I’m here to chat with Tahnee ( and her cute little dog Parsley ) after her successful solo show Impressions of a Wind Up Bird at The Hempel, and as she prepares to exhibit at the inaugral The Other Art Fair, which, in the absence of galleries, allows buyers to connect directly with the artists themselves.

“Being involved with the fair is really exciting,” she says,  “ The artists have been chosen by a selection panel,  and the work is curated. It’s great that I’ll be surrounded by other artists that I respect.”

I’m not surprised that she’s been selected – Tahnee’s work is beautiful.  On one level, the  blocks of vibrant colour, sugar pinks, leaf greens, heartbreaking reds touched with turquoise, draw and please the eye. But look closer and the work is many-layered, with melancholy characters, text, shapes and narrative emerging from the rich hues.

“ I took inspiration ( for the last show ) from the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novel The Wind Up Bird Chronicle,  and my work is also quite Kafkaesque,” she explains. There’s a sense of alienation. A polar bear character appears in many paintings, and it represents myself.  Or there are other characters, on their own. My paintings are about how I see the world.”

And how’s that?

“ Like there’s a seen and an unseen. My paintings draw the eye down. Some of them are quite sinister.”

Helmet Head, © Tahnee Lonsdale

It’s this combination of pretty colour and unsettling narrative that makes Tahnee’s work so arresting. 

This has been recognised by the very successful Debut Contemporary ( formerly SaLon gallery, founded by Samir Ceric and Zoe Knight, the couple also behind fashion label Wolf and Badger ) a mentoring and career development collective for young artists of which she is a part. She clearly loves being involved with Debut, and benefits from their unique offering of advice, workshops, PR and subsidised gallery space.

I wonder if she’d like to be represented by a bigger gallery, and how difficult it is as an emerging artist to have her work recognised.

“ Debut have been really helpful in telling us how to promote ourselves, something that artists aren’t always very good at! They tackle art in the same way as fashion.  Galleries hate to be approached directly, so you can’t just email them with your work. It’s a case of putting yourself out there, having a web presence, doing shows, doing interviews, doing as much as you can. Then, the galleries find you.”

© Tahnee Lonsdale

Tahnee has come a long way in a short time, having graduated from Byam Shaw just seven years ago. Since then, she’s gone from the epitome of a struggling artist “ my first studio had no heating, no hot water – my work was very dark and melancholy at that time!” to having a loyal group of buyers; collaborations with designer Lucas Hugh, whose collection of sportswear featuring Tahnee’s piece ‘Babel’ sold out on Net-a-Porter and Browns, and eight sales at her recent show at The Hempel.

And she’s been selected for London Calling,  artists from Debut who’ll be exhibiting at the Orange County Centre for Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, from December 21st 2011 – January 12th 2012.

With all this success and promise, how does she think her work and inspiration will progress?

“ I’ve been looking at some of the Old Masters recently, so I think that I’ll look at doing epic landscapes with a modern spin, maybe work on canvas to give more texture, and look at smaller characters and individuals.”

She’s sure to reach a wider audience, and pick up an army of fans and collectors.

For me it’s back into the drizzle and under the rumbling road as I leave Tahnee with little Parsley.

“ He’s company for me,” she says, “ Being an artist can be a lonely existence.”

The Other Art Fair, 24th – 27th November, Bargehouse, London Southbank, SE1
www.tahneelonsdale.com

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About the author

Loma-Ann Marks
Loma was a performer and freelance writer before becoming a journalist on the Daily Star Sunday, Daily Star and Express. She's the Founder and Editor of Culture Compass. North, South, East or West? I'll go anywhere. I like to think that I'm a pretty good map reader ( not everyone would agree ) but then I remind them that I navigated my way around the Paris one-way system with NO mistakes. High Class or Common or Garden? High class in the garden. Clothes or Culture? Culture in new clothes. My best night out ever made me feel....... That things would never be the same again. And they surely weren't the following day.

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