I’m happy to introduce a new regular feature to the OC Art Blog, artist interviews. I’m also happy to introduce my friend from France, Amandine Nabarra Piomelli as our first subject. Amandine is now based in Irvine and consistently shows in our area and is now starting to show in LA and beyond. Enjoy:

1. Tell us about your work.

When I moved from Paris, France to California I found myself immersed in the west coast art world and it transformed my dreams. As a young man my father was a street photographer and we always had an enlarger set up in a closet turned in to a darkroom everywhere we lived. Photography has always been important in my life but it wasn’t until I learned digital photography that I became serious about my work. Photoshop allows for experimenting with the subject matter as well as with the printing supports and I have taken advantage of both: creating my own paper, blurring the border between painting and photography, and building structures with images. I have been working on two ongoing projects. The first one is called Imaginary Biology which deals with our perception of nature and the second project explores different aspects of narration through sequencing, installation and artists books.

2. What artists have influenced you and how?

Carvaggio is one of the few masters I keep in mind at all times. He had a passionate/rebellious heart and his work is amazingly spiritual. Also, Frederick Sommer’s inventive and surreal images remind me to keep searching for artistic possibilities.

For Imaginary Biology: Fauna I revisited Jean Simeon Chardin and I looked at the work of Michiko Kon and local artist Carlee Fernandez.

For my narrative work, Secret Love, I looked at a lot of impressionist art, book artists and I’m carrying out extensive research on the meaning of secrets in literature as well as in ordinary peoples lives.

Other artists who inspire me at the moment: Annette Messager, Doug and Mike Starn and Christine Nguyen for their use of paper and their experimentation with installations. Lately, I saw the exhibit of Luc Delahey at the Getty Museum and I have been struck by his "historical" large format photographs.

3. What inspires you to make work and how do you stay motivated in the studio?

Sometimes taking a picture allows the reunification of the self with the world. The experience of the moment adds intensity to the image. With digital photography there is an option to subtly manipulate the image to truly emphasize the intuition which guided the process. I am trying to make images that reflect the complexity of my intentions, which in turn define their own inherent world.

There is a kind of urgency when I realize a project…something like an instinctive energy coupled with an intellectual curiosity and when they both work together it feels like poetry. It is for these moments that I work so hard.

4. Give us your thoughts about the benefits and challenges of being an artist in Orange County?

There are a lot of great artists in Orange County. OC doesn’t have the appeal of LA or New York and it’s easier to network, be accepted and exhibit. There are institutions that strive to promote OC artists from museums to cultural centers to individual intuitive like The Office. Nonetheless it seems difficult to present experimental art and if we want to sell art we need to reach galleries and agents in big cities where the art market is more developed. To facilitate the transition, I became a member of the Los Angeles Art Association this year and enjoy the opportunity to meet curators, collectors and gallery owners and to sell work.

5. What shows/projects are up next for you?

I will expand my work on "Secret". I am fascinated by the fact everyone of us has secrets and how they shape our destiny. It will take the form of a pop up installation.

Traditional photo papers feel two dimensional and uniform so by hand coating them with different substances (albumen, gesso) they became more tactile and sculptural. It took me six months to make my own paper for Imaginary Biology: Fauna because I wanted the printing support to look like skin. Lately, I have been printing with Mac Holbert at Nash Editions and I came out of our meetings with more experimental ideas to try for the next series on artificial flowers in laboratory settings.

There are talks for a solo show in Los Angeles and an important meeting in France to find a date for an exhibition…It’s a exciting time!

Imaginary Biology Series

Secret Love Series