Jean-François Réveillard is an incredible contemporary artist from Switzerland whose artworks reveal his mastery of traditional and digital mixed media. He has kindly shared with us some amazing details of his art life!
How did you get into art?
I am in since the begining of my life, always drawing, painting, writing. To be an artist is a way of life, you can’t leave without, it’s your oxygene. My parents remember that they find me during night drawing on my pillow when i was a child, making some ” art somnambulism ” crisis ^^. it’s a kind of addiction mixed with passion, you need to use all your time for it. Making my first exhibition in Paris in 1980, i never stop to create, innovate and produce in different field of Art. Pionier in digital media, founder of one of the first webtv in 1997, making the first cross reality broadcast inside virtual world ten years ago, art is my life , and using all the creative tools is my daily contemporary work, actually i am deeply involve with 3Dprinting for my artwork. I like to define myself as a ” cross media picture maker “. http://www.yoorart.com/
What are some of your favourite art projects you have worked on?
There is many, it’s impossible to choose, since the 80’s i have the chance to see all evolutions , with and without the digital tools, video, web, socialnetworks, virtual worlds, i prefer to speak about my actual work, making ” cross media ” installation using video, drawing, 3Dprinting that i show up during Basel art week and big art fair in Zurich for example. Cross media art is actually my field, i use a lot Virtual world for testing new idea, making some project for tomorow, i love also as a consultant for famous School and European Union some new idea and concept for Art and educational aspect mixing new technolgy and pedagogical aspect, i do so much things ….. but i have stop to draw on my pillow ^^.
What are you influenced by?
I have no influence , i try to be the most authentic in my work, it’s very deeply personal and need a lot of research sometimes like in my last works about particles and origines, i prefere to speak about inspiration rather than influence, nature, music, human, sciences are the foundation of my inspiration.
Do you think there are ‘good art’ and ‘bad art’?
There is good taste and bad taste for sure ^^. More seriously Art is deeply connected with cultural aspect, education, learning, and open mind or not, i think that to be an artist, to make art, is also a question of way of life, not only a question of quality of your production, there is no bad art and good art, there is professional art, and amator art. The art that you do for living your life, and the art that you do as a hobby, maybe it’s a definition for making some difference between categories of art if there is.
What kind of reaction do you expect from people who view your artworks?
I do exhibition and specially big art fair in order to have discussion with the public, to explain my work, i love to share with public, i am happy when they understand, i am very happy when they have emotion in front, and also happy when they buy it.
What are your thoughts on the Second Life art community?
Second life is a good oportunity for amators to show up work and make a sort of roleplay to be a daily artist. The number of professional and real artist is very small, maybe because it’s time consuming, personnaly i use Second Life as a sort of laboratory, and experimental media for my artwork, also an opportunity to show what we can do with it tomorow as a media, like the Virtual contemporary art fair that i produce, or pedagogical experimentation with Ellinogermaniki greek school.
Visit Virtual Contemporary Art Fair: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/DBC%20Research/221/99/22
Visit JfR Studio – Art – Atelier – Gallery – festival – Music – , Science: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Science/120/42/22
