A short but sweet interview with Troy Lovegates for his upcoming show ‘GUMBO’ at Thinkspace Gallery. ‘GUMBO’ will be featuring new pieces from seven Thinkspace artists who all bring a different style, voice, and flavor to their art. ‘GUMBO’ opens Saturday April 25th from 6-9pm, and will be on view till May 16th.
SH: What artist in the upcoming ‘Gumbo’ show would you want to collaborate with and why?
TL: It would be great if we all could collaborate on some giant mutation of all our works together … Some sort of large scale exquisite corpse
SH: When do you get the most work done; morning, noon, or night?
TL: My schedule could be described as “out of control” … I will wake up at 6 am one day and maybe work until 3 in the morning never leave the house … the next day sleep in go for a giant bike ride to find stuff that will become future works … Maybe not work for a day … Then 8 h the next day … Then start late at night the next … Sometimes I set up for working and end up searching for new music all night and get nothing done … But once I get going I usually can go through morning, noon and night …
SH: In three words, describe your artwork.
TL: Clutter … Found … Diverse
SH: How long does it take you to finish a piece? What is your processes?
TL: It is the stupidest process ever I just keep starting new pieces have so many half-finished pieces laying around and every couple of days I feel this panic to get something done and I go for it … But I always have many things on the go at the same time … About a dozen at once …
SH: Do you remember the first time you showed your work to the public? Where was it?
TL: I scribbled late at night on the exterior of my high school in Canada … It caused quite a stir but ended up staying there for years
SH: Do you have any wise words for a fledgling artist who admires your work?
TL: Have Patience … Go on Adventurers … But also staying at home and work when everyone else is “having fun” …
SH Bonus Question: Speaking of gumbo, have you ever been to New Orleans? If so, tell us a tale! If not, tell us another tale.
TL: I was there last summer for one night … I went for a walk and found a dumpster full of an old toy train town … All the buildings, lampposts, streets, train tracks, people and trees… someone got to all the boxcars, hoppers and engines before I got there (aaaargh) but it was still a fun garbage to dig through … Found some good comics for my train ride out the next morning
