Chris Rivers falls into the cosmos

When most cling up their drumsticks, they have a tendency to take it straightforward. They not often journey greater than they did on tour. However ex-Heaven’s Basement drummer Chris Rivers treads a special path. He’s now an artist with A-list followers, severe collectors, and exhibits worldwide.

Rivers first started portray in 2014, throughout touring downtime, utilizing his previous drum skins and cymbals as his canvas. Nevertheless it wouldn’t be till his group disbanded in 2017 that the Manchester-based artistic totally dedicated to his new craft. “I’d already left the band six months in my head earlier than I’d bodily left, so I used to be already set to go right away,” he remembers. “There was no backup plan.”

Learn extra: 9 drummers on their early days, favourite gamers, and onstage mishaps

Along with his newest assortment, he’s pushing his inventive imaginative and prescient even additional — this time deeper into the cosmos. Operating till Could 31 at London’s Pontone Gallery, The Zodiac Universe is a wealthy, immersive double sequence of star maps and landscapes. It reimagines Rivers’ trademark oblivion type via the lens of customized indicators and astrological historical past. The Zodiac Starmaps sequence boasts a formidable array of element. The Zodiac Landscapes sequence is extra emotionally pushed, with Rivers specializing in how every star signal feels as his trademark lone-astronaut grounds the viewer in his fantastical landscapes. There’s a serenity that runs all through the whole assortment, every drawing from astronomical, astrological, and mythological traditions — a component that Rivers was wanting to discover.

His consideration to element unfurls as you strategy every bit within the sparse, white-walled gallery. The colours — vivid, expressive — depict the zodiac personalities interlacing with centuries of symbolic heritage. “It’s infinite materials to attract from artistically,” Rivers enthuses.

Every work options gilded stars — a part of a brand new course of for the artist. Drawing inspiration from Fifteenth-century monks and historic gilding methods, Rivers actually breathed the celebs onto the paper, forging them by hand. “I like doing issues genuine to the medium,” he says.

Surprisingly, the gilding wasn’t essentially the most tough half. “The trickiest factor with this sequence was getting the celebs within the right positions,” he explains. Utilizing formally acknowledged star charts, he meticulously positioned every constellation — emphasised by copper-foil circles on the Starmaps items — in its exact astronomical location. “It was gratifying, nevertheless it was one of many issues I needed to get within the zone with as a result of it took a lot time,” he admits. “I don’t like to chop any corners. I prefer to geek out on it.”

A pupil of his craft, the outcomes shine — actually. Because the solar filters via Pontone Gallery’s entrance home windows, the copper, silver, and gold particulars shimmer like constellations being born in real-time. Rivers has reached for the celebs and delivered a celestial expertise with care and craft that feels lightyears away from its Central London showcase.

Sitting down with Rivers on the gallery, surrounded by his work, the artist discusses his journey up to now and this newest assortment with AP with all the convenience and earnestness of somebody dwelling their greatest life. 

The place did you get the thought for this assortment?

I’ve at all times liked doing large, ethereal, summary work, however with particulars that inform a narrative. There was a interval the place I used to be doing these large items that regarded like nebulas within the sky, a number of constellation items, unnamed, not any particular constellations. Then I began serious about the place I may go along with that, and it led me to the Zodiac constellations. Then I began doing astronomy analysis, in addition to astrology, and mythology — so all this materials that I may take from was a gold mine for a painter, after which the penny dropped — I’m going to do a complete sequence on Zodiac constellations. Everybody has one, and artistically, it fits my summary, dreamy type. All of it got here collectively naturally.

What’s your relationship with the items now that the gathering is finished?

All the time, after I end a portray, I’m very not often fully pleased with the completed end result. However I feel that’s a superb mentality to have. I at all times attempt to create my masterpiece. I don’t assume there’s any level in placing a canvas on the easel and trying to do one thing that’s not going to be your masterpiece. It simply looks as if it might be a waste of time. Even when that falls brief, you retain that mentality for the subsequent time you do it to maintain you striving. However I’ve an amazing relationship with them. They’re all like my kids.

How does the gathering characterize you as an artist now?

That’s a superb query. Every thing I do now… It’s my childhood pursuits. This sounds bizarre, however typically I am going into my childlike mentality after I’m portray as a result of I’m doing issues that I’ve at all times been thinking about: house, astronomy, and that’s one thing I strive to not overthink. To check it to music, I feel there’s a really comparable sample while you attempt to discover a type, and the place you match. Generally you may overthink that, however you’ve simply acquired to do what comes naturally to you. And this type simply got here naturally to me.

