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Photo credit © Guia Besana
Aviva BROOKS
This oil and mixed-media American artist lives and works in Paris.
Inspired by the contrast between American and French cultures, Aviva BROOKS explores the interstices. She works on the tension that separates – or unites – the visual and the written, the action and the thought, the energetic immediacy and the distant elegance, the present and the past, childhood and adulthood, American black or white and European shades of grey. On her way, she collects artifacts from the passage of time, thus documenting the tipping point where an era becomes the “past”: telephone booths, public benches, Volkswagen "combis", neon signs...
From this double standpoint, her series "I Think I Can" characterizes her exploration and her work as a "bridge" between two worlds. This short sentence sums up the difference between the American and French mindset from childhood, starting with the way it mistakenly translates into French, when taken literally. And again, it is a symbol of the dichotomy between the mind – I think – and the flesh – I can. For this series, she created a large format canvas full of multiple declinations and variations on these four words. This very piece has just been chosen by the Robert Debré Hospital in Paris.
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on canvas 100x100cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on canvas 100x100cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on canvas 100x100cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 This series is inspired by the choreography of Pina Bausch. Oil on canvas 61 x 61 cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on canvas 113x173cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Mixed technique 81x100cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on paper 45x61cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on paper 45x61cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks
2015 In this series, Aviva explores a new viewpoint, the vertical axe. These images are inspired from those taken by drones and security cameras. Seen from above, we look more similar to each other. Unaware that they are being watched, they don’t need to force a smile. As if, paradoxically, they were finally themselves, with none of the self-conciousness that is so present in the social media space today. Oil on paper 45x61cm Photo credit © Aviva Brooks