We had the good fortune of connecting with Carole JURY and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Carole, what are you inspired by?
Photography is the main source of my artistic inspiration. It is the visuals that I took who are at the heart of each of my series, of my works. These photographs may or may not be recent. Sometimes I go through my albums looking for a shot that I would have lost. They are, most frequently, part of those already destined to become a painting at their birth. I have been building these albums for at least twenty years, depending on walks, trips, situations or emotions. They are always there in memory and flourish when they are exposed. Photography was my first passion. From the film camera to digitizing images, I kept playing with the lights, the fades and the depths. It’s a self-taught game, of course, that has been refined over the years. I love this instrument which manages to reproduce, to transcribe, to memorize what my eye wants to continue to love. Being inspired by a photograph does not mean “reproducing it” or “painting it.” It’s an inspiring medium for which I will join my interpretation through painting. Interpretation gives itself great freedom, as if it were facing the image without ever developing a tangible and exact reproduction. The imagination operates an almost natural detachment and attaches itself to the exploitation of seeing two aspects of inspiring photography. This can translate into the work of movement, the field of colors, the textures… It is through this work of transcription that my series are born. As a result, within a series, several very different canvases emerge. Salavador Dali Said “Painting is the visible side of the iceberg of my thought.” Then, the works will stand out, give themselves fragility to obtain singularity. Put side by side, these singularities form a series. I like to scrutinize the inspiring photograph so that it transports me to the point where it becomes almost intoxicating, that it is sometimes impossible for me to work on another series at the same time. It is as if it penetrated into my tools, into my oils. The image becomes a story that I tell with my fingers, the material, the colors. A writer would take his pen to annotate, tell his emotion, here I take my tools and my tubes.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As we said in the US: “I am a born artist” even if I studied art in High School and during the first four years at university where I studied sociology. It was an optional university course but at the time it was a lot of fun and I studied main art movements and tried many techniques such as pastel, charcoal, acrylic.. and many artistic essays like collage, portrait… Before leaving Europe, I worked in the Chemical industry too as a communications manager. Photography and painting were only a hobby that I reserved for my private circle. Beyond studies, being an artist is a fact and it’s a part of your “interior”. My childhood was filled by a diversity of creation. My husband, who works in the chemical industry had an opportunity to be expatriated six years ago and we chose to start a new life in the United States. This new lifestyle completely impacted my vision of my life and I no longer wanted to project my professional career in the same way. I took this opportunity to manage my art and spend more time on my paintings. The first exhibition I did in Princeton,eight months after my arrival, convinced me to continue in this direction. Over time I met people who welcomed my art, I worked a lot on my technical approach to build my series, I developed my communication…It’s how it all started… Succeeding in changing my professional life is what I am most proud of today! It wasn’t simple but I did it!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yes, there are always someone or a group who support a success. In my private circle, my husband and my kids were always next to me. In my professional environment, my galleries (Gallery des Artistes in France, Azart Gallery in New York, Alessandro Berni Gallery in New York) and my sponsor Daler-Rowney are supporting me all along my artistic carrer.
Website: https://www.carolejury.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carole.jury/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/art.paintings.carole.jury?locale=fr_FR
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsEAMVqaln2OdJgaRTdVQPA?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Photo by @christophepouget