Artist Spotlight : Justin Maurice Scivetti
Justin Maurice Scivetti is a Melbourne based artist, whose work reflects a fascination with nature, horticulture and bold built environment. The work Justin has created for us is Silo - capturing the unique desert view at the western edge of New South Wales, a magnificent, curious and unexpected piece. The strong, limited palette is a unique reflection of lighting that can only be found in Australia, and the contrast of the large wheat silos, white-barked trees and big sky creates a nostalgic dreaminess of childhood road trips.
We feel very lucky to have collaborated with Justin for our soon to be released Sundown Collection. Here Justin talks us through his day-to-day studio process and inspirations.
Tell us about your workspace.
It's a small humble space in my home in Brunswick that looks out onto my garden and ever-growing collection of plants.
What is a usual day in the studio like for you?
The day is usually a mix of painting and gardening. I like to start in the morning after coffee, make some preliminary observations, and then mix my palette ready to attack. When the light starts to fade, I know it's time to put down the brushes.
Your recent body of work explores regional Australia. Tell us about your process, do you travel and work as you go? Or travel, sketch and then paint once you’re home? Or a bit of both?
Yes, it was a wonderful trip I made out to Broken Hill. Mostly I made sketches, painted studies, and photographs documenting different imagery, colours, and atmosphere along the way. When I'm back in the studio I like to slowly unpack these and translate them into paintings.
What themes and concepts drift into your work?
I like to see my works as contemplative narratives, exploring memory, place, through capturing light, colour and atmosphere of the landscapes I have explored.
How do your personal experiences influence your work, if at all?
My paintings are observations of my personal experience with a place or landscape. I have always enjoyed going back through memory of places I have visited and experienced and translating them into something new.
What materials do you employ when creating your paintings?
I primarily work in oils.
Are there any artists or designers you particularly appreciate for their originality, designs and thinking?
I find myself constantly looking back at American painters like Fairfield Porter, Edward Hopper, and Richard Diebenkorn. I find their way of observing the world intriguing, especially the way they interpret and think about light and colour.
What are you working on now?
It has been a busy and exciting end to 2020. I have just finished working on a body of work for Saint Cloche's end of year show Secret Garden and also a series of paintings for a new wine label Vino Idda that has just been released. In the background I am slowly chipping away at making works of my next solo show at Saint Cloche, looking at everyday landscapes.
Has this year shifted the way you work or the themes you explore?
It's been a very strange year and I think everything has shifted in some way or another. Because movement and travel has been so restricted recently it has definitely changed my works in a way. I have begun to look more closely at my everyday landscapes, and immediate local views, compared to those distant ‘other worlds’ that I have previously explored.
Thank you so much Justin!
Sundown, a trans-seasonal capsule collection featuring our collaboration with Justin, is launching next Tuesday February 2nd.
