Art & Artists
TC - Some of your pieces remind me of Japanese Anime background cityscapes, is this one of your
influences? And if so what is it about the Japanese aesthetic that inspires you?
LB
Ha! That’s exactly what I was saying earlier. Yes, Japanese animation, graphics and overall aesthetics are a huge influence. But
it’s really hard for me to pinpoint “why”. I really think it’s partly from how I grew up. My father works in animation. I grew
up reading comics and graphic novels (they are huge in France, and really considered a respectful art form), and watching
Japanese anime that my dad would bring home. I think my dad and my uncle (they are twins) were a major influence too.
Especially my uncle’s paintings, which are these incredible desolate imaginary landscapes.
TC - I’ve looked back at some of your early pieces on your
website and I have noticed in these amazing landscape you
create that they are void of people and I was curious if there
was a purposeful reason behind that choice?
LB
My pieces never have any people in it… yet I think you could imagine
life through my landscapes. I think it’s mostly about the mood, and
concentrating on the beauty of the buildings. I also want to give the
viewer the freedom of imagining a story of his own. I used to have girls
in my early paintings. But I thought it became too… I don’t know…
commercial I guess. It looked too much like a movie poster or a fashion
ad. People liked it. But it wasn’t what I was trying to share with the
viewer. I felt like I was selling out for what was popular.
TC - You have done group shows and you’ve had work
shown in Baltimore and in D.C. but this recent show
‘Adrift’ is your first major solo show - was it more
pressure being just you? And how did you feel overall
about the shows reception?
LB
It was really exciting to have my first solo show at Thinkspace. It
was a dream of mine for years. So you can imagine how excited I
was. It was definitely a lot of pressure. Especially making sure I had
enough work in time to fill that huge room. Its’ also hard sometimes
to stay creative and innovative with your pieces. But once the show
was up, it felt so great. Seeing all my babies together in that room.
Wow. It’s very rewarding. All these months of hard work coming
together. Then talking to all the people who came through was
amazing. Hearing how they felt about the work and how it touched
them. Art can be really tough but also really rewarding.
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THE CONE - ISSUE #1 - SPRING 2014
Copyright - Liz Brizzi