Jess Valice

How did you get into making art?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I had a very creative father who encouraged me to express my artistic nature.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on several projects including paintings for fairs, (Frieze London, Art Basel Paris, Art Basel Miami), as well as a new series exploring a person’s gradual metamorphosis– from states of hysteria and disorientation to a quiet arrival of acceptance and clarity

What inspired you to get started on this body of work?

I was drawn to create this series from a desire to explore the nonlinear nature of emotional healing. Not everyone moves through confusion or hysteria the same way–some remain there longer than others, some emerge quickly, and some never fully come out at all. Often, there’s an eventual arrival at acceptance, though the form it takes varies. For some, including myself, the landing shows itself, in its greatest form, in a quiet peace. For others, it’s a surrender rooted in nihilism (been there as well..). This work attempts to hold space for those different trajectories. Continuing to engage my interest in neuroscience–more specifically, biopsychology–I hope to open dialogue with the viewer, inviting them to connect their own experiences, or to those of others who have found themselves lost, dazed, and ultimately, you know, confused.

Do you work on distinct projects or do you take a broader approach to your practice?

I do not believe I have a singular focus in my work. I kind of just do what I want to do. If a larger theme emergrs in a project, it’s usually because something has captured my focus. What you see is less about a fixed concept and more a lens into the ongoing conversations I have with myself in an effort to better understand life– as we, or maybe just I, “think” we know it.

What’s a typical day like in your studio?

First, I get myself and my dog, Joey, situated, and send some e-mails, call my aunt, some friends, make a little to-do-list, etc. Then I guess chaos ensues. I have a mountain of paint on top of a mountain of old paint to navigate through, so that I can apply paint to another old mountain of paint on a palate and begin working. There’s a lot of squatting, staring and thinking going on. I sing sometimes.

Who are your favorite artists?

That’s a hard question! To name a few, Soutine, Caravaggio, Richter, Bacon, Freud, Turrell, Eggleston, and Cecily Brown.
Those artists’ inspire my work majorly, but there are some that create work much differently than I, yet I am very moved by their art. Most of those artists are primarily abstract or conceptual (I.e. Sol LeWitt, Diebenkorn).
Again, thats a hard question !

Where do you go to discover new artists?

Books, mostly. Otherwise through word of mouth and/or collections of friends of mine.