#June'08 - Veronique

French artist Veronique Aonzo excites with a contemporary and complex visual style. Lou Nietunz caught up with the woman and her work.

Did you have an interest in visual arts from an early age? From your family or school?
VA: I was a single child. I was always gluing something together. From the leaves in the garden to old toys in the garage or family photos and letters. Maybe I was already influenced by Nick St. Phalle! I still keep gluing today.

Did you find it intimidating or inspiring to grow up in such artistically rich parts of the world as Southern France and Italy?
Inspiring, of course. On my way to school every day, I would pass the Chapelle Matisse, his house, Picasso’s studio, Renoir’s villa, Armand and Cesar sculptures. My favourite restaurant even now is La Colombe d’Or in St. Paul de Vence. Fantastic. You can’t be indifferent to the special light in southern France. I need to go back there regularly.

Did you explore other fields of work before deciding to choose the path of a painter? Who are your strongest influences?
I had always been une touché a tout. I tried many paths in life, from taking a lawyer’s degree to being a photography agent…but I suppose that in the end I gave myself freedom from boredom. Life sometimes takes you away from your real inspirations, just to make you understand who you are. Oh dear, I am getting a little dull!

How and when did you find yourself first arriving in Bali? Was it love at first sight?
I have to confess, that the ‘love at first sight’, wasn’t for Bali, but for the man I am still living with now. I am sure Bali is part of my love story, but that wasn’t the reason that made me stay.

How do you find that life in Bali affects your work and train of thought? Compared to before?
I don’t like to give a definition to the word ‘artist’ but if there’s one thing we have in common, it’s the faculty to look at things differently and translate that vision. Of course, the special place that is Bali transforms my work. I want to use the word intensity, but not sure if that has the same significance as in French.

Do you generally like to work in solitude or do you connect and discuss with other artists?
This answer is going to make my few friends laugh. Without hesitation, I love to work in solitude.

How would you say your most recent works differ from previous themes and methods? What is the concept?
My technique is still the same, as when I started showing works at Ku De Ta. I suppose this is what makes my style. Calvin Klein once said, “never change what you are good at – repetition is reputation.”  I like that. So this is what I do. I am obsessed by some themes like love, peace, religions, female complexities…so I find my way to express them and…voila!

Do you usually work on one canvas at a time, or several?
I start a minimum of five canvases at a time because I like to tell stories.

What would you say is the most important lesson or discovery you have learned through your work?
Somebody said: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” And: “ Work without love is slavery.”

What are your hopes and aspirations for future exhibitions or works?
To contradict what I said before, I am going to work in collaboration with a very talented friend of mine, Elissa Coleman. We are going to do some shows in Perth, with the theme being Art is Fashion. Fashion is Art. Should be fun. Very new for me, because I have to come out of my shell. And maybe something very exciting in LA, but shhh!

With all of the exposure through and from multimedia these days, do you find yourself embracing or rejecting the use of digital and electronic media in your work?
That’s a technical one, but yes, I do work a lot with the computer.

Do you think Bali is moving in the right direction?
I don’t think I have the ability to answer that question. Bali is Bali, and I hope will always be Bali. Within Bali, some people are moving in the right direction and some are not.