Interview by Jimon

1. Where do you reside and work currently? I live in France in a small town in the Essonne.
2. Did you study art or is it inherent? I have never taken a painting course. Painting for me is a way of freeing myself, of escaping, of saying things that dare not be said aloud. It’s visceral.
3. How would you describe Zshaella Za? She is curious about all!

4.  Do you remember the first piece of art that captured your imagination? The first work that fascinated me is the portrait of Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso 1937.

5. Is there any reality behind the characters in your paintings or are they purely fantasy? A very personal question! But I would say that theme is a clever mix of fiction and reality.

6. What do you dream about? I dream of devoting myself totally to painting. and visiting Cuba.

7. How do you define success? Success is not important to me. I prefer to meet other artists, far from the clichés and ideals imposed on us by today’s hyper consumer society.

8. Your work reminds me of Basquiat, is he a big influence for you? Basquiat is one of my great inspiration, he painted using pastels, like me. I have learned a lot from his work. He had a very particular way of arousing and questioning people through his paintings.

9. What other types of art interest you? I enjoy sculpting, literature, music.

10. How would you like to be seen as an artist years from now? I would like to see people appreciating my work.

11. If you could have dinner with 3 artists living/dead who would be at your table? Frida Kahlo, Basquiat and Picasso also in the living artist category Baskyn, Joseph Sevenson, and Jacmel.

12. Name three things you can’t live without in your studio? Family, music, and books.

13. Anything else you’d like to mention that I didn’t ask? I come from the Caribbean islands. I like jazz especially Miles Davis.  I love lions, wildlife and water. Also I love to dance.