An Interview with Pearl Lam and Maggi Hambling
In episode twelve of The Pearl Lam Podcast, gallerist Pearl Lam sits down with celebrated British artist, Maggi Hambling. Louisa Buck, an esteemed arts journalist, also joins the conversation and gives her two cents on the art world.
Pearl Lam (林明珠), Maggi Hambling and Louisa Buck recently sat down in Maggi Hambling’s iconic London studio to film the latest episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast. During this episode, Maggi Hambling reveals to Pearl Lam and Louisa Buck why the subject of the night sky has been such a constant and enigmatic influence over her artistic career.
Aged 14, Maggi Hambling attempted to paint the night sky and received some advice from her teacher that has stuck with her for decades: “you are your own best critic”. Maggi Hambling has recreated these paintings nearly 60 years later for her exhibition at Pearl Lam Galleries, Maggi Hambling: The Night.
“The subject of my exhibition, the night, is one I have returned to throughout my career. Night inhabits a mysterious territory where beauty, fear, desire and dream combine and invite us in,” Maggi Hambling explains to Pearl Lam (林明珠) and Louisa Buck during the Pearl Lam Podcast episode.
The night is an intimate and mysterious subject for Maggi Hambling, who recalls “when I came top in the art exam when I was 14, I remember staying up until 2am trying to paint the night sky out of my bedroom window. When I took them into school the next day and laid them out on the table, the other girls were just laughing at them.”
Maggi hambling continued, telling Pearl Lam (林明珠) and Louisa Buck that “the art teacher, Yvonne Drewry, who was a proper practicing artist, came int the room and asked me what the matter was. I was in the corner at the point of tears.”
Maggi’s teacher told her that “it must be water off a duck’s back, what anyone ever says about your work you must take no notice. You are your own best critic.”
This is certainly advice which Maggi has followed over the years, as she tells Pearl Lam and Louisa Buck that she pays no heed when critics have sparked debate by calling past artworks controversial.
Maggi Hambling has clearly been drawn to nature through her life, as she tells Pearl Lam that “I remember as a child, walking into the sea and talking to the sea as if it was my friend. And now, I try and listen to the sea.”
During this episode, Pearl Lam learns that Maggi Hambling has been inspired by the most illicit, beautiful and mysterious forms of nature, the night and the sea. Art lovers worldwide can unite in their appreciation for Maggi Hambling’s work and jointly wonder what will come next.
Written by: The Producer, The Pearl Lam Podcast
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