IN CONVERSATION - CJ Pyle
Part three of my ‘In Conversation’ series sees me chat with CJ Pyle over in America. He was due to have a solo show at Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago right when lockdown hit. This hasn’t dampened his spirits though as he has been more creative than ever during this period as you will read on below …
How do you think your practice has changed because of covid-19?
This is a really good question. Actually my entire work has changed – I have created a new series of work because of the coronavirus. I have to credit my wife quite a bit. She is the director of crisis in a mental health unit. I’m 64 now and we met when I was 21/22 and she has been active in that field ever since I met her. She couldn’t go into work to begin with because of the lockdown, and I got to watch her work from home and put in long days. There was lots more domestic violence and crisis to deal with, and in a weird way I got inspired by her sat at her computer all day, barely moving. So I said to myself I am going to do what she’s doing and dedicate myself and throw myself into it.
I have just finished up my 10th work. Normally it takes me around 2-3 weeks to do a piece but because of the extended studio hours I have been doing I complete one maybe every week and a half. It is really detailed and obsessive work and so it does usually take a long time to execute the pieces.
New work created during lockdown titled ‘Hi Rise’
Is there any theme to these works?
The colour has changed. I always had a limited colour palette in the past, which I did purposely to have a specific balance in the pieces and not have too much going on. But I was so distraught when this thing started to happen. I had a hard time concentrating and it was so surreal, so I told myself I am not going to adhere to any rules at all. My process is one of no preconceived ideas, but I usually make a lot of edits and changes. But I told myself with this new series, I was just going to sit down and make minimal changes to the basic shapes and not think about colour and just have it as a natural reaction. I decided with these that I was not going to think or have any rules anymore and that’s just kind of what I did.
I have taken this question from the talkart podcast that I like listening to… have you learnt any new skills during lockdown?
I don’t think so. My work has evolved, so that’s definitely a new skill. But as far as something not related to making art, I don’t know I have learnt any new skills at all.
Is there anything that you are currently missing doing that you are not able to because of lockdown?
Eating in restaurants. My wife and I, and my son and his wife are the same, we enjoy dining out. Indianapolis is a fantastic restaurant town and I miss that and I miss dinner and drinks with my family.
Installation shot from new exhibition at Carl Hammer Gallery
You were due to have a solo show at the Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago when lockdown hit – what happened with this show and will it be extended for audiences to see it when galleries start to open again? Can you tell us about the work in that show?
So I was scheduled at the opening on March 6th and the show is called ‘Crawling from the Wreckage’. I delivered the work and my wife and I drove to the hotel on the 6th and we could tell something was off. We got in a cab to go to the opening and the cab driver was freaking out about what was going to happen with the pandemic was on the way. It was a decent opening, but Carl said he could sense that people were worried and there was some anticipation. So it was open the following day, which was a Saturday, then the next week was the lockdown perhaps from the Wednesday. So it was only open for a day or two before the city was shutdown. We were communicating with Carl and Yolanda and she basically said we are going to leave your show up indefinitely and will update you in due course. They got in touch last week, and Chicago is open again now, as is the Gallery. August 15th is the new closing date, and I believe it was originally going to close at the end of April. Carl told me he potentially wants to show the new drawings later in the year too. I have a really good relationship with Carl and he is really fair and considerate.
The work in the exhibition is all-online - around 14 pieces that are all new. There are a lot of works that people associate me with, so the portraits, and then some extended pieces that include a torso as well as a portrait, and some diptychs in there, as well as a piece with six small portraits that all work together. The title is how I felt going into this. I felt that way before the pandemic. I view the United States as wreckage… the country has been wrecked, and I know we will get through it and I know it will be over but that phrase was my frame of mind at the time. I felt I was slowly but surely crawling out of this, but we all got knocked back down again. It seems apt given the wreckage that we are now facing on top of how I was feeling anyway.
I thought I’d mention an interesting anecdote from this exhibition too. On the opening night of my show, a 30 something very quiet, shy young women came into the gallery with her boyfriend. She approached me and told me that she used to live across from the Gallery and had always been a big fan of my work over the years. She said that she had always wanted to own one of my works, but could never afford it. She then said that due to Covid 19 one of her meager stock investments shot through the roof due to it involving masks and medical supplies. I was very flattered that she came in the next day and was able to purchase a piece!
Installation shot from new exhibition at Carl Hammer Gallery
From your perspective as an artist, what more could galleries and museums do to support artists at present?
Yes I think so. I think that the internet and social media have a lot to do with confusion. Everyone is looking at artwork online now and according to Carl, a lot of sales are being done via the internet. But I understand from other people that they can’t conceive buying artwork without seeing it in person. I don’t work with museums very much, but I know that Galleries are changing and are dropping like flies and they have been for a long time now. I use Instagram and Facebook a lot to promote my work and a lot of people to do this. It is an evolution that will see it’s way through.
Carl seems to have a soldier on mortality and keeps going. Some other galleries are publishing books and trying to do other things to change what they are doing.
Finally, what can we expect from you next?
Well I would say that the direction I will be following is the ‘coronavoyage’ series – this is going to be expanded and I will just keep going in the direction that I am. I won’t abandon it. It seems like a natural progression to me and there is nothing forced in it. I feel good about it.