AN ARTIST EXPLORES “CONCEPTS OF SPACE” WITH A CRAFTSMAN’S HANDS-ON WORKING METHODS

by Edward M. Gómez, in dialogue with Gary Woodley

Examining the body of work Gary Woodley has produced over a career that has spanned several decades, viewers might be quick to assume that the British artist is one dedicated draftsman who has never met a wall, floor, ceiling, staircase, or other surface he hasn’t liked — or whose potential as a staging area for his all-over-the-place, unpredictable drawings he hasn’t recognized and cleverly exploited.

As much as the serpentine lines, seemingly self-generating geometric shapes, and dynamic rhythms of the drawings he produces, the examination and use of perceptible, physical space itself have long been hallmarks of Woodley’s strongly idea-driven art.

In many ways, he is an emblematic conceptual artist — and a very articulate one, too. In an interview with brutjournal, he recalled the evolution of his aesthetic ideas and the trajectory of his art-making adventure over the years. Here are some highlights from that recent exchange.