Art Blog #120

The Connor Contemporary Art Gallery's Q&A with Alexandra Gallagher

'To bring you even closer to the creative minds behind the art, we’ve launched a brand-new Q&A series featuring conversations with our showcased artists. Through these candid sessions, we uncover their journeys as individuals and creators—exploring their unique processes and sources of inspiration.

Read on for their thoughtful responses to a series of curated questions. Our thanks go out to each artist for sharing their time and insights so openly with us.'

Today Alexandra Gallagher answers our questions giving insights into her art inspirations and work ethic, here is the interview, enjoy!

a) When did you first realise that you wanted to become an artist?

'It is a cliché answer, but I’ve always wanted to be an artist. For as long as I can remember I have said I’m going to be an artist… there was a brief moment I wanted to be a pop star when I was five and also wanted to do musical theatre - but I can’t sing… or dance! But being an artist has always been a thing.'

b) Is there a piece of art or an artist that changed your life? If so, what/who was it, and how did your life change?

Oh blimey, that’s really tough! Inspiration wise I’d have to say Jenny Saville. I was introduced to her work when I was at collage. The way she uses the medium to create her pieces and I absolutely love the boldness of her work too. I found that so inspiring!

For me personally as an artist there have been so many people that have influenced, guided me, introduced me to new things. My tutor and artist Richard Cross. Artist Victoria  Horkan when I first started out, bought a piece of my work and gave me so much advice and guidance - bit like an art god mother (we have joked about that) and then there’s artist Hayley Walsh who introduced me to street art and helped me do my first street art piece, which then opened up a new way of working for me… there have been so many though, that have shared, supported, collaborated… everyone I come across I learn something, or they have influence in some way. I love that about the art community.

c) How do you choose your subjects? ​

The subjects within the artwork? Feeling, it’s all in the feeling I get from them. Whether it’s just a found image, a reference photo, or the person themselves that I know or get to know. It’s just a vibe and intuition. 

For the overall subject matter - again it’s really organic. I use the surrealist form of collage to create the sketch and very much work from the subconscious. A story forms as I’m working. Or I have a narrative in mind. A story I’d like to tell or a subject and I research for symbolic references and stories  from different cultures, faiths, history, mythology etc to work into a piece. I usually do this through the symbology of birds, animals, colours, insects, flowers, fauna etc

d) What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a life in art?

Go for it! But you have to be persistent and probably have a hint of insanity - you’ve got to have a certain level of delusion and faith in yourself, because you will get rejected a lot. You’ll meet criticism of your work, not everyone is going to like it, but art is subjective - Not everyone is meant to like it. You have to work hard, you have to practice, you have to also be patient. You need to be passionate about what you do, it’s part of who you are and you need to never stop learning… also don’t believe there’s a right way or a wrong way to do things. When I first started out, I thought you had to do things a certain way to get “into” the art world. To be represented. Like going to preview shows, going to the galleries, making connections, be in London. This wasn’t available to me. I had two children to look after - so I was cheeky and just started emailing galleries. I was really lucky these galleries took a chance on me. Also keep entering open calls and prizes too… but most of all you just have to do what feels right for you and if you meet a hurdle try to find a way around it… and don’t be a pretentious. Nobody actually likes that.  

e) Could you describe your process and how producing art makes you feel?

'As I mentioned before I use collage to create a sketch. I used to sketch traditionally, but it didn’t keep up with my brain. I then found collage - accidentally, as my youngest daughter kept painting over my work (helping) I had to turn to a different way of creating and it was kind of an Erika moment. I found that it kept up with my brain and stopped me overworking something - it kept things more visceral and organic.' 

Once I have a sketch I use that as either the base of an oil painting, or I work into it more to become a mix media piece or a collage. I really love to work in different mediums, so it just depends on the project and what I’m trying to achieve. 

Making art is to me like breathing. It’s who I am. I’m absolutely and wholly obsessed. I love looking at art, learning about it, creating it. I’m someone who constantly needs to create… I’m an a pain to live with if I can’t. It’s how I express myself and communicate… it really is just who I am… that really is cliché isn’t it. Honestly though I’ve had periods in my life where I have not been able to, and I just get very depressed. 

f) Where do you see your art in 10 years?

'Still creating. I hope to do this till the day I die. I want to be the eccentric old lady with blue eye shadow up to her eyebrows still painting away. 

But in ten years I hope to be celebrating a new body of work. I’ve just spent the past 10 years creating the work I do. It started as a series called birds with birds and just kept going. This year I want to take things in a slightly new direction. I want to go back to painting more and loosen things up. I’ve matured and got older. I’m in a new part of my life and I’ve learnt so much. I want my new work to reflect that.'

g) What question would you want to be asked in an interview about your art?

'Off the top of my head I have no idea to be honest… I think the best questions I got were from a class I did via zoom for the University of Beirut in Lebanon. It was a feminist class and they had been analysing my work. The questions they asked and how they talked about my work was so refreshing - it was like they totally got it. Like they had peeked into my brain as I was creating it. I think that class will always stay with me. I felt so privileged to be part of the discussion and to be invited to chat to the students … I also wanted to join every class after that - it was so much fun.' 

The Connor Contemporary would like to thank Alexandra for taking the time to complete this Q&A, especially as she is currently immersed in her art practice and actively exploring new ways to connect audiences with contemporary art.

I’m excited to continue sharing the evolution of her work with you throughout 2026.

www.alexandragallagherart.com and www.connorcontemporary.com