at the new Jerwood Gallery, Hastings. The new Jerwood space is a lovely piece of architecture acknowledging the space around the gallery as well as offering plenty of it inside. On a night which was similarly celebrating the new grand space, I was amused that one of Wylie’s canvases “getting better with water” 2011 was bordering on too large for the gallery. Inching slightly over the crisp white wall almost bursting through the ceiling, the work spared millimetres for the concrete floor. This canvas is made up of four huge panels and it is this type of scale that Wylie enjoys to work, she works on unstretched canvas so it is always an amusing challenge when a gallery space takes on new work.

In the offering at Jerwood are several awesome canvases from a fraction of Wylie’s repertoire. All are large, one gigantic and another “red blue and green twink” spanning nearly 15 meters manoeuvring around the right corner of the gallery. Presented with all of this I still crave yet more works bursting out of an even bigger space.

installation view @ Jerwood  Gallery Hastings, Getting Better With Water 2011, oil on canvas, 366 x 340cm

             
Many writings on Wylie’s work firstly assumes child-like, for me these works are not similar to a child, they only share their sincerity and charm, instead these are works of a painter who knows exactly what they are doing, every brush stroke is knowledge every erasure and daub oozes experience.

Wylie is interested in painting subjects that she finds amusing or intriguing, these are subjects that much of the population would find amusing or intriguing which makes the works within reach, yet it is what she then does with her subjects that forge a new kind of intrigue and amusement. Part of a large series of film paintings is Kill Bill (film notes) 2007.  A memory of a moment in film becomes a new experience when it is transformed into a painting. This is a double canvas measuring 180cm x 308cm and depicts two views of one scene, one view-point being slightly closer than the next. Wylie’s minds eye becomes the new camera and the brush stroke is the new action, two views of the same shot behave like a camera zoom but is equally Wylie’s memory working. At the base of the right side canvas we are drawn into the crown of Uma Thurman’s head, her painted blonde locks every bit as lush as Tarantino’s set pieces. It is not the perspective of Uma or Tarantino, here we have the perspective of the spectator, in this case Rose, but also suggested is the way our mind operates when we think back to a movie moment. We are left with a painting which is flat yet dynamic, robust, shamanic and every bit as exciting as the movie. This painting is as cinematic as painting gets.

These are in no way simple paintings they are full of intellect and complexity, a master who makes it look easy. Wylie challenges the viewer not just to look at a cat but how you can perceive it, interact with its unfathomable body, movement and personality. In the catalogue of her work you can see a series of drawings. One that strikes me is a collage of papers in a wonky fashion. Painted in water colour is “crimson cat drinking” 2010, this is not in anyway how we logically see a cat, unless it had been crushed by a steamroller. This is a painting depicting the affection and the belly chuckle amusement of a certain cat at a certain time.

In 2010 Rose Wylie was selected for an exhibition in Washington DC entitled “Women to Watch”, although well meaning this kind of referral only under values her genius as she is a painter regardless of gender, instead what we have here is a “painter to take note of”. If you are not familiar with the work of Rose Wylie the inaugural show at Jerwood Hastings is the perfect excuse to visit the seaside town and familiarise yourself with possibly the countries most exciting painter.

installation view @ Jerwood Gallery Hastings, Silent Light (film notes) 2008, oil on canvas, 183 x 366cm

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2011

I opened this up to celebrate the Hackney Wicked Festival, although the Wicked was pretty bad the drink made it all the better.
On the nose wafts of heather and grass, followed by a sweet smoke. first creamy over the tongue, when it glides down vanilla is replaced by strong medicinial TCP and bandages, quite dry finish with a hint of bitter melon at the end. I wasn't sure at first, quite dry but I grew to love this expression and it gets sweeter with every mouthful, very agreeable for an 8 year old.

Driller Killer Remake?

There has been much speculation that there is going to be a remake of the great Abel Ferrara's Driller Killer. What a shame in the most pointless fashion to take a movie which is just brilliant for it's low budget, heavy acting, distorted sound, grinding sound FX  and drawn out monologues then bring it into the digital age. Possibly a disasterous idea, until my wife said she wanted to make a remake of Driller Killer. Now that's an idea! Especially as I get to play the lead as Reno - now I am excited!
We will make a autobiographical account of the film and shoot it straight to VHS, a nice nod to the video nasty fiasco. It is set in E2 London and will feature my own artwork as well as the real life difficulties of living in a communual environment with other so called creatives. It is a no budget film with people pretty much playing themselves.
Driller Killer E2 will be a smart blend of reality and fantasy addressing the issues that a struggling artist encounters today - as like Reno when the anxieties of never becoming successful become so torturous it feels like a maniac drilling into your brain. AAAAAGHHHHRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!

WATER

Yes it has been a while since I last blogged; that is because I have been drinking way too much booze, going out to private views, gate crashing expensive parties, beaten up by friends and generally being hung over, bruised and abused. Well That's it folks, I am quite fed up with this lifestyle - it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere, but hey I've tried it out for a very long time.
So my drink of the week this week is WATER.
I'M GOING CLEAN LIKE CHARLIE SHEEN!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Liam Scully’s Spring Mackerel Spaghetti:

Serves one

Makes a great lunch in 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper

Sliver of scotch bonnet chilli, chopped

3 x garlic cloves, crushed

1 x medium Courgette, chopped

Half a small white onion, chopped

1 generous pinch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 generous pinch of dill, chopped

1 generous pinch of coriander, chopped

Knob of butter

Splash of white wine vinegar

1 tbsp good olive oil

1 fillet of mackerel

Wholemeal Spaghetti

Tsp Salt

Method:

Bring water to boil, meanwhile prepare ingredients and heat olive oil in pan, add Courgettes, garlic, onion, chilli, salt, vinegar and pepper to pan, fry until soft but not brown,  add herbs and a knob of butter stirring in .

Remove from heat and blitz ingredients with a blender until rough, leave aside and add pasta to boiling water.

When pasta is cooked al dente drain then return to pan before adding the puree to pasta, add a drizzle of good olive oil, mix up well and serve piping hot on warm plates. Dress with the mackerel fillet and some Parmesan shavings, season.

Great!