“I think I was always drawn to art but my understanding of it was rather naive at the beginning.”
Name
Jennifer Pint
Profession
Artist
Website
Where are you from?
I grew up in Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Germany. Currently, I am living in Cologne, Germany.
Your style in 3 words?
Subtle, sensible, sincere
Your weakness? Your strength?
Weakness: I love Junk Food. Strength: My intuition.
What makes you different?
Everything and nothing
When did you decide to become an artist?
I think I was always drawn to art but my understanding of it was rather naive at the beginning. It was at the art academy that I slowly realized what I had gotten myself into.
Do you choose your art form, or does the form choose you?
Both, I guess.
What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?
When I am in a working flow, I am diving deep. Time seems to stop, I step out of my skin and get into an intense exchange with the material or the space around me. I then find myself in a place which, on the one hand, is my safe space and on the other hand is a place in which I often reach my limits and feel the deepest despair. I can express things that I would otherwise not be able to communicate.
A few words about your favorite creation?
For one installation, I covered the floor with fine layers of wax, which the visitors could walk on. I didn’t expect people to be touched so intensely and to have so many different associations. For example, one woman who just fled the war in Ukraine told me that my installation evoked a feeling of safety and belonging, which she hadn’t felt since leaving her home country. This really touched me and I feel that these interactions gave my work an unexpected and deeper meaningfulness.
What surprised you most about your first art shows?
The important job of the curator and the right arrangement of works. A good curation is as important as the artwork itself. The most beautiful and ingenious work can seem random or banal if it is poorly curated. I have experienced this quite some times. My artwork tends to be rather small and/or silent. Even one and the same piece has made very varied impressions when shown at different shows with different curators. All those have taught me quite a bit about curation itself and even made me reflect differently on my own work as a young curator, when I was organizing off-space art shows some years ago.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…
Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Yuko Nishikawa, Charlotte Dualé, Océane Bruel, to name a few that come to mind right now. I love to rummage through online art magazines like Kubaparis or PASSE-AVANT and get inspired by the many reviews of shows and introductions of artists they publish on a regular basis. Also, I get inspired by literature, for example, works by Hélène Cixous, Ingeborg Bachmann, or Siri Hustvedt.
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
I’m a big fan of the Berlin-based collective maternal fantasies! They create much-needed space for important topics like care work and family in art, and elaborate projects and artworks in an honest, poetical and charming way. These fields are close to my heart, not only but increasingly since I became a mother myself. I would really love to work with them at some point in my career.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
In October I’ll be participating in a group exhibition at BEISTE Kunstraum, a newly established exhibition space in Cologne. This will be a good opportunity to show my new work and also a nice experience as I’ll be working together quite closely with another artist, that is exhibiting there, too.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
My family.
2023: Where are we going?
In extreme directions.
Do you think about time as an artist?
Yes, a lot. Not so much in a metaphorical way, but rather concerning my everyday life. My time in the studio is very important for me, but it has become even more precious since I have a toddler waiting for me at home. Time kind of is an issue in everything I do at the moment and of course, this also affects my art. One major upside is that I use the time I have for myself more efficiently.
When the going gets tough…
Hang in there! In terms of art, some of my best works developed while suffering but also sometimes disciplining through some really intense times.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
It’s hard for me to imagine what the world will look like then. I think it’s going to get rough. But I want to believe that people will stick together more, that community-oriented actions will increase and that alternative living, housing, economic, working, and family models will be widespread or even the standard.
What would you do if you could change the World?
Making education accessible to everyone.
What does freedom mean when it comes to art?
Art can be free and at the same time not free at all, because it depends on many factors, people, and institutions.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
No real idea. These questions tend to frighten me a bit.
Tell us about your future plans…
In an ideal world, I want to be around interesting and inspiring people, travel, take part in exhibitions, and maybe join some residency programs too. But I also try not to make too many plans and take things as they come and enjoy the time with my family and friends.
Your city’s favorite spots?
The municipal library, the flea market in the Alte Feuerwache, and the Depot theater on the other side of the Rhine.
A book that everyone should read…
The last book that blew me away was Dschinns from Fatma Aydemir.
Last but not least: what is your favorite Song?
The Revolution by The Angelcy
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Wood, stone gold, and art.
Your #…?
#jenniferpint
