AGGRESSIVE. Vulgar, harsh, obnoxious, rebellious are words that come to mind to describe his personality. But these are the benign characteristics of a real artist. His suggestive strokes of somber colours smutching over each other and disrupting the narrative of their becoming will leave you with a great feeling of ambivalence. This is the feeling and rush you get at the first encounter with the art of LINCOLN TOWNLEY a British international contemporary artist. Rejected more than 93 times, battled addiction, but rose from the ashes of his brokenness to become one of the most formidable artist of our time. His work has risen in value by 800% in 5 years and has been exhibited in many private financial institutions across the world. He would be talking about his life and evolution in this exclusive interview with Hillary Uzomba.
Please tell us your name and about yourself?
I am Lincoln Townley an international contemporary artist. My work is totally inspired by what powerful people go through to be successful and what it takes to sustain this stature.
You have become a source of inspiration to many people by your resilience. Tell us how you managed to overcome your addictions and become one of the biggest names in contemporary art today?
My commitment to my work is second to none. I’ve lived my life on the edge and this reflects in my art, I’m interested in people that take risks and push the boundaries. The people who buy into my work strive to achieve glory in whatever they do, life is hard and becoming harder so only the tough survive and prosper. I’ve been down the road on excessive drug use and drinking and it took me nowhere but doom, I’ve now been sober for nearly 7 years and I’m extremely happily married to the most incredible woman on earth.
What statement are you making with your art or what contemporary issues are you solving or trying to solve?
My mission statement is as follows. Work hard, connect with buyers, look after your collectors, stay focused on sales and marketing and get on social media every single day. Tell people what you are doing and do not rely on galleries to sell and represent you! Become an artist in sales, step up and smash every opportunity head on! My goal is to get to the top of this so called “art world” but I’ve found out to do this I need to recreate the way collectors buy art and I’m on track to blow this whole art market wide open using digital platforms and digital currency. The future is online not in stuffy galleries with narrow minded art agents ruling the lives of artists. Artists need to take control, open up their imagination in the way they sell and promote, look outside the box. Embrace change and stop relying on gallery owners who sit on their hands and cause more trouble to an artists’ career than enhancing it! That world of bricks and mortar gallery space is slowly disappearing, the heart of the digital age is beginning to beat faster and I’m the adrenaline in the veins!
How can you describe your art? I see a bit of Gerald Richter, Andy Warhol and Basquiat all combined in one you. How did you discover your style?
My style of art is about the way I see life. I’ve been compared to Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol, two very different artists with unique but complete opposite styles. All artists will be compared in one way or another to artists past and present but I feel now I’m entering my own style completely, not only in the way I produce my collections but how I sell them! Money is important to me and should be Important to all artists across the world. You may see Bacon in my work but I have a commercial brain like Warhol. What can you do with nothing? Yes nothing! All this nonsense at art school and colleges telling students don’t think about the art! NONSENSE…absurd nonsense.
Generally speaking what inspires you?
My inspiration to create comes from within my desire to succeed. I’m hungry to be the best and every day I get closer and believe me I have no doubt I’ll be at the top and by embracing the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency it most definitely won’t be long!
You are one of the very first to start selling your works in cryptocurrencies, what can you tell us about that and how it can help the art world?
I’m interested in money and if that money comes to me in the form of Cryptocurrency then bring it on. Cryptocurrency in one way or another is the future, I’m all over it, so much so I’m looking into creating my own coin with a group of incredible open minded powerful people so watch this space!.
I am the first artist in the world to sell a whole collection titled “Crypto Collection” for Bitcoin. I managed it because I found a way of connecting with this community online using my own initiative and no help from art agents or galleries. Don’t take this the wrong way I have galleries working with me and I respect the art agents I’m working with but good ones are hard to find but they are out there, but don’t be exclusive to anyone, grow your position and expand. You cannot have all your eggs in one basket it’s insane! I’m developing my PR and marketing into the crypto community and I’m attending seminars globally to get reach, these speculators who buy into and even launch cryptocurrencies are risk takers and motivated by wealth! They are my kind of people, visionaries! Now that’s a community I want to be part of…
How do you see the visual art and cryptocurrencies in the future?
Cryptocurrency and art have a synergy. They are both continually fluctuating and if you find a great currency or a great artist there’s a chance to enter extreme wealth, how exciting this is and what a great time to be alive. Life is for living and when living it’s very important to be positive and adventurous and that’s why art and Cryptocurrency go hand in hand, show me the exciting raid to take any day, mundane life has no role in my mindset.
Tell us briefly about the 93 rejections?
When I started out trying to sell my work through galleries they all said no. No was a recurring word around 93 of them to be exact, this was the best thing that could that happen to me but I didn’t see it like that at the time! I had to think on my feet and diversify and make my own moves to sell work and make money. I started approaching hotels and restaurants and before long I started to show with The Hilton hotel in Manchester and before long I was in 5 Hilton hotels across the country and this created a market for my art to sell. Slowly I started doing private shows by hiring spaces in London my show was at the Riflemaker gallery in London’s Soho it was a sell out and that propelled me to start looking at hiring venues and doing my own shows back in 2013, I found that connecting with local journalists was a great way to get my show covered but I had to keep sending emails to them daily to get their attention, the point is whether it’s a collector or a journalist it’s all the same you need to keep trying to connect, the fact is you have to go out of your way to do things unsuccessful people are unwilling to do. Now just about every gallery would have my work and I’m talking about around the world, I’m getting requests weekly but now I’m the one saying no!
Can you tell us more about your clients and collectors?
My work is collected by some of the most famous and powerful people in the world. It’s all out there online to be read about but nowadays I keep my collectors “out of my press” it’s only fair but the one thing I will say is they all share the same one thing, they all push boundaries in their field. I’m very lucky to have such a following and I believe anyone can achieve it they just have to keep going!
I’m an artist too. I know how the art world can be, but you managed to beat the odds and accomplish so much for yourself? What’s your advice to all creative people especially young artists?
My advice to other artists is simple: KEEP GOING! That’s number 1. And when you do “keep going” make sure you’re heading in the right direction, if things get tough and you don’t have money you need to get up shake yourself down and connect to find more buyers. Find new avenues to “show off” your work, think outside the box, listen to positive people avoid the negative patterns out there. Go and knock on doors and find new ways to show off your work. Contact hotels, nice restaurants anywhere which has footfall of people with money! That’s how I started 6 years ago, I got out there and smashed every door down I could, I got continuously told NO we don’t want your art here, so what did I do? I kept going and going and going and now 6 years on I’m showing in the biggest art shows on earth! And my art can be bought in fiat currency or Cryptocurrency. I’m smashing it up and nothing can stop me. So take a deep breath and get out there and promote yourself until someone says YES!!!!
