Solo exhibition "Streets of Jeremyville"
by Brooklyn based Jeremyville
On view from April 21 until June 3, 2022.

About

Jeremyville (Sydney, 1973) is a successful artist based in both Sydney and New York. His works are colourful and joyous and have a positive and socially engaging tone.Vroom & Varossieau sat down with Jeremyville to talk about the upcoming KunstRAI group exhibition, his solo exhibition Streets of Jeremyville in Vroom & Varossieau Gallery, and being part of the Shapeshifters exhibition at Museum Kunstlinie Almere.

Interview with Jeremyville

Hi Jeremyville! How are you doing and what have you been up to?

Jeremyville: All great thanks, I've had a solitary but productive Winter at my studio in New York.

I recently exhibited a sold out show at KIAF in Seoul, and inclusion of my large sculptures in the important 'Shapeshifters' exhibition at Kunstlinie in Amsterdam. 

Some new work from this 'Streets of Jeremyville' series of paintings & sculptures, will be exhibited at KunstRAI Art Fair, and my next solo show at Vroom & Varossieau Gallery in Amsterdam, opening April 21st. Thanks to Isabelle Vroom and Olivier Varossieau for the support and belief in my work, it means a lot to me.

We have seen a variety of work from you over the years including Public Art installations like your giant murals & sculptures in the U.K, Asia, France, and the U.S. Which among these projects felt the best/most natural to you?

Jeremyville: I wouldn’t say I prefer any one medium over the next. As long as I’m out of my comfort zone, and challenging myself, that’s the most important thing to me. So my natural state is a state of mild discomfort, and being unsure exactly where a new project will head. Spontaneity and embracing chance, is a strong part of my creative process. 

Also, the large scale, looser, textured style of paintings are exciting to me right now. It’s really a style that’s evolving daily, and actually Kunstrai Art Fair will exhibit the first major canvas works from this series, 4 panels of 36 x 48 inches, making up a 144 x 48 inch work. They can be collected individually too.

A lot of my art appears in the public realm, with the aim of creating positive connections and a dialog with the local community. Like the recent permanent sculpture installation of a giant yellow heart character called Sonny, 12 meters tall, in Jinan, China - it’s installed in a popular public park. 

Another satisfying project is working with the Brooklyn Museum on various art activations & sculpture installations, connecting with the local New York community and the next generation of kids that get inspired by art. Connecting with people is everything to me, and it’s a core foundation of why I create.

Are there any other projects or clients you would like to work together with?

Jeremyville: I love forward-thinking clients that connect with our Studio’s stance: To create a personal & positive dialogue and connection with all people, from all socio-economic backgrounds, and cultures, and not just the elite. We have a very egalitarian approach to art. Any cultural institution or client that is on a similar journey, and naturally connects with our stance, is attractive to us. 

Art has the power to cross language barriers & borders, and connect with people of all ages, to elevate and shift someone's mood and consciousness to a positive place, and to bring about change. That’s the sort of art we aim to create.

You are part of the street art exhibition Shapeshifters that opened at Kunstlinie in February. In the exhibition you show a beautiful set of sculptures, could you give us some background about them?

Jeremyville: This new hand-painted wooden sculpture series has actually taken years of hard work, and trial and error, to develop and get just right, but it’s finally found a form and collector base, so I’m most excited about that right now. The sculptures are all about refining my characters into restrained and abstracted forms, into their essential silhouettes and colors. It’s an exercise in reductivism:  Taking away, rather than adding, till it’s just right. They are based on the Streets of Jeremyville project, that’s an ongoing, endless pavement, populated by characters that manifest my observations and commentary on daily life.

For the collectors at home: can we expect any new works or collectibles in the near future?

Jeremyville: I'm working on several sculpture editions at the moment, including a 12 inch figure, a series of wooden figures with a Danish company that will be launched at Museum stores around the world, and a mini toy series in development. I've also been working on a book series about Jeremyville, that builds to form a raisonné of our Studio’s output. I paint and draw every day, and I’m excited by how the style and universe is developing.

Thank you to Jeremyville for taking the time to sit down with us and talk about his activities! Jeremyville will be part of the group exhibition at KunstRAI 2022, together with Takeru Amano and Willem Hoeffnagel.