Nathan Ingram, AKA Dr Suits, is laying down paint in a big way. He caught up with Cityscape to talk murals, upcoming collaborations, and the ins and outs of running an urban gallery.

Congratulations on your massive mural at Akaroa Area School. Tell us about Polymorph. I had just finished painting at Graffiato: Taupo Street Art Festival when I had an email from Akaroa Area School enquiring about having some work installed in their junior area. After a few conversations with the school principal, Ross Dunn, we agreed that the best outcome would be to get as much colour in the space as possible.

The surface area for this project was 360 square meters, and was easily my largest project to date, so my approach to this project was to keep it simple and effective. I wanted to make it bold and bright, allowing the kids to engage with the different colours, lines and shapes in their own way, to make up their own games within the composition.

You’ve done a couple of awesome ground murals now. Is that something you want to do more of? Yeah, Polymorph was my third ground mural, I’ve also completed a piece titled Forces in New Brighton. This was painted on a basketball court near the pier. The project was led by SCAPE Public Art. There’s also another piece I installed in the red zone which was in collaboration with East x East and an organisation called Watch This Space.

And you’ve just had Flare, how was that? I’m happy to be spending time in the studio as well as on outdoor projects. I’m also really excited to have collaborated with moving image artist Sam Emerson from Offline Collective for the Flare Street Art Festival at 153 High St, alongside my wife’s art – Jen Heads. It is a must see in Christchurch.

Is it more fun to create big or small art? That’s a tough one, they are both fun. It’s really nice painting outside (if it’s nice weather). I like to have the option of either scale. I think the real value is simply in the satisfaction of the process leading to the finished result. Not to mention the reward when you see people engaging with the work.

Tell us a bit about your artistic style – what’s your look? My work has evolved with time. Currently I’m exploring abstraction. I’m interested in spontaneity, having fun with the process and seeing where it leads you. To describe what that looks like at the moment, you’ll see geometric shapes, gestural mark making, and paired back compositions.

Who or what are your artistic influences? I can find inspiration anywhere I look, for example, in a colour combination of a pair of shoes or a shape a shadow makes on the side of a building, or the way the concrete has been cut and repaired. Bouncing back and forth between the studio and the street certainly helps push my ideas into new places. For example, the shadows created by working on glass in my studio practice appeared in my piece for the Graffiato festival.

I have a lot of visual influences and I am grateful that through Fiksate Gallery, a business I started with my wife Jenna, I have been fortunate enough to meet most of my favourite artists.

I have always admired Askew One’s work. I saw him paint when I was about 20 years old and have been following him since. I have purchased several of his works over the years and loved working with him and his wife Jasmine when we held their show Continuum at Fiksate Gallery. Askew in my opinion is probably one of the most innovative and progressive urban contemporary artists in the world.

Robert Seikon; again, an artist I had the honour of meeting in 2020 when we hosted his show with him and his partner Anastasia Papaleonida at Fiksate Gallery. Robert’s work has played a huge role in my exploration into geometric abstraction. Robert is the master of proportion, and his compositions are so well refined.

Jason ‘Revok’ Williams, another urban contemporary artist at the top of his game; what I like about Jason’s work is how he combines flat colour and gestural line and texture within his work. He is also very experimental and explores playful ways to produce captivating pieces.

Pener is the master of capturing light and shadow through his abstract futurist compositions. He has such a refined, signature style that nobody can replicate. The way Pener uses colour is like geometric rays of light creating immense depth on the canvas.

I also take a lot of inspiration from my 4-year-old son Frank who teaches me to be spontaneous and let go, to be in the moment and work in unpredictable ways.

Does your fashion background play a big part in your urban art? Absolutely, my style has a design focus and is heavily reliant on core design elements of line, shape, colour and texture. Although a lot of my work is site-specific, I think of it more as surface design, which could easily be applied to a range of forms.

What’s your favourite thing about running Fiksate Gallery? The people! I love connecting with artists and educating the public about their work, I love providing a platform for them to showcase their work and I love providing a space for our customers to engage with what we believe to be some of the best art around, not just around Christchurch or New Zealand, but some of the best art from around the globe. Growing the brand alongside my amazing wife Jen has easily been one of the most fulfilling achievements in my life.

How does it work balancing the gallery work with your own art projects? I make sure I’m using my time wisely and drink lots of coffee.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you want to be? A dolphin.

What’s your favourite guilty pleasure? Cheese! Our wedding cake was a stack of cheese wheels.

What would you like to see happen in Christchurch urban art? Although I love all of the murals around our city, I would love to see more abstract murals around.

Have you got any exciting projects coming up? I’ve always got something on the go. I have a group show at Ora Gallery in Wellington on the 25th of March. I also have a mural booked in for the new Prebbleton Village shopping complex in April. I’ll be painting alongside Joel Hart and Chimp. Then back to Wellington for Queen’s Birthday weekend for the NZ Art Show.

You’ve got friends coming from out of town. Where do you go and what would you do to show off the city in:

two hours: Show them around Fiksate Gallery and then out for a coffee at Black Betty Café.

a half-day: Visit the Christchurch Art Gallery then lunch at Bunsen café, finish up with a look around in the Arts Centre.

24 hours: A look through Fiksate Gallery, then a street art tour with Watch This Space followed by a late lunch at Bunsen. A bit of shopping at Infinite Definite and then settle in for the night at Flux Bar.

Where do you go to:

wine and dine with friends: MoriMori Japanese restaurant in Sydenham.

morning coffee: Black Betty Café.

blow off some steam: Make some art in the studio.

shop up a storm: Infinite Definite.

get away from it all: Go for a drive around the peninsula with the whānau.

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