Interview with Rose Barberat
JO-HS Residency July 2022Dani: Rose can tell me about your studies on art?
Rose: When I finished school, I always knew I wanted to paint but I didn't pass the test for the art school in France, so I went to university, which is very theoretical in France to study literature, i did 5 years in Cergy-Pontoise in the suburbs of Paris where I did a bachelor and a master degree, then I went to Denmark to make an exchange study program where my roommate encouraged me to not abandon painting, so I came back to France to finish my master degree, and after I applied again for art school in France and finally I passed the test for the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, which is the best school in France. I did 4 years and I think the best thing about that school is meeting other artists of my generation. I learned so much from talking about techniques and practicing everyday, as I say, painting is like a sport. I think that painting is a lot about body language. Sometimes you make a good performance, some other times not so much because you cannot force your body if you are not feeling like it, that’s why I usually like to paint standing.
D: That’s interesting, the fact that you see painting like a sport, do you think that influences directly your figurative compositions? Or what would you say your work is based on?
R: Well yeah, my work is mainly figurative, I paint a lot of portraits or something linked to it. I always paint by photography because for me there is a seduction in the image that makes me want to paint it. My painting is very linked to what I read at that moment. I like to use universal references to create a narrative, with the use of symbolisms, I also focus a lot in choosing the colors carefully, because based on the color there is a different reception of each painting. My paintings include simple composition and simple elements which are supposed to tell enough.
D: Can you tell me about how it was having a solo show at PACT Gallerie?
R: One of the best things about that solo show was the feedback that I gave myself, because when when you have your work exhibited with no one else’s you can see the good and the bad in your own work. It showed me some things about what I do, what I have done and what I will do in the future. I also find it very important to share my works with others because in the studio I work by myself, and when I share my work it is very important for me to create good memories, based on communication with other people. These paintings were made in a very little studio, so seeing them on these big walls at the gallery was very pleasant.
D: Would you say that your work somehow contributes your society or the people that surround you?
R: In France they are used to say art is useless, but i think useless can also be helpful. I think we should re think what useless is.
Rose: When I finished school, I always knew I wanted to paint but I didn't pass the test for the art school in France, so I went to university, which is very theoretical in France to study literature, i did 5 years in Cergy-Pontoise in the suburbs of Paris where I did a bachelor and a master degree, then I went to Denmark to make an exchange study program where my roommate encouraged me to not abandon painting, so I came back to France to finish my master degree, and after I applied again for art school in France and finally I passed the test for the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, which is the best school in France. I did 4 years and I think the best thing about that school is meeting other artists of my generation. I learned so much from talking about techniques and practicing everyday, as I say, painting is like a sport. I think that painting is a lot about body language. Sometimes you make a good performance, some other times not so much because you cannot force your body if you are not feeling like it, that’s why I usually like to paint standing.
D: That’s interesting, the fact that you see painting like a sport, do you think that influences directly your figurative compositions? Or what would you say your work is based on?
R: Well yeah, my work is mainly figurative, I paint a lot of portraits or something linked to it. I always paint by photography because for me there is a seduction in the image that makes me want to paint it. My painting is very linked to what I read at that moment. I like to use universal references to create a narrative, with the use of symbolisms, I also focus a lot in choosing the colors carefully, because based on the color there is a different reception of each painting. My paintings include simple composition and simple elements which are supposed to tell enough.
D: Can you tell me about how it was having a solo show at PACT Gallerie?
R: One of the best things about that solo show was the feedback that I gave myself, because when when you have your work exhibited with no one else’s you can see the good and the bad in your own work. It showed me some things about what I do, what I have done and what I will do in the future. I also find it very important to share my works with others because in the studio I work by myself, and when I share my work it is very important for me to create good memories, based on communication with other people. These paintings were made in a very little studio, so seeing them on these big walls at the gallery was very pleasant.
D: Would you say that your work somehow contributes your society or the people that surround you?
R: In France they are used to say art is useless, but i think useless can also be helpful. I think we should re think what useless is.