Artist Interview: Justin Gruneberg
February 22nd, 2010Justin Gruneberg is a painter who studied at Penn State University. His paintings are at once esoteric yet open; as if we are given a clue held within each image but not the final solution to the mystery. Find out what inspires him to create as well as the motivation behind his work as we gain insight into the artwork of College Art Online’s featured artist, Justin Gruneberg.
Artworks can be found at: http:///www.collegeartonline.com/artists/jmgrune
Please also view Nicole Wrona’s curated exhibition for Justin Gruneberg at: http://www.collegeartonline.com/exhibitions/OverTheHills
The Dream
Describe your artistic process.
I try and keep it as simple as possible. I’ll find something that I want to play around with and then sketch out some compositions either on paper or in Photoshop. When I say “something”, I’m talking about an idea I’ve been thinking of, or something interesting that I stumbled across on the internet, in a book, in a movie, etc. After I’ve identified a subject, I usually look around for a photograph or two that I can use as a foundation for the painting.
Before, I used to just go straight from the preliminary sketch to blocking in elements of the composition onto the canvas in paint. Lately, since I’ve started to use areas of solid color, I’ve been sketching an outline onto the canvas in pencil. I’ve also been working from black and white printouts of the photos. My color printer broke and I was forced to go to black and white. It’s actually kind of nice because I don’t get caught up in trying to get each and every color exact.
From there it’s all trial and error. I might add a new figure into the scene, wipe out things that aren’t working, switch colors, anything to get the picture to a point where I’m satisfied with how it all comes together.
Invicta
What is your motivation as an artist?
I want to give people a beautiful picture. And within that picture I want them to find something that they can get a feeling from, an emotional response. If they can find that, no matter if they agree with the subject matter, then I feel like the picture is a success.
I want to take people on a journey with no specific destination in mind. Maybe it’s a journey that is contained within a single canvas, or maybe it’s a journey that takes place over a series of canvases. I want the viewer to feel like they’ve gained something from taking the time to look at a painting, that maybe it’s moved them, and their being, in a certain direction.
Fun Times in Our Modern Society
How does your work compare to art movements of the past?
“Right now I am a cubist; tomorrow I may be an expressionist. I let the canvas tell me what artistic movement it wants me to provide. Sometimes, I change from hour to hour and sometimes it can become very confusing.” -Joel Solkoff. That’s pretty much how I feel, each day and from piece to piece it changes.
How do you break away from tradition?
I like the tradition of eating breakfast and taking a shower. I’ve studied the movements and I know some art history (art school is good for that), but when I set out to make a work I don’t consciously make an effort to have it fall into a certain box. I may reference a certain period of art in my work, but I don’t want the whole piece to fit nicely into a specific category. I usually try to forget what I’ve learned and do whatever I need to do to get the picture to where it feels right.
Earth
What inspires you to create?
Just living in the world for a day, walking, talking, listening, breathing, your senses come into contact with so many stimuli, and they all leave a mark on your consciousness. Just grab ahold of one of those, look a little deeper, and go wild.
Friends, music, books, tea, Debussy, Radiohead, tennis, the sun, hatha yoga, animals, the woods, movies, Buddhism, Christ…..
Is there a particular genre of art you identify with or look to for inspiration?
I focus a lot on contemporary painting. Every now and then I come across some contemporary sculptors or installation artists that blow my mind, but the artists that I check for regularly are all painters. Peter Doig, Neo Rauch, Julie Mehretu, Liu Xiaodong. Outside of the contemporary world I’m always looking at Rothko, Bacon, and J.M.W. Turner.
Miscalculation
How do your thoughts and emotions manifest themselves within your work?
I try to let the act of painting take as natural a course as is possible. So while I’m doing it I try not to over think it or let me emotions sway me to one extreme or the other, e.g. deciding that I’m done painting forever and burning all my canvases or thinking that I’ve made the greatest painting since Vermeer’s The Milkmaid.
