Q+A WITH DUCK IN WATER ARTIST: ROYAL JARMON
What is the first memory you have of an artwork that really inspired you and motivates what you do as an artist today?
I'm not sure about a particular artwork; but I do remember being preview to Da Vinci's work at a younger age and being so impressed with what he did. I assume because of it's practicality, beauty, and creative problem solving, all of which I highly value to this day.
How would you introduce your work to someone seeing it for the first time?
i would say it's a cohesion of content. I especially find contrast interesting. So I often focus on juxtaposing the elements, that I'm drawn to for various reasons, and then making them flow in a way that is beautiful; in order to keep the viewer involved.
You grew up living in a more rural environment and now live in New York City. Does your upbringing shape or influence your approach to creating work?
The environment in which I grew up definitely informs the work. We are the sum of our memories. So even if I don't always intentionally do so, the contextual patterns of growing up in Rural America touch the work.
What role does digital process have in your paintings?
Digital process is mostly a preliminary influence. It's such a large part of daily life to view most of our content on screens; thus it carries important in my aesthetic. I hope to communicate in a language applicable now and the future, this makes digital aspects nearly inescapable for me as a visual artist.
Do you find your paintings and sculptures directly influence one another in the studio?
As a body of work progresses, I will find that different works carry each others strength. There is definite play off of the concepts developing. As I solve problems, new ones come up and so I continue solving those. I find this helps the process stay live as multiple artworks are made in a group.
I want to continue some of what has been working and seek new equations to solve/explore. Everything happening in life is possible content so I want keep looking and to continue accessing new ideas as I move forward. This will most definitely include new media content.
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See Royal’s work in “Duck in Water” in person, running through February 13 OR view the show and shop on our Artsy page.