Interview with Christopher Pugliese

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AT WHAT AGE DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

I can’t remember not making art because both my parents are artists, and making art was simply what we did. That said, I didn’t consider art as a career until I was fourteen when I took a still life painting class at the New York Academy of Art. This class taught me how to mix colors, but more importantly the instructor showed me that it wasn’t about talent; there were methods that could be learned and mastered.

HOW DID YOUR PARENTS REACT WHEN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST?

Growing up in a household of artists, I was expected to become an artist. Business was frowned upon. My parents believed in art more than money.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?

Difficult question because there are so many. I am obsessed with the Old Masters, Rubens, and Michelangelo etc., but the more I paint,  he more I find inspiration in the contemporary scene. Artists like Lisa Yuskavage and Matthew Stone who play with ancient themes and motifs. That said I’m a big fan of Tiepolo.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS UNLIKE YOUR OWN?

Gerhard Richter. I wish I had thought of combining abstraction with realism the way he did.

ART BOOK YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT?

This is impossible to answer because my artistic concerns are always changing. I have gone through decades where all I could think about was Rodin and Sargent, but now I’m looking at more contemporary painters. We are always growing and learning there is no one art bible for me.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN AN ARTIST?

The quality I most admire in an artist is the ability to create illusionistic spaces. For instance, I’m in awe of M.C. Escher for his ability to create worlds that look real, but cannot exist in our 3D world.

DO YOU KEEP A SKETCHBOOK?

I always keep a sketchbook. Always!!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MUSEUM IN ALL THE WORLD?

Obviously, I am biased towards my hometown, so The Metropolitan Museum of Art is my favorite, but it’s the default. The Louvre is incredible, but I have yet to make the pilgrimage to Berlin.

WHAT’S THE BEST EXHIBITION YOU HAVE EVER ATTENDED?

The Gerhard Richter retrospective at the MoMA in 2002 changed my life because it showed me that an artist doesn’t have to be an abstract painter or a realist; you can do both.

IF YOU WERE NOT AN ARTIST, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?

A commodities trader because I am obsessed with history and how products, goods, materials, and money are moved around the world.

DID YOU HAVE AN ARTISTIC COHORT THAT INFLUENCED YOUR EARLY CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT?

Yes, but not in an entirely good way. The Art Students League in the early 1990s was very cliquish. There were several “art cults” in competition with each other: the Ted Jacobs/Jacob Collins school of painting and the Steven Assael/Max Ginsburg group were in fierce competition with each other. I tried not to take sides because I felt there were good qualities to both, but I became an outsider who wasn’t part of either group.

Ultimately, as an artist you are on your own, but I learned that it helps one get established and develop a career if you are part of a network of artists and teachers who help each other.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU DIDN’T LEARN IN ART SCHOOL THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD?

The teachers I studied with all focused on what you could see. Later, I realized there are different approaches. I think it’s very important to develop your imagination.

WHAT WORK OF ART HAVE YOU LOOKED AT MOST AND WHY?

Rodin’s Gates of Hell where figure groups burst out of the frame in all directions. I admire this way of thinking and of composing images.

WHAT IS YOUR SECRET VISUAL PLEASURE OUTSIDE OF ART?

Gardens. I love being in nature, smelling the woods and feeling the sand between my toes.

DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC IN YOUR STUDIO?

I’m a big fan of audiobooks, and I listen to music. I am obsessed with history, so I go back and forth between listening to books for weeks and then music for a couple of weeks until I find some new books that intrigue me.

WHAT IS THE LAST GALLERY YOU VISITED?

The last gallery I went to is Regen Projects in LA. Its an absolutely incredible space; it feels like a church.

WHO IS AN UNDERRATED ARTIST PEOPLE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT?

My friend Zhivago Duncan. He has created his own visual language and successfully transferred his unique forms from paintings created with batik methods into ceramics sculptures. He deserves more attention.

WHAT ART MATERIALS CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?

I can’t live without my iPad Pro. I design everything on it now.

DO YOU PAINT/SCULPT/CREATE ART EVERY DAY?

I work everyday on some aspect of my work. Either designing and composing on my iPad or painting and drawing. I am always working towards my goals.

WHAT IS THE LONGEST TIME YOU WENT WITHOUT CREATING ART?

I’ve never gone for more than a day or two without making some sort of art. If I’m sick in bed without energy, I try at least to write or sketch.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE FEELING UNINSPIRED?

When I lack inspiration, I write or watch a movie. Sometimes you need to give yourself a break, and when I let myself relax, it usually doesn’t take long before I’m inspired again. I have so many projects going, the challenge is finding the energy to get to work when I’m tired.

WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT DRIVE YOUR WORK?

The question that drives my work is, How I can inspire others?

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IN AN ARTIST?

Discipline and innovation are the two most important qualities for an artist.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T YET ACHIEVED IN ART?

I am currently working on a series of large paintings that represent the first half of my life and career. They are important to me because they combine concepts I learned from the Old Masters—lighting, anatomy, and composition—with personal experiences. I have tried to place these my experiences into a mythological framework.  I hope to create images that others will be able to relate to in that are meaningful to me and hopefully to others. for exhibition, and I intend to start moving in new directions. I also have a graphic novel about life in space in development.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT ART IN THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

You can do anything you want; there are no more rules or “isms.”

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CHRISTOPHER PUGLIESE (@downtowndavinci)