Art - Christmas Exhibition

I meet Marco Crivello in the Four Square Fine Arts gallery where several of his paintings are hung as part of the Christmas Show. Before we talk, I have a good look at the paintings. They are quite extraordinary. Look once and you see an atmospheric seascape. Look twice and you see a thickly textured abstract eruption of interesting colours melting together as they fight to stay apart. I’ve seen pictures of them before, but I’ve never seen them in the flesh. There’s no comparison.

We wander over to the Lewes Arms round the corner, and settle in front of a pint of (guest ale) Harveys. I ask about the materials he uses. “One of the signatures of my pieces is the use of Dutch gold leaf, which patinates very well, and oxidises, and if you throw salt on it starts doing crazy weird things,” he says. “But I use all sorts of things. I use marble dust and sawdust, and car spray paint, and a lot of oils. I’ve started using a paint-stripping heat gun as an alchemical tool so the surface gets burnt. I use rags, and sponges and windscreen wipers to work on the texture.”

Marco nearly drifted out of painting having gone to Farnham Art College, but a lucky break got him back into doing what he loves best. “When I got back into painting I started playing with that late Rothko-style format which has very bold ‘aboves’ and ‘belows’,” he says. “It all developed from there, though I’ve moved on a long way. I’m most interested in using materials to push other materials to see what poetry lies inside.”