Grain Stories: Artwave artist in residence Marco Crivello of Continuum Studio

7 Sept

It’s that time of year again, Artwave Festival hits East Sussex!

Running since 1993, Artwave features work from over 800 creatives in 147 venues all over Sussex. Studios, galleries, gardens, and workshops all take part in Artwave, which gives art lovers the chance to explore new artistry, meet the makers, and shop directly with them. There is something for everyone, from jewellery to metalwork, ceramics to painting, and illustration to furniture.

We chat with Marco Crivello of Continuum Studio, based on Lewes High Street. Marco is an artist in residence at Artwave Festival from 11th - 26th September. Born in Milan, he has since spent the majority of his life here in the UK, and completed a foundation course at Farnham in Surrey before moving to London. Marco talks about Continuum Studio, the family run business, and collaborating with other artists.

Tell us about the Continuum Studio

This is actually our second Continuum Studio, our first was a much smaller space at the top of the same building, which we had pretty much outgrown with the ideas we wanted to explore. So when during lockdown the retail space on the ground floor became available, it was my son Jacob jumped at the chance to take it on. From the start, we were clear we wanted to create a space that wasn’t simply the standard, neutral white cube.

One source of inspiration central to the space is my interest in the wunderkammer (wonder room) of the Renaissance and nested within them the various cabinets of curiosities. Filled with the rare, exotic and bizarre, brought back from the expansion of merchant trading routes, these rooms and collections became the templates from which our modern museums evolved. I hope that we can revisit the spirit of those early Wonder rooms, bringing a playful and reflective element to collecting and collections, the nature of objects and time.

Continuum is split into two distinct areas; there’s the Gallery room, that’s leads into Jacob’s studio, and an additional flexible area, where I can experiment with putting together and exhibiting new installations. These installations which are wall-based pieces as well as table displays and comprise of found materials that I collect locally, on travels or increasingly things gifted by people after visiting one of our shows.

Is the studio very much a family business?

Well for 17 years Sonia, my wife, ran Four Square Fine Arts, representing British and international artists. So as a family, it’s fair to say we’ve spent many hours around the dinner table in conversation not only about art and artists but also the various aspects that go into running a gallery and putting on exhibitions. Jacob and Martha have both helped set up shows, serve drinks etc. Before being taken on by a London gallery, Jacob did show briefly with Four Square, who then later invited us to have a joint show together. This became our first Continuum exhibition.

How do you find it working together?

Even though we are at different stages of our journeys and explorations, we work remarkably well together. At first sight, our work might seem strikingly different, but just below the surface, we actually share many aesthetic overlaps and ways of working. Because of that shared aesthetic, I can often be in a position to offer helpful feedback on aspects of Jacob’s work. In turn, I am regularly stopped in my tracks by how quick and insightful his understanding of many of the things I am trying with my current work.

Can you explain your style of art?

The British psychoanalyst Marion Milner’s small book ‘on not being able to paint’ became talismanic for me in my early thirties. In it she recounts how continually disappointed by the psychic deadness of her Sunday painter efforts, she resolved to abandon all expectations of outcome and just BEGIN, allowing a painting to appear. The results, amazed her, not only in the vital narrative content, emerging from a limbic hinterland, but also in the sophistication of their composition and energy of mark-making, far exceeding anything her conscious mind had composed. From this encounter with her adventure, my own took flight.

Over the decades, I have passed through a number of stylistic chapters, each one enlivened by this spirit of improvisation. I am currently in the early pages of a new chapter. A little over three years ago the improvised landscape paintings, which had been my preoccupation for 17 years, came to a natural conclusion. In tandem with this conclusion, clues and intimations of ideas and materials asking to be explored surfaced. This new chapter reaches back, gathering up previous interests into a broad spectrum of installations, including; photography, painting, sculpture, and assemblages. This is one of the reasons why calling the studio Continuum seemed fitting.

Tell us about Artwave and why you got involved.

There’s something deeply communal about opening up your working space, quite different from the formal presentation of an exhibition with all the weighted expectations both for the artist and visitor. Despite all the Covid limitations, we’ve both thoroughly enjoyed showcasing our work in the new space and spending time talking with people about our ideas.

With that in mind, we’ve taken time this year to try and be even bolder in considering how all the space can be made to enrich/inform the show’s theme OUT SIDE IN IN SIDE OUT.

What is unique about Artwave?

I think Artwave shares similarities with many festivals that celebrate creativity in all it’s its different hues. However, what I think will make Artwave particularly interesting this year is how it will dovetail with the recent launch of the Makers Directory, an initiative by Lewes District Council to create a directory of makers and artists in the area.

Lewes is well known for being a hub for artists, makers and creatives - do you feel a sense of creative community there?

When we moved to Lewes 20 years ago, one of our reasons was an awareness of the diversity and richness of the creative community. As a family, we’ve been fortunate over the years to have met and become friends with many wonderful creative people across the arts. However, as the studio spaces in the town dwindle and the cost of housing increases, there’s a real risk this could disappear in years to come.

Tell us about the collaboration with Martha

It became clear around the time of Martha’s Art A-level that we not only had great conversations about art but also hoped to work together one day. So when she came home from university during the first lockdown, it was the perfect opportunity to make that happen. This became Sussex Stack, an assemblage of found objects from around Lewes and Sussex, which was a nod to Tony Cragg’s Stack in Tate Modern, and will have a section to herself to interpret the show’s title.

For Artwave this year, Martha will be creating an installation incorporating the cupboard in which all our found objects are stored.

What next?

We are currently working on our second show at the Star Brewery Gallery here in Lewes next March, whilst also exploring plans to open the Continuum Studio to the public on a more regular basis. Jacob also continues to work with the Hicks Gallery in London.