City Talks: Claire Colette

PLUS MAGAZINE: What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

CLAIRE COLETTE: I have a four-year-old who has a lot of energy in the mornings (and always) and often wakes me up early. I get myself a cup of coffee and start the day reading her a few books.

P: Where is your favorite (go-to) restaurant in LA?

CC: Valerie Confections in Echo Park for coffee, lunch, and treats. Sticky Rice in Grand Central Market for delicious Thai food. El Huarache Azteca in Highland Park for Mexican food. I tend to try new places for nice dinners out. There are so many great restaurants to explore in LA.

P: What are your ways of recharging/ taking breaks?

CC: A few hours at Wi Spa in Koreatown, hiking in the foothills, and gardening are my go-to’s when I need a break from the studio. I also see art around LA regularly.

P: What song(s) are you into these days?

CC: La Fama by Rosalia, any song by Cocteau Twins or Psychedelic Furs, and various Alice Coltrane albums depending on my mood -lately, it’s been Ptah The El Daoud. 

P: There are subtle and sublime layerings of colors that provide what looks like a dreamscape, and the recurring usage of mathematical elements resembles a star, which opens up an unlimited possibility for the viewers. With that in mind, can you share more about the choice of colors and your fascination with math?

CC: My choice of color is a sensitive one. I have been exploring a wider range recently and am acutely aware of how some palettes make me feel. A painting can look great, but something about the color will irritate me, and I have to change it. It’s hard to explain -even to myself- but I have learned to trust it. Not many brightly colored paintings make it through.

As for math, my fascination is more with systems and rhythms. I am interested in semiotics and the power of language and symbols. I like forms that reduce ideas or meanings down to a few lines. My library of symbols keeps growing as my visual language expands. The work is increasingly about language, the transmission of information, and the role of the subconscious. 

P: You incorporate ash, salt, rainwater, and different types of flowers in your recent works, and I wonder what those materials interest you.

CC: A few years ago, I was researching ritual practices, the various materials used, and their associations. I began to work with some materials that were used in Northern European practices since that is my heritage. I’ve really enjoyed working this way and now incorporate biotic materials from travels, my garden, or things that feel significant to me.

I’m also working with materials that build up the surface of the painting, such as molding paste and plaster. I want the work to feel rich, sculptural, and mysterious. 

P: Are there any specific imagery/sights you reference in your work?

CC: The spaces are imagined but reference landscapes, mountainscapes, the ocean, and the sky. I like the idea of the work being a reminder of our smallness in a vast universe in a way that is also comforting. I deliberately keep references open and abstract to facilitate this.

P: If you could have any artwork in your house, what would it be?

CC: My instinct is to name an Agnes Martin or Forrest Bess painting, but I’m also very interested in Baroque and Renaissance painting. I wonder how it would feel to live with Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes.” 

P: How would you describe the art scene in Los Angeles?

CC: It’s a fun and fairly close-knit community. I think artists are very supportive of one another here. The artists I am around really work hard and push each other, and as a result, most of my friends are starting to do very well. Most of us feel that the community aspect is the second best part, aside from being in the studio.

P: What changes would you like to see in the art industry at large?

CC: There are so many issues with how the secondary market is impacting artists and the culture. I’d like to see more regulation there.

P: Which three qualities in yourself are you most thankful for?

CC: My perseverance, my curiosity, and my insensate drive to create.