Jeremy Cowart
Nigel Callisto
Nigel Callisto
Nigel Callisto
Nigel Callisto
We talk with local artist, Ed Nash, about his paintings, where he finds his inspiration, and the details on how he wrapped his Porsche in one of his works of art. See our Q & A with the artist, below.
What brought you to Nashville and what got you into painting?
I first came to Nashville for a summer job when I was a nineteen-year-old college student studying Fine Art at Reading University, England. A high school friend convinced me that I should come and spend the summer selling books door to door. Ten years later I moved to Nashville permanently to become a private Art Dealer. I gradually realized that Nashville was changing and people were more interested in contemporary art by their peers than antique paintings that they could not connect with. This worked out well because I really always dreamed of being a full time practicing artist but over time everyone tells you no one’s makes a living as an artist, so you start to believe them. Fortunately, being in Nashville surrounded by so many other creatives pursuing their dreams it seemed less intimidating to start out on my own. I guess that’s the American dream and why I love this country and city so much. I also just became a US citizen!
Where do you find inspiration?
John Lennon was once asked where the Beatles found their inspiration. He explained that early in their career they were inspired by other successful musicians of the period such as Buddy Holly and Little Richard. However, later in their career their work seemed to be inspired by itself. I feel like its the same for a mid-career visual artist like myself. My art has taken on its own themes and direction and each painting spins off into another theme and so on, and so forth. It looks much like that of giant root system.
You wrapped your Porsche in one of your paintings. How did that idea come about and how did you decide which painting to choose?
I had seen BMW commission artists such as Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein paint their cars and instead of waiting on Porsche to ask me, I thought I’d be proactive :). I had also wrapped my box truck with a painting and it was a fun project. However, I wanted to take it to the next level and sell the image as an NFT so others could use the image to wrap their car.
I actually started the project about a year ago. I learned that what initially appeared to be quite a simple process was in fact, not. I first chose a 6-foot by 6-foot painting and blew it up to the size I needed to cover the entire car which was about 10-feet by 20-feet. However, when the print came back it was obvious that it had been enlarged. I wanted the wrap to be life-like in terms of scale and detail. That way you could actually see the texture of the canvas on the car. So, I set about painting one giant canvas that was 20-feet wide and was logistically hard to do. The other challenging part was to have the drips of the canvas wrap around the corners of the painting, too (much like folding a sheet around a bed there are corner pockets to contend with). I also learned that a Porsche 911 is probably the hardest car to wrap because of all its curves. I decided to make the project even trickier by using reflective vinyl which is harder to wrap but it looks wild at night. Each panel was printed separately and then applied individually so each panel had to line up perfectly and drip either side of the gap. Fortunately the guys wrapping it enjoyed a challenge, too.
How would you describe your style?
Most people recognize me as an Abstract Expressionist. My work takes on different forms though depending on what I feel like creating. My terrain series is much more tactile and topography inspired so it is a style of its own.
If you had to choose a favorite piece in any one of your collections, which would you choose and why?
Currently the painting used to wrap the car is my favorite because it has a great balance of energy to it. Often the larger format paintings allow for more flow of energy and when any painting is larger than us, the embodiment of the painting changes and the painting physically overpowers and absorbs the viewer. It draws them in to it rather than vice verse.
Tell us about the evolution of your work over the years?
University Art tutors really tried to make us rethink the materials and question the narrative of our work. This drew me towards installation-based work. However, after University I found that medium to be really hard commercially, so I moved into video and photography before circling back to painting. That style of painting moved from abstracted landscapes to purely abstract non-figurative style, and in many ways, back to abstracted landscapes like in my terrain paintings, like Smokies and Moonlight. The underlying theme of my art is the connection with the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi - Beauty through the imperfect and the exploration of texture on the canvas. In a world where there is so much virtual and reproduction, I want to make art that is clearly hand crafted and not reproduced. I feel like there is a definite connection in my paintings with the tactile surface.
How does Nashville influence or play into what you’re doing?
Nashville is a fantastic myriad of people with just about every profession imaginable, from singers to a CEO. It’s exciting to find the sweet spot of creating something I love to work on and creating something that people would actually want to see in their home everyday, whether it’s in East Nashville or Belle Meade. The continued support of this town allows me to do what I love and also to be bold and push the envelope. The Japanese have a term that loosely relates to that called Icagai, and I feel fortunate to have found that sweet spot and hope that my future creations continue to hit the spot! It's also great to see the full circle of the community supporting local artists by purchasing their work. I love Nashville! It’s a great place to live and work.
I have seen you wearing some of your own clothes. Is this a new project?
Yes, I have been having fun with this project! I actually just began playing around with the idea and ordered a few things for myself then I was flooded with DMs asking for a hoodie. I have new collection of clothes I’m about to release at my Fall Open Studio December 2 and 3 where those, the car, and other new projects can be seen in person.