American artist Ian Monroe must consider himself very lucky. Only fifteen months after his Goldsmiths MA show, he is confidently making work that serious art collectors on both sides of the Atlantic want to buy. 'Canyons Recreated', the main piece he exhibited at the university showcase was snapped up by the Art World's very own tastemaker Charles Saatchi.Ian Monroe is one of the small group of young artists represented by London's Hammer Sidi gallery. His work depicts bold and dramatic landscapes that explore textures and perspective. There is also a humourous undercurrent as Seventies rock iconogaphy gets a look-in with speaker cabinets of all shapes of sizes.Now he has turned to the cold, stark corporate world for inspiration. Beautiful, but anonymous looking designed interiors are instantly recognisable to anyone who has worked in these environments or has seen films like Wall Street. The omission of people re-affirms the importance Monroe places on these fictional corridors of power. Here he looks back on this whirlwind period in his life.It was all from the MA Show at Goldsmiths. Typically, loads of galleries go to these things, which are held over the summer. They (galleries) all trawl around what is the new talent, so to speak. There were a few calls from other people and I arranged a studio visit. Lotta (Hammer) came by, saw my work and said, 'Well, I'm putting together a show in about month. If you can do something for it, that would be great.'"Like most artists fresh out of post-grad school and just embarking upon a career, 30-year-old Ian Monroe inhabits a low-rent east London studio in a ramshackle building of quite appalling squalor. Unlike the vast majority of his peers, however, within months of leaving Goldsmiths, Monroe has gained himself a name worth dropping in fashionaly discerning art circles - albeit a name he's now perversely anxious to ditch.Known for the purposes of his MA show as Matthew Ian Monroe, and bought by Charles Saatchi under that title, he's since dropped the superfluous first name and is henceforth known as plain Ian.
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