“There are so many emotional stages, In my creative process I never know what will happen.”
Name
Juliette Lemontey
Profession
Painter
Website
Who are you? What do you do?
I am a painter who work around the representation of the human figure. Although I work from photographs with a figurative approach, only fragments are visible in my paintings, showing a few details of what remains of an impression I had, a memory I keep of what I have seen. I create work open to interpretation in order to provoke a dialogue with the viewer.
Where are you from?
I’ve been living in Paris for 8 years, before that I used to live in a city surrounded by mountains.
Your style in 3 words?
Reserved, humble, timeless
Your weakness? Your strength?
Lack of self-confidence, Perseverant, obstinate
What makes you different?
I work mainly with materials that are not intended for artistic use: antique linen sheets, walnut stain. I can’t go back on what I already painted on the canvas, I don’t use gesso. If the painting seems to be a failure, I work on the reverse side of the canvas, taking into a account what is seen through it, and if it still doesn’t suit me, I cut out parts that I think are interesting to paste them, one day, on future pieces.
When did you decide to become an artist?
Being an artist seemed to be a status too ambitious project to claim it, so I tried to do things little by little and see what happen.
What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?
There are so many emotional stages, In my creative process I never know what will happen.
A few words about your favourite creation?
It was my first painting on a very large piece of antique canvas , I was working directly on it, not using white as a primer. I knew that this technique would not give a chance to mistakes. If I missed it, I couldn’t go back to it.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…
Pierre Bonnard, Marlène Dumas, Mamma Anderson, Pierre Lesueur, Auguste Rodin’s drawings, Alice Neel, Chantal Joffe…
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
There are a lot of people I’d like to work with, from different professional backgrounds, because each encounter can lead to new projects, new ways of thinking about my work. At the moment, I would like to work in collaboration with interior designers to reflect about my work in relation to a specific space
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
I recently had the opportunity to organize with a few friends who are also artists, a collective exhibition of our works in a space not dedicated to art. It was a real pleasure, as I already do in my work, to use existing elements, real stories to make things resonate with each other. I would like to make a proposal for a collective exhibition, mixing visual arts, sound, philosophy, in a place I recently came across.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
My creativity itself
2020: Where are we going?
I hope I’ll go back to south Caucasus and California with projects I have in mind.
When the going gets tough…
I Ride my bike in Paris or chat with artist friends , go see how others have solved the problem I’m encountering.
Your city’s favourite spots?
My studio
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
I prefer not to think about the future.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
Is the universe really everything?
Tell us about your future plans…
I’m going to take part in a charity auction to be held in April with Artcurial; one of my portraits will contribute to a book created in honor of Jean-Marie Le Clézio’s. I’m preparing two exhibitions in France, one in the summer and the other in the fall
Your city’s favourite spots?
For food in 9th, where I live and work: Restaurant “Le Pantruche“, Peco Peco, Ito Izakaya. Otherwise, throughout Paris: MACVAL, flea markets, Museum of Quai Branly, Buttes Chaumont’s park…
Last but not least: what is your favourite Song?
I don’t have any favorite songs, I listen to music all day long in random mode and I’m always discovering new songs that carry me away. Right now „What’s not mine“ by Cate Le Bon and „Bassackwards“ by Kurt Vile
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Woodcut Art
Your #…?
