Memory 1,2,3 (2003) Painting by Jessica Geron

Within the last 10 years I have searched for an aspect thematically and stylistically of painting that has captured me in a soulful and poetic manner. For me, art always needs to be foremost relevant in some manner personally and needs to create a feeling for that in life which is unable to be illustrated otherwise through speech. In essence art is the language of the soul, it is the picture which is conjured up only by leaving behind the world of pragmatism and logic. However, whilst touching on the intangible, art (for me) must also be relevant and reflective of life.

When I first started painting seriously (outside the confines of the classroom), what concerned me most was externalising that which I was incapable of articulating about my personal life (relationships, family life and self-concept).

The next stage was my long lasting affair with the visual language of graphic design and abstraction. At the time I was studying graphic design at university and I was fascinated by the visual imagery of the Russian Constructivists. El Lizzitsky and Alexander Rodchenko as well as propaganda posters from Russia and China spoke to me beyond their original political and social message. Although time and focus has progressed since these days, I have not left behind my obsession with the language of the “machine”. The means through which the government, the “official” voice of the people including today’s tabloids, popular culture and mass media speaks, is as relevant as the works of my contemporaries and forebears in the visual arts.

From this graphic language, abstraction was a natural progression, a simplification of the principles and elements of design. Abstraction for me, was the purest and simplest means to communicate the essence of a theme or feeling. After a few years however of producing, exhibiting and selling abstract paintings, I started to feel that there was something lacking that I still needed and there was an increasing concern from within me that my intentions were not being communicated adequately. At this point I had quit my degree in graphic design and took a year off to renegotiate my position. Despite the fact that I was young (18 years old and not long out of high school) I realised that I needed to make some concrete decisions about the role that art needed to take in my life. Under pressure to find a vocation, I attempted again to pursue a career that had an artistic inclination but that would secure me regular employment.

A year after I finished graphic design I enrolled into the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW and started a Bachelor of Art Education. Although there was little satisfaction in this for me, I continued for 3 ½ years until it became clear that a vocation that used my artistic abilities was actually impinging on my creative spirit. At this point, I quit the Education degree and started a Bachelor of Fine Arts and decided to put all my attention into art and establishing myself as an artis...

• Nationality: AUSTRALIA
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Australian Artists