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an INTERVIEW with painter Joseph Pendergast
-by himself
During the summer heatwave of 2018, I asked myself a few questions about my recent work and inspirations. How do your recent paintings compare to your previous work, from
your exhibition from three years ago? I am
still working with a botanical theme, to create a type of picture
oasis. Before, leaves were the main subject, now its wildflowers. They are somewhat abstracted, so the specific
type of flower is not always evident or even important. It is mainly a
repeating shape, and botanical feeling that dominates. They
are ultimately all about exploring painting. There are figures and faces in some of the paintings. These are sometimes me and sometimes no one specific. I have drawn figures in my sketchbooks for a long time, but not in paintings. Some of the works remain without figures and are about color and pattern.
You previously created your paintings with stencils, that you made yourself. Why did
you stop using them? It was time for a change. I no
longer enjoyed making stencils, or painting with them. The work became too
much about perfection and control. I wanted to move more freely with the
paintbrush. I am still very attracted to print-like textures that happen by
mashing surfaces together and pulling them apart, like mono-printing. There are already so many paintings of flowers in the world. Why are you painting them? and do you have an urge to paint other things?
Emil Nolde’s paintings
of wildflowers, especially Poppies are very well known. Are his works an
influence? They
were not a direct influence,
initially anyway, but I find Nolde’s paintings undeniably wonderful
and I love looking at his work more and more. He is like a Poppy
painter godfather
of flower painting. I have also been influenced by other big artists
like
Matisse, and Chagall, and many others. Lately, I have been looking at
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s work too. I love his colors and the angular
shapes of his figures. I love learning about painting from history,
but I also want to have a dialogue with painting that is happening now. Your studio is in the
attic of your home. How does this affect your work?
How do you like living in France as an artist compared to living in the United States? I left the U.S. in 2000, so it feels
too long ago to compare. I love France and am happy to call it home now,
after having lived in Switzerland, and Brazil. I live in a small village in the
Rhone Alps region, bordering Switzerland. I tend to stay close to home, helping
care for our two sons, age 10 and 12 now. Geneva is the closest city, about 30
minutes away. You’ve written that
your overall wish is for your work to be “calming and rejuvenating”. So why do
some of your paintings have super bright colors? I love intense color sometimes, in
certain places, when it makes a high contrast like a silhouette. I find bright
color can even be calming sometimes too, somehow. Color can be very surprising,
and for me it is one of the most powerful ingredients in a good painting. Lastly, what else do you think makes a good painting? Strong
color and bold lines are important. But more than that it's the certain
feeling of a painting, more than technical skill. Indescribable
feelings become visible, and ideally transport both the painter, and
the viewer to another place, to an oasis.
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