Rising in ranks and emerging as a force to be reckoned with. Oliver Winconek has
been working in Kent as a full time artist since moving here 5 years ago.
Inspired by events and people he encounters in his everyday life, all his
artwork is a personal signature of the world from his perspective. Born in
Bedford in 1982; Oliver describes his early childhood as being ‘totally consumed
by art.’ Growing up, the only thing that seemed to fully capture his imagination
was painting or drawing.
“I can remember being at my first school, never wanting to do anything in the
least bit academic, always asking my teacher if I could do a 'big picture'. I
can't ever remember wanting to do anything but draw and paint”.
Living in Kent has had a tremendous effect on his art. You could say he
‘practically lives in his studio’ given the fact that he sometimes works 12 hour
days on end. "Passion is essential, so is the love for what you do". There is
much to be admired about life and this is something he always holds true. His
art is not just created for the sake of it but is a direct response to his
appreciation of art for its aesthetic value. This is hardly surprising coming
from a person who describes art as ‘his whole life’ and who also believes that
art should never be treated solely as a consumable commodity.
A lot of the work he produces is created from stencils, hand-cut from original
photographs. Oliver then uses a combination of spray paint and Acrylic to bring
these pieces to life. When using acrylics, Oliver prefers to lay down the paint
in a smooth, almost graphical technique so as to enhance the spray paint and
provides a stark contrast. Recently Oliver has made a return to drawing and
painting, removing the stencil aspect and focusing on getting back to working
directly. This gives the Artist much greater freedom and adds a sense of energy
to the work. Moving forward, the emphasis will be on combining the freehand work
with the stencil pieces to take his work to the next level and allow for a
greater degree of experimentation.