Interview

Monday, February 01, 2010

By: Goran Akeson

Interview between Roger Dean and Goran Akeson.

G.A. "What's going on at the moment?"

R.D. "I took the first nine of eighteen paintings to be framed for an exhibition in Korea yesterday. The exhibition is on the 25th. March through to the 30th. May and I think they are collecting the pictures in two weeks. This has meant that there is very little time to sort everything out; I need to prepare material for the press and the catalogues that are going to be produced".

G.A. "What's the name of the organisation that's putting on the exhibition?"

R.D. "It's the Daelim Contemporary Art Museum (www.dealimmuseum.org)

G.A. "How many paintings all together in this exhibition?"

R.D. "I have no  idea; including paintings, watercolour sketches and pencil drawings, about a hundred pieces. We're changing our minds all the time. They are very interested in my early work."

G.A. "Other than the Korean exhibition, what else is going on at the moment?"

R.D. "The exhibitor in Korea is also arranging for this exhibition to go to Japan as well. The Japanese website is about to be launched, which I am looking forward to.

The main thing that I'm doing at the moment is finishing a painting for Asia's new album 'Omega'. That's the one on the canvas behind me and that has developed over time through conversations with the band.I've also just finished a painting for Richard Everett who's band, 'King Biscuit' has a new album called 'Selling my Soul'. It's a very large watercolour in German Expressionist style. So that was an interesting change of direction for me."

G.A. "What's the colour range in this watercolour?"

R.D. "Essentially, greeny, purpley, sepia. Very muted colours with more definite areas of black and fiery orange."

G.A. "It's very atmospheric".

R.D. "It's meant to be, I made five or six small preparatory watercolour sketches, just playing about with ideas until I arrived at the one that felt right. Another painting i'm working on is for 'Universal'. Universal is a record company based in Sweden and they are about to bring out a 'Prog.Rock' series. They have also asked me to create a simple piece of animation based on the cover painting for a TV ad. so that's a 40sec.animation as well as the album cover, I think it's going to be a boxed set."

G.A. "You have created an animated advertisment before haven't you? Wasn't there a Sony ad?"

R.D. "It was sometime in the early eighties. The painting it was based on was called, 'Floating Water' there was a floating lake and an Ornithopter and robotic bird flew around it, I think we were advertising blank tapes".

G.A. "Do you have any architectural projects that you are busy with at the moment?"

R.D. " There are costings being calculated for 25 houses in the Lake District. This will be a small project but more manageable and with more scope to be creative about landscaping and finishing."

G.A. "A very busy time then?"

R.D. "Yes".

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