Where Light Settles

Salt Lamp by Jesse Zuo

An interview with New York-based figurative painter Jesse Zuo ❤️‍🔥

Addy: Jesse, thank you so much for joining me! How did you first become interested in painting?

Jesse: I mean, I could give you the story of how I always loved drawing as a kid, but I started painting when I was an undergrad at the School of Visual Art. It was a mandatory class for us for foundation year and that's the first time that I got to know it. That was in 2018, and I’ve been painting ever since.

Addy: Amazing. So before that, you’d never really explored painting that much?

Jesse: I didn't really get introduced to oil paint prior to going to art school, it’s not really an everyday material that's involved in things like arts and crafts. I paint with oil now, and that's the media that was introduced to us at school at the time.

Addy: That's so interesting. I thought you were going to say that you've been painting since you were, like, three years old, or something.

Jesse: I kind of wish. (Laughs)

Addy: So your recent solo show, “My Safe Place” at Latitude Gallery in New York, focused on self-exploration and the meaning of the female body. What inspired this particular body of work?

Jesse: During COVID, I was the only subject that I really had when creating art. Since then, I've been focusing on the female experience, more specifically, my own experiences. Prior to this, I was focusing on depicting little moments that unsettle me in my everyday life. For this particular project, I wanted to do something more focused on the joyful side of things. So the paintings are mostly just relaxed everyday moments, feeling comfortable in our bodies.

Addy: I like the fact that the underlying message is uplifting and positive. That's really cool.

Jesse: A lot of my previous work consisted of paintings I thought were funny or relatable. For example, the pimple-popping painting, and another where the subject struggles to zip up their pants. I also painted a separate work about hair getting caught in a zipper. That was the kind of work I was doing. Then I decided I wanted to create one particular project that was just relaxed and happy. And that's how this project originated.

Addy: And how does your own personal experience of womanhood influence the themes that you portray and explore?

Jesse: I mean, I’m pretty normal. I feel blessed that my life is relatively uneventful, peaceful, and nothing dramatic is happening. Many of these paintings reflect that kind of lifestyle. I'm grateful for the life I have, and these moments are drawn from it.

Addy: It’s like you find beauty in everyday moments, I’m glad that it doesn’t come from a place of trauma.

Jesse: Yes, I feel happy that it doesn’t.

Addy: Can you describe your creative process?

Jesse: I do work with photo references. Sometimes, the colour palette comes first, and sometimes the photo comes first. It's never strictly one thing. It could be that there's just one photo that I snap that I really like, and I'll paint from that. Or it could be that I want to capture a particular moment. Then I'll try to get as good of a photo reference as I can. If there’s a colour palette that I really want to use, then I'll work out a composition that uses those colours. Once I get the idea, I’ll graph it out on the panel, working with whatever medium that I'm painting on.

Addy: It sounds like it's almost different every time, which I love. I guess it depends on the subject matter, or whether you're inspired by the colours first, which is kind of related to my next question. Your paintings feature a striking use of a monochromatic palette. Is there any particular significance behind this?

Jesse: I think it started in 2021, when I saw the Lisa Yuskavage show at David Zwirner. That was the first time that I was surrounded by work that was so heavily focused on colour. There were bright, saturated tones, and huge pieces that she had in the show. Naturally, artists make work in the style that they prefer, so that's where the monochromatic work started. After I began working that way, I started looking at more artists that work in similar ways, eventually trying to form a more stable art style. That's where it all started, the show was an important one.

Addy: And would you say that you're inspired by a lot of different artists?

Jesse: I would say so. It's a complicated feeling because there are a lot of artists that are working with monochrome colours that are also figurative painters. I love their work, but I try not to be influenced by them too much, so that I can still develop my own style without being influenced by others. I appreciate their work a lot, but if the style is too close, I try to not look at it as much, if that makes sense.

Addy: Totally, I get that. This also ties into my next question, where do you find inspiration?

Jesse: I mean, it's a boring answer, just being by myself in my own little life. I can't really think of a particular thing that inspires me more than that. It's just mostly from everyday life. I do have artist friends that I'm really thankful for. Sometimes I'll talk to other female artists and ask them questions like, what have you experienced that unsettles you? There's one painting that I did that has a tampon string hanging out. That was an idea that I brainstormed with one of my artist friends. I have a little notepad where I keep all the ideas that I want to do. Sometimes I ask people about everyday experiences that made them feel a certain way, and sometimes they give me really great answers.

Addy: That’s cool. It makes sense that your inspiration comes from the everyday, or just random conversations and things like that. Your work has been described as a personal diary, what is it like to share such personal aspects of yourself through your art?

Jesse: I was speaking to my gallery about this as well. I'm comfortable sharing however much when it's painted, but once I have to put my name on it, or share photos of things, it feels a little icky.

One thing that I thought was interesting that someone brought up to me was that, because I paint a lot of close-ups of bodies, when I do that, I find that I rarely have my face in there. It’s not intentional, but I think it’s an unconscious decision of not wanting to put a name to the figure in the painting. But I realised that I've been doing that, and I thought that was interesting that someone brought it up.