But before I start painting, the conceptualizing is most definitely influenced by my thoughts and emotions at the time. If I was just watching Charlie Rose the night before, and one of his guests, maybe a reporter, is vividly describing a situation that really impacts me emotionally, I might let that kick around in my brain for awhile and then some of those elements might make their way onto a canvas.
Desires: Two
How do your surroundings influence your art?
If you’ve ever been to State College you know that once you get about 3 miles outside of campus (Penn State University) in any direction you’re going to be surrounded by farm fields, woods, and mountains. A lot of the work I make deals with landscapes in some way. So I think that having been brought up in an area where I’m surrounded by nature you see some of that get referenced in my work. When I look out the window of my studio (which is also my bedroom, send me money!!) I see a chicken coop, a field, some woods, and high-pressure sodium vapor lights twinkling a few miles in the distance. It’s good for you psychologically too. All the open spaces, clean air, safe streets, all of that “breathability” let’s you put more energy into your work.
52Squares
What role does color play within your work?
I try to always be conscious of how a viewer is going to perceive the color in a picture. Lately a lot of my pieces have been very dark, with a few bursts of light coming through. Warm orange and yellow tones. I want those colors to act as a safe haven, like a cup of tea on a cold day. To give the pictures a sense of balance, so the darkness isn’t overwhelming.
How has your work evolved since you began painting- How does it continue to evolve?
I began thinking of myself as an artist four years ago, that’s when I really started to paint. I had always dabbled in visual art, and I worked with a local muralist, Mike Pilato, for a few years in high school, but it took me getting into college and the help of an academic adviser (the amazing Vanessa Wade) to find out that visual art was what I really wanted to do. I started off not giving too much thought to the content in my paintings, a lot of my early stuff was just me taking a photo and adapting it into paint, stuff that was not very inspired. I did make a painting I really enjoyed during my first introductory painting class at PSU. It was a portrait of MLK Jr. with an abstracted broken sidewalk as a background, referencing the fact that although we’ve made strides in civil rights, we still have a long way to go until the path is as it should be. That was my first real piece of good art.
Find One
Describe your current work. How has it changed from your previous paintings? What elements have you continued to instill into your paintings?
I’m trying to keep simplifying, simplifying, and simplifying. My pictures are getting flatter, the colors more solid, and I feel like the narratives are becoming subtler and more precise. I like the universal idea of “the journey”. The journey of life, the journey to the grocery store, the journey from childhood to adulthood. I see that idea reappearing in my work and I enjoy playing with it.
What direction do you see art going in- What is behind it, pushing it into that direction?
You know, I’m so far distanced from the art world physically that I don’t know if I can give you a good answer. 5 hour drive to NYC, 4 hours to Philly. I hold a subscription to Artforum and Art in America, but besides that, my interaction with the art world is minimal. The first time I went to a major art establishment since I started painting (about four years ago), was just this past September (National Gallery of Art, DC). I can tell you where I hope it is going. And I hope it is moving in a direction where more and more people believe that they can make a beautiful picture. I am always hearing people say “ah I’m horrible at drawing” or “I have no artistic skill”. Everybody can make art that is valuable, and not just valuable in the economical sense. I think this reflects a greater social disability that we all have, and that is a lack of belief in ourselves. I think we need to reevaluate our perception of the value of art. I’m all for Damien Hirst creating a diamond-studded skull that sells for 90-some million dollars. That’s awesome. And I love Murakami. But the brother or sister who is making art, a painting, a CD, a movie and wants to sell it so they can pay rent and eat for a month or two doesn’t even get a look, they don’t even have a market. Vincent and the good people at CAO are making moves in that area, and that’s legit.
Besides that, I think we need to realize more the spiritual value of art, the intangible value of art. I’d like to see artists of all mediums get more respect in American culture (the only culture I’m relatively qualified to speak on), artists who might not yet have “made it”. When you tell someone you’re an artist, a filmmaker, or a musician, if you can’t tell them how much money you’ve made, or what kind of big stars you’ve rubbed shoulders with, they could care less. I hope the playing field levels out a little, and us artists who are flying under the radar can just get a little more respect.
Haha so I don’t know if I’ve answered your question, but that’s where I hope art is going.
