Alexander Gorlizki

(Born 1967 in London; Lives and works in New York)

I wasn’t a very good student. Because I was surrounded by textiles and embroideries, I think a kind of graphic language became really important to me from ages 5, 6 and 7. I remember spending a lot of time completely absorbed in patterns. When I think back on it, just having that material in close proximity in the form of applied arts, one would literally be sitting on them.

In the boards I create, I’m looking at things together, as a collection, taking away hierarchy because it’s not like the big framed piece is more important than the fragment you are working on. I’m kind of more interested in the process than the product. All the pieces that take you on a journey are, in a sense, more interesting than the final destination.

There is no such thing as a bad drawing because drawing has about 7 or 8 different functions. It depends on the purpose. It’s more about how I connect with drawing rather than if it’s good or bad. A good miniature painting has to have a sense of perfection. That’s why I work with Riaz who has immaculate technique.

In collaborating, as Albers said, ‘one plus one equals three’. It is almost inevitable to me when you bring two people together you have a third element neither one of them could achieve on their own. Collaboration is quite unusual in drawing. It’s not unusual in my way of working to have 5 or 6 people involved. There’s another side to it which is enriching your own world.

–Conversation on May 18, 2020

Listen to our conversation here: