JANE BARTHÈS
Molecular Ascension - 2018
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Jane Barthès is a Franco British artist
who lives and works in Chicago. In her own words: “I feel a bit like a physicist researching her molecules. In essence everything is but matter and energy." Tell us about yourself and your background. I consider myself to have lived many lives around the globe, living in the UK, France and the USA as well as having trekked across the African continent, China and other developing countries. I was born in Nigeria, in 1959, to a fiery Catalan French father and a reserved English mother. My inherited duality and unlikely birthplace have probably impacted my work from the start. I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very early age although my parents insisted that I do something ‘sensible’. I did for a while but spent all my spare time drawing comic strips. I finally followed my dream to the University of London, Wimbledon School of Painting. After graduating in 1994, I left the UK to work in the relative isolation of the vineyards in the South of France. It was there, away from city pressures that I became an abstract artist while also teaching life drawing and designing sets for theatre. However, in 2004, my insatiable curiosity and desire for change led me New Mexico in the US where the sheer space, extremes and drama of the desert inspired my work for 5 years before the recession set in. In 2009 I moved back to big city life in Chicago where I continue to live and work. |
Jane and Molecular Ascension
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Barthès in the studio
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Molecular Patterns #12 - 2016
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"The geometric patterns in the work have become metaphors for both the architectural spaces we create and inhabit as well as for science particles. I refer to these as my ‘molecules’; they are the building blocks of life itself. They are the purveyors of the powerful yet intangible energy that propels us through existence as I remain obstinate in the belief that if I just dig deep enough, the emptiness, or negative space of the canvas might reveal the secrets of the life force itself."
Radicals Breaking Free - 2016
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Urban Space Revisited #4 - 2019
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Floating Urban Molecules - 2018
Molecular Cities #2 - 2017
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Tell us about your work. There is a freedom inherent in a large, two-dimensional surface that is not bound by gravity that I never tire of exploring. I use acrylic, charcoal and graphite on canvas. Grounded in an intuitive, meditative approach developed over many years the work has grown in complexity as it reflects an intensely personal journey. My world has always felt big and wild and full of unknowns and I have turned it upside down many times. Those conscious acts of self-implosion may have at one time seemed random but have come to reflect my personal evolution and artistic point of view. The inherited duality of an English mother and a Catalan French father is fundamental. I have always grappled with concepts of duality; the ebb and flow between matter and energy, the clash between chaos and order in a world often fraught with ugliness and uncertainty. My use of color is both bold and yet restrained and often complementary. My hope is that I can create a sense of clarity, even harmony in the chaos of the universe to give shape and purpose to what the eye does not see. Additionally, there is a sustained dialogue with each geographical port of call. Sensitive to my surrounds, I am intrigued to see how the work has come to reflect the exquisite urban origami and Bauhaus lineage of the city I call home. The sunny, scintillating patterns of the waters of the Chicago river reflected in the geometric, glass high-rise buildings resonate so deeply, I get goose-pimples as I sense the esoteric connection between all things. The geometric patterns in the work have become metaphors for both the architectural spaces we create and inhabit as well as for science particles. I refer to these as my ‘molecules’; they are the building blocks of life itself. They are the purveyors of the powerful yet intangible energy that propels us through existence as I remain obstinate in the belief that if I just dig deep enough, the emptiness, or negative space of the canvas might reveal the secrets of the life force itself. |
Radical Design - 2017
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Urban Space Revisited #1 - 2019
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What is unique about your work? The work is so personal as it reflects my unique journey through life. My peripatetic existence has prohibited any obligation to satisfy local academic institutions, who, perhaps by their very nature, risk compromising the freedom of artistic thought. I consider it my job as an artist to be independent in my observation and dialogue in search of a fresh perspective. Why your work is a good investment? Perhaps this is a question for the collectors and buyers that are beginning to discover the work. Essentially, the quality of the work is grounded in years of practice and research. This is a particularly exciting summer for me with several shows running concurrently in Chicago, New Jersey and beyond. I am also working with agencies in Chicago and San Francisco and London. Tell us about some of your achievements.
What are you passionate about? Life! Art, obviously, architecture, literature, travel, people and my cat. My interests in art are always a work in progress and evolve with my journey through life. American art has provided a new world of discovery and inspiration. Over the years I have gravitated towards Abstract Expressionism, particularly the suspended energy of Robert Motherwell’s shapes. I also love the stringent rigors of American Hard-Edged Abstraction with Californian artists such as Frederick Hammersley, Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg. I’m interested in many contemporary contributors to the discipline and seek to bring my own, perhaps more expressive journey to the discussion. Share with us your upcoming projects. Plenty in the pipeline but nothing I can substantiate yet other than what I’m doing at present. Tell us about where you are based. I’m based in the city of Chicago and my large studio is conveniently only a ten minute car ride from home. |
Barthès working
Molecules of Urban Design Revisited #4
Magical Forms and Spaces #3 - 2018
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Urban Space Revisited - 2019
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Urban Space Revisited #2 - 2019
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"My world has always felt big and wild and full of unknowns and I have turned it upside down many times. Those conscious acts of self-implosion may have at one time seemed random but have come to reflect my personal evolution and artistic point of view."
Molecules of Urban Design Revisited #3 - 2019
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Radical Urban Planning - 2018
Radical Urban Perspectives # 1 - 2018
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"The work is so personal as it reflects my unique journey through life."
Molecular Model C6H807 - 2019
"My work is an attempt to find balance. I seek to reveal a sense of poetry and even harmony that I find in all the messy dissonance around us. I search for the sacred in the mundane."
Molecular Puzzle - 2017
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How do you feel about art and its role in the world? In a world of increasing information overload, it seems to me imperative to offer a distilled space that invites the viewer to reflect upon the source of all our energies and the intangible mysteries of this life. Acutely aware of the opposite forces I have been given to walk through this world with, my work is an attempt to find balance. I seek to reveal a sense of poetry and even harmony that I find in all the messy dissonance around us. I search for the sacred in the mundane. Without space in our lives for quiet reflection, how can we find and experience joy and attribute meaning to our lives? www.jbarthes.com |
Molecular Patterns #7 - 2016
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Barthès in the studio
Urban Ribbon - 2019
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Magical Forms and Spaces #2 - 2018
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