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‘My old label said I was more annoying than lucrative’: painter-musician Issy Wood on her singular, insular world
The British-American artist has turned down gallery mogul Larry Gagosian, walked away from a deal with Mark Ronson – and earned a big fanbase for her uncanny, intimate work
Her figurative paintings – snapshots of everyday objects rendered in strange, claustrophobic pastels – have been shown across the world, even attracting the attention of mega art dealer Larry Gagosian, whom she turned down. The music path wasn’t planned: after a breakup with a boyfriend in 2018 opened up “quite a frightening expanse of time” in her schedule, she decided to put the amateur guitar skills from her teenage years in bands to use. It’s an approach she upholds on Accidental American: a forthright meditation on jealousy, revenge and her unhealthy relationship with both work and men, delivered through catchy hooks and woozy production that recalls Micachu and the Shapes or Okay Kaya.
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