Addy: Do you think that it adds a layer of separation, or a sense of anonymity?

Jesse: I think both for sure. Most of the references that I work from are photos of myself, and I don't want to show that to anyone. I'm keeping that just for me, forever. When it's painted, although it’s the same image, there’s a difference. As you brought up, I think there’s an isolation that's there when the image becomes a painting.

Addy: Yes, definitely. That's so interesting because photos feel more personal, like there’s more of a direct link, but with a painting there’s almost a level of separation in a way. How would you say your style and technique has evolved over time?

Jesse: At the very beginning, I was spending a lot of time trying to use traditional realism techniques. I wasn't great at it, but it's a really slow and gradual process. As it happens, I recently found out that I've been painting in more of a painterly style than I used to, especially texture wise.

I enjoy seeing a really smooth painting, that’s what I really love, so I was painting really smooth before. Now that I’m starting to focus on line and shadow, it's always more textural. So after developing that focus, I adopted a slightly different way of using my brushes. It's always a process, I think changes happen over time without me noticing.

Addy: Yeah, the process sounds very natural, and it sounds like you're more comfortable finding your own visual style, rather than trying to strictly stick to one specific method. Are the titles of your works important to you in any way?

Jesse: I'm actually really bad at naming my paintings. I try to match the title with the vibe, I guess. But I'm just really bad at giving titles to paintings. Sometime I seek help from others that are more well read than I am. If I could leave them all as just Untitled, I would, but I'm trying to get better at it.

Addy: It's one of those things that’s so tricky because, how can one word or phrase embody an entire piece or image? It’s so challenging. How do you want viewers to feel when they encounter your work for the first time?

Jesse: I guess the first thing that comes to mind is, I want people to feel it's relatable. That's something that I wish to achieve with my paintings, or at least enjoyable. From my perspective, and like you mentioned earlier, my work reflects parts of the universal female experience, for the most part. I've had guys come in and say, “I don't get that,” and I didn't know how to explain it to them. After that happened, I thought, maybe I should do some paintings that are less exclusive to the experiences of women. So there are some more recent paintings that are more relaxing and enjoyable to look at. But I do want to get back to the relatable works, because I have more fun exploring those topics.

Addy: I think you should always lean into what you enjoy and what you naturally gravitate towards. The guys that don't get it, well, maybe it's not meant for them. Like, not in a mean way, but maybe they're just not supposed to get it. Do you have a favourite painting that you've done?

Jesse: At the moment, more from a technical perspective, I’d say Homestyle Jazz Club. The painting is a muted brown and orange colour, with a glass in hand. Personally, I have a slight preference towards that painting because I had the most fun working on it, as it has a lot of different textures. I’m wearing a satin top in the painting and there’s light that's reflecting from the glass. I also had a manicure that I really liked at the time, so everything's shiny. I had a lot of fun working on that particular piece.

Addy: Are you very into nail art?

Jesse: I used to have longer nails, but then I went climbing one time and I cut them down really short, and I've had them short since. Though there is a painting that I did recently, October in Brooklyn, with a little oyster and I have these shiny nails, which I like. I just captured that in a picture that I took, and noticed that it looked good on camera. So, I’ve been getting my nails done in a style that looks like a glazed donut.

Addy: Sort of like glazed latte manicures. I don't have long nails, because I wear contact lenses, but I'm always so obsessed with other people's nails. I also love paintings that have acrylic nails or just hands, like October in Brooklyn, I think it's quite cool. So what's next for you?

Jesse: I've been working on some paintings for two group shows, one with PLATO Gallery in New York, and the other with LINSEED Projects in Shanghai. Once I'm done with these two projects I can slow down a little bit, settle, and think about what's the next thing that I want to progress into. For now, I'll be working, but I'm hoping that I can slow down a little, after the shows open.

Addy: Yes, having some time to just breathe and recharge before jumping back into creating new work is so important.

Jesse: For sure.

Addy: Okay, so at the end of interviews, I like to do something called a rapid fire round 🔥 they're just like quick fire questions. Realism or expressionism?

Jesse: Realism.

Addy: Sculpture or installation?

Jesse: Installation.

Addy: Great choice. MoMA or the Met?

Jesse: The Met.

Addy: Interesting! Books or movies?

Jesse: Movies.

Addy: Texting or FaceTime?

Jesse: FaceTime.

Addy: Very interesting. Sun or moon?

Jesse: Sun.

Addy: Mountains or waterfalls?

Jesse: Waterfalls.

Addy: Nice. Vampires or werewolves?

Jesse: Oh, werewolves.

Addy: That's so funny. What's your favourite colour to paint with?

Jesse: Like maple, yellow.

Addy: I love that. Last one! The last song you listened to?

Jesse: Sza’s new album, Lana. I think that was the last thing, yeah.

Addy: Yess <3 I'm a big fan of Sza. Jesse, thank you so much for answering all of my questions!

Jesse: Thank you so much for reaching out to me.

Addy: Of course!

For more from Jesse, check out her latest group show at LINSEED Projects here!

An interview with New York-based figurative painter Jesse Zuo ❤️‍🔥

Wide Awake and Dreaming