Luke Edward Hall Talks Style, Inspiration & More
The work I create is primarily ‘Romantic’ in nature. Optimistic, playful and full of colour, my style is inspired by a variety of things, but more often than not it’s the countryside, mythology and music. I enjoy mixing these inspirations and looking to the past, but I’m always aiming to create work that feels contemporary and full of life.
I don’t know if I have a specific ‘taste’. But I’ve been making very colourful work and mixing lots of different styles since I was a teenager. When I look back at the work I made then, there are surprising similarities to the things I do now. There is a DIY-cut-and-paste quality to it that I still see running through the pieces I make today.
I’ve been drawing and making things since childhood. I really can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. My art teachers at school made a huge impression on me. They were extremely encouraging, as were my parents and grandparents, so I suppose they’ve all shaped my career too.
I’m inspired by many artists and designers from the past. But most recently I’ve been inspired by two new albums: Sylvan Chute by Orbury Common and Later That Day, The Day Before, Or The Day Before That by Casey MQ.
I always knew I wanted to be an artist or designer of some sort. I went to art school at Central Saint Martins and studied menswear fashion design. When I graduated, I worked for an architectural and interior designer, then set up my own studio in 2015. Since then, I’ve worked on a broad range of projects.
I wouldn’t call myself a serious collector – but I do like old and rare books on photography and folklore, as well as ceramics and porcelain, minerals and fossils, and art made by fellow queer artists. I recently acquired an 18th-century tulip vase modelled as a shepherd with a flock of sheep. It’s mad and I love it.
Cecil Beaton’s books have always been important to me – his 1937 Scrapbook and his diaries in particular. Next on my reading list is To the River by Olivia Laing, an odyssey along the banks of the River Ouse, in which Virginia Woolf drowned in 1941. I like going to Treadwell’s in Bloomsbury to find books on magic and folklore.
I love the theatre, but I don’t go enough. I often find inspiration in film sets and costume design. Recently, Shona Heath’s sets for Poor Things left a big impression on me.
I love listening to Patrick Wolf. I’ve loved him since I first heard him when I was 15 or 16 and I’ve listened to him ever since. He’s known for combining electronic sampling with classical instruments, and his music is unlike anything else. It’s utterly beautiful: haunting, atmospheric, deeply complex and affecting. When I’m working, I play a mix of things: Celtic, electronic, ambient, classical...
Italy is always inspiring. It’s the perfect combination of beautiful architecture and landscapes, history, art and, of course, food.
I love to cook. My husband (the designer Duncan Campbell) and I try to cook with seasonal ingredients at home, which we buy from local farm shops. We try our best to grow our own vegetables. We have a few signature dishes – in the summer we love to stuff courgette flowers from the garden with ricotta and anchovies, then deep fry them.
There are so many fellow creators I enjoy following – a couple that spring to mind are Ash in New York and Milan’s Studio Peregalli.
Whenever someone asks me what my favourite piece in my home is, it always seems to be the last piece I’ve bought. So right now, it’s an 18th-century Swedish painted side table that I picked up at auction. It’s very handsome and will end up in our new house in Cornwall.
I’m not good at the 9am-5pm thing. I often work late and on weekends, but the beauty of working alone is that I can work from anywhere. I’m not bad at taking time to recharge and do other things that I enjoy, like violin practice (I’m a beginner!), cooking and gardening. It seems sort of fashionable to be always ‘busy’, but balance for me is incredibly important.
If my house was burning down, apart from the dogs, I’d save some of my favourite artwork. I’m thinking of my drawings by Cecil Beaton, Keith Vaughan and a wondrous one by Larry Stanton. I’d be sad to see those go up in flames.
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