Attention Rio Rita patrons: When was the last time you enjoyed your foamy cappuccino (or alternatively, your jalapeno-infused vodka) inside Rio Rita's impossibly adorable environs? In between Scrabble games or knitting or recounting NPR, did you take note of your counter server? There is a good chance you were serviced by Nick Henning, pop art-inflected painter and resident artist at the Pump Project Art Complex.

Henning's work is, in equal measure, highly personal and collectively nostalgic - a glimpse of Grandpa there, a portrait of Ed McMahon here. In addition to conventional painting materials, Henning incorporates more offbeat media - gunpowder and blow-torched wood, to name a few - to explore family stories, and deconstruct the palatable commercial images most of us have grown up with. You can stop by his Pump Project studio during the East Austin Studio Tour (stop #76 on the tour map), located at 702 Shady Lane.

Tell us about your artwork, Nick. What's your style, and what materials do you use?

I make large-scale paintings that incorporate images from advertising, billboards, logos, packaging, and other elements of graphic design. I use the appropriated imagery that surrounds my life as well as the lives of most other people in this culture to make autobiographical paintings.

I received my B.F.A. in printmaking a few years ago, so I have a strong interest in the process of making the marks for my pieces. I use materials ranging from the pretty typical (oil paint, graphite, and Sharpie) to the more unusual (gunpowder, blow-torched wood, and scratched-away paint). I really enjoy slowing down the reproduction of these commercially reproduced images of near-perfect models, logos, and advertisements, and along the way allowing my own limitations as a person trying to replicate these images of perfection show through.

Where is your studio?

My studio is located upstairs at Pump Project (702 Shady Lane), in studio "V".

You've said elsewhere that you use artwork to "express personal stories." Whose stories are you telling?

I'm telling the stories of my life and the lives of those who surround me. Recently my paintings have been influenced by my family. Although each piece is a story, I enjoy using imagery that is open to interpretation and allows the viewers to use their own experiences and memories to create personal significance.

So just how do you begin a piece? And how long do you spend creating one, start to finish?

I begin my pieces in one of two ways. The first is by coming across an image or design that reminds me of something or someone personal and adding imagery to it layer by layer until I am satisfied with the composition and combination marks. I project the images onto wood or paper and decide which material and technique would best suit it.

Alternatively, I might start with a story and basic idea of the imagery that I want to use to tell my story. In this case, I have to do a lot of searching through my collection of images to find what I need. If I don't have what I'm looking for I'll search online, at the library, on the street, or at the grocery store. I used to work much more slowly, but having the larger studio space at Pump Project has allowed me to work on multiple paintings and ideas at once. Typically, a piece takes between a week to two months to complete.

As someone who has worked then both solo and among a community of fellow artists, what do you dig about Austin's art scene? Also - be honest - what frustrates you?

The most exciting part of the Austin art scene is the almost overwhelming number of interesting artists here who are willing to take risks and make work that is different from anything you'd find in other cities. However, the most frustrating part is that as a result, it is sometimes difficult for artists to receive attention for their work, either from the galleries and media, which are overloaded with artists seeking exposure, or from the public, which can become apathetic about the art scene due to over-saturation.

What is your favorite part about E.A.S.T?

This will be my first year participating in E.A.S.T. as an artist, as I had a studio in my former home on the west side until August. But as someone bouncing from studio to studio it was always great to meet the artists, see their studios, and receive insight into how some pretty amazing artwork is produced.

What can visitors expect when they visit your studio?

I'll have a few of the pieces I have finished since moving into my space displayed, some works that are in progress, and my supplies and equipment, which allow me to produce work.

Last question: Inquiring minds want to know Nick where the name "Pump Project" came from. Do tell?

Pump Project is in a large 1950s warehouse which has been converted into studio space for 30 artists. On the ground floor of the building is a rather large water pump.

After E.A.S.T., be sure to catch Henning's work at Birdhouse Gallery (1304 East Cesar Chavez), where he'll be showing the second weekend of January.

Filed in Arts & Entertainment and tagged art, east2009, eastaustinstudiotour, nickhenning, pumpproject

Comments [rss]