Interview with Artist Hilary Pecis

Spraygraphic Interview with Hilary Pecis

SG: Please tell us about yourself?

HP: My name Hilary Pecis. 29 years old. I am a landscape painter.

SG: Where do you currently live and work?

HP: I live and work in SF and am currently working on my Masters Degree at California College of the Arts .

SG: What mediums do you work with?

HP: I consider myself a painter, although I use very little paint
really. Mostly, I use a collage of  images from magazine advertisements
along with ink drawings in the construction of my landscape
(not)-paintings.

SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.

HP: When I begin a painting I sketch out the basics of the landscape
and then work on the different structures independently. This allows me
to focus on the minute details of line or color in an intimate way.
After the partitioned spaces are collaged together, I can look at the
piece as a whole, tying it together with the last elements. The
patterns have been with me for some time now. When I began using them,
they were appropriated from a variety of sources, however, over time
they have morphed into a vocabulary disconnected from the original.

SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?

HP: Well, I have set up a protocol of important elements to work on,
and I generally am working on multiple pieces. When I don”t feel like
drawing, I can work on the collage parts of my work. And if I don’t
feel like getting paste all over my hands, I know that I will
eventually need some more diamonds or whatever images from magazines
that I am currently working with, so I get out the exacto and go to
work. I try to keep busy… it keeps me out of trouble.

SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?

HP: Technological advancements and their rate of growth is often
something I am thinking of. The increased amount of time spent in cyber
space since its mass marketed introduction I find fascinating. Also,
the construction of identities through television, advertising and
other media forms which suggested a lifestyle that seems limitless,
however, proves to be unfulfilling and superficial. I am interested in
appropriating and misappropriating cultural images from advertisements,
which have no depth, substance or historical connections into the
landscape. The current situation within the markets is forcing ad
agencies to consider new approaches within their campaigns, such as
sustainability over luxury. I think that in the next year we will be
witness to a significant shift in media and advertised lifestyles. And
finally, I love looking at landscape paintings from periods such as the
Renaissance and Romantic periods. As well as, being incredibly
beautiful and rich paintings, they posses the ideals present during
that time. I hope to create not only an aesthetically pleasing
paintings, but also one supported by contemporary concerns.

SG: Where has your work been seen?

HP: It has been seen in Boston at Samson Projects , TAG in Tennessee, Roberts and Tilton in LA, , Receiver in SF, Fecal Face Gallery , Oakland Art Gallery , the SF Arts Commission , the Lab in SF, Cerasoli Gallery in LA and various other galleries.

SG: Where will it be seen next?

HP: It is currently up at the Luggage store in SF as well as 111 Minna in SF. In December it will be at the NADA fair in Miami. In January there will be a few pieces included in the exhibition as WhiteWalls Gallery in SF. Then in April I will have some work at Sincronisity in LA… and finally in July I will have a solo show at Triple Base Gallery in SF.

SG: What is your dream art assignment?

HP: I think I am dreaming right now. Things are going well.. better
than I could have imagined. I don’t have a dream assignment, just to
have the freedom to make work and not have to work a job for someone
else.

SG: What is your favorite color?

HP: Sparkly, shiny, diamonds.

SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?

HP: I find myself drawn toward artists who have the ability to transform the way in which I view something. Jim Hodges , Jessica Stockholder , Jim Drain are some of my favorites. Collage artist such as Bjorn Copeland , and David Thorpe, who although work very differently, I find inspiring. I love Kristin Baker ’s paintings as well as historic pieces by Pieter Bruegel
. Tom Sachs’ makes pieces that question my ability to make contemporary
art. It is all over the map really. I still value craft and investments
in the making of art, so that would be the only common thread.

SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?

HP: I’m in grad school, so it seems that it is all related to my
thesis. The business pages of the NY Times are a constant. Delux/ How
Luxury Lost its Luster is good, um… Commodify your Dissent is also
good. I look at soooo many magazines, because I use images from their
ads to collage with, but I am not sure that quantifies reading.

SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?

HP: Yes, and it is in my closet.

SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?

HP: My boyfriend, Andrew Schoultz
is also a painter. we spend a lot of time looking and talking about
art. when we are not making art or looking at someone else’s art, we
are probably watching Law and Order on the couch. Sometimes that is my
favorite place to chill out.