For the self-taught French artist, Lou Ros art was a part of his life from a young age as his mother was a choreographer and he cites this as his earliest memory of an art form. Fast forward to his teenage years and thanks to the rebellious nature of his, he found himself on the graffiti scene, tagging the streets of Paris like many of the creative boys his age in the city.
His art adapted and evolved as he moved away from his teenage years, and he became more of a figurative-come-expressionist and abstract artist. He tried out many mediums before settling on acrylic, and why’s that? Well, he enjoys building layers to create interest and allurement that reaches far beyond the digi-sphere. It’s all about the reality of seeing and appreciating the texture within his artwork.
Felicity Carter: What is your first memory of art?
Lou Ros: My mother is a choreographer so I was in contact with art from an early age so in many ways it started with contemporary dancing. My first series of paintings was also about choreography.
FC: Tell us about your background and how you became an artist…
LR: I first rejected art, maybe because I was a child and was always in contact with it but when I was about 16 years old I started to do graffiti mostly for fun and rebellion. There was no long term projection, it was just a fun activity for me. But then I started to try to be good at it. I think this is how my perception of building an image evolved progressively to where I am now. I see it as the same exercise I am doing today.
FC: Which artists past or present have had an impact on you?
LR: Funny thing is that I started painting because of a non-painter and mostly a “dada” artist, Marcel Duchamp. I was really in love with his paintings because it was quite close to what I was doing in graffiti. Then really quickly I became a big fan of Francis Bacon and I am still a big fan of him today. I just saw an exhibition at Gagosian London of his works and I am still amazed by his art. I would say today the artist that impressed me the most is Adrian