With that, how has your journey affected your notion of artwork?

As a painter now, I’ll go to the Nationwide Gallery and go a number of inches away from some previous grasp portray that’s price thousands and thousands, and get instructed to step again, as a result of I’m trying on the brush strokes and the colours and making an attempt to research how they’ve finished this and that. Then there’s the entire different facet of it, which I feel nonpainters love about lots of the historic artworks — the tales. Whether or not it’s Van Gogh, or tales of the work, of all of the previous Italian Renaissance work, the mythology — there’s simply a lot fascinating stuff all through historical past that I wasn’t conscious of earlier than. A few of these guys are the David Bowies and the rock ’n’ roll stars of the 15-1600s. A few of them have been [football/soccer star Lionel] Messi, large time.

I used to be going to ask what the method was for you, and if music is concerned

Music is a giant a part of my course of. I’m at all times listening to music within the studio. I discover that it impacts the temper of the portray immediately. I hearken to actually all the things, from digital and classical to Norwegian black metallic and nü metallic, old skool, the entire spectrum. If I’m engaged on one thing a bit moody, I would placed on Satyricon or Slayer. I’ve been listening to Deftones loads not too long ago. I discover that the music matches this work properly as a result of it’s that form of ambient, large, spacey, open sound.

Do you miss the music facet of your life?

The last word adrenaline is being onstage when your band’s firing on all cylinders and with the crowds, the power… It’s an amazing feeling. It’s been a number of years now, and I look again on it differently — I bear in mind the good things and neglect lots of the nonsense. However we meet up a number of instances a yr, and all of us get on. I’ve at all times thought it’d be good to have the ability to do one thing once more, however I simply don’t have time or house to have the ability to do it anymore. No matter I do, I’ve to go full-on. I’ve to throw all my eggs within the basket and do it.

Given your previous, is being a painter extra liberating than band life?

If you’re in a band, you’ve acquired all these completely different personalities, completely different opinions. Writing a track, you’ve acquired 4 or 5 individuals concerned, a producer, typically an outdoor songwriter, and it was a really laborious and gradual course of. So, it was liberating to be in a room and do one thing with out having anybody to run it by. And that’s nonetheless the way in which I get concepts, myself alone in a room. Dom [Pontone, gallery director] has acquired an amazing understanding of my work now, so I’ll run issues previous him, and it’ll open a little bit of a thoughts for me.

So that you contemplate your self extra an artist than a musician now?

I’ve by no means considered that really… However an artist now, as a result of I don’t drum a lot anymore, other than for enjoyable. I’ll begin getting my equipment again within the studio as a result of I’ve been storing it at my buddy’s studio for a number of years. I opened one of many packing containers final week, truly. It’s like a time capsule. A setlist was in there, and my ear molds and my battery pack turned on drumsticks, and an empty drinks bottle opened up inside. I need to set it up within the studio, although, and simply have a bash on it on occasion.

That sounds full circle, given you began your artwork journey sketching and drawing in your drums.

There’s a superb direct relation between portray and music. Going again to listening to it when portray and being a part of the power of portray, I’ve these concepts I’d prefer to delve into extra sooner or later with music. For these work, James [Moffatt], a composer in Liverpool, wrote some unique items of music for this entire set of work, in order that’s one thing I’d prefer to discover sooner or later as nicely.

Do you are feeling such as you’ve mastered the craft by this level?

Oh no. And I hope that I by no means do grasp it, as a result of then I really feel such as you cease trying to find new issues, and also you’ve acquired your formulation. I feel I’ve mastered it in a method that I’ve acquired my strategies of blending issues that I’m snug with. Nonetheless, on the similar time, after I’m placing a canvas on the easel, I’ll nonetheless typically put out a random set of colours which have variations from the standard ones, and experiment. I do know the instruments and technically what sure brushes are good for, and sure issues will not be, however I nonetheless like to simply throw the rule ebook out the window and experiment and check out one thing completely different. Once I was rising up studying the drums, and I hear somebody like The Rev from Avenged Sevenfold, and I’m like, “He’s wonderful, I need to study to play like that.” However after some time, you settle for that’s not your type. My type was old-school AC/DC… You play to your strengths, and that’s what I attempt to do with portray.

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