Interview: Juliane Blasquez
Luca Curci talks with Juliane Blasquez during BARCELONA CONTEMPORARY – 3RD EDITION at Valid World Hall Gallery.

Juliane Blasquez is a contemporary artist practicing oil painting. Fascinated by human beings, she is inspired by her body envelope, her inventiveness, her emotions and her deep nature linked to her environment. This work is done out of passion and curiosity which makes it permanent and gives her works a bit of artistry. Although she grew up in painting thanks to the Italian Renaissance, her personal practice is affirmed in Symbolism. The artist places the human being at the heart of her reflections by questioning the importance of the real and the unreal by placing her characters in a spiritual atmosphere prone to imagination and dreams. She offers a way of seeing and understanding oneself in the world by adopting a fantastic and lyrical point of view.

Luca Curci – How did you come to your current art practice?
Juliane Blasquez – The art of painting has always been a passion for me. I discovered it in my childhood and still today. I revealed myself in this practice. Whatever path I took, it always followed me. Until I accepted it and accepted myself. When something is part of you, you feel it.

LC – What are your thoughts while you are painting? Do you have any habits or rituals while you are working?
JB – When I get ready to paint, my routine is to drink a nice cup of tea while listening to music, then I carefully choose my brushes and prepare my colors. I let my mind fly, a silent exchange is created between the work and the artist. The energies are exchanged and the magic happens. I am no longer on earth and I lose the notion of time. It is a waking dream.

LC – Are your works focused on a specific theme?
JB – I would say that they communicate with each other, I don’t choose to work on a particular theme but some of them come back regularly. I often wonder about the relationship between light and shadow, the unreal and the real, the symbolism of natural elements, the place of the human being in the universe and his way of evolving in consciousness with his own mind and body. At the moment, I am immersing myself in the chiaroscuro by studying the lights, the shadows, the element of fire, the philosophical notions of “descents into the underworld” to better discover and understand oneself.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
JB – My inspiration comes from many things at once, it is a form of feeling. A small thing can arouse my curiosity, which allows me to have a constant artistic look at the world, I think. The relationship I have with my painting is very intimate because I draw mainly from the periods of my life. I then create parallels with many sources such as mythological or philosophical books on specific or broader subjects. The world and the human being are sources of permanent questioning which inspire my creativity.

LC – Do you use art to express something in particular? Is it your means of expression?
JB – I couldn’t express myself better than through my art practice. Art is so important, it has this power to show you things – those that are right and those that are wrong – in a very poetic way. It doesn’t impose, it questions, it stirs the thoughts and encourages a positive outlook on life.

LC – What do you think of the concept of this festival? How did it inspire you?
JB – I found this concept of analyzing the relationship between body and space, and the hybridization between identities and cultural/physical/social/urban contexts in contemporary times very interesting because these are questions that often come to my mind. Being able to find answers in an exhibition and more broadly in Art proves once again that it holds an essential role in our lives and society. It is inspiring because of what it touches and brings together human beings of all kinds. We need this unity to evolve as a person in our time.

LC – What is the message related to the artworks you presented in this exhibition? How does it relate to the theme of the whole festival?
JB – My two works “Evolution” and “Study of a Cloud” seem to have resonated with the heart of the festival. “Evolution” is a self-portrait made during an awareness: change generating transformation. Any transformation is an evolution of consciousness that transmits to the body and mind a sense of freedom and infinite extension. The moment when the ties that hold us break down, and we are reborn from our ashes, like Phoenixes. Concerning “Study of a cloud”, do you know the symbolism of the cloud? They inspire as much melancholy in front of the ephemeral character of all things as a feeling of joy in front of their lightness and their metamorphoses. They invite to research as much as to contemplation. We all dream while looking at the clouds, in this sense, they connect us and make us perceive this strong system of communication with its own language: that of the Universe.

LC – Did you enjoy working with ITSLIQUID GROUP? Would you suggest a collaboration with us?
JB – I really like your thoughts and the freshness you bring to the whole field of Art. Our exchanges have always been pleasantly professional and I will not hesitate to entrust you with my works in order to share with you new exhibitions. It is a great pleasure to be able to work with a group such as yours so of course, I propose a collaboration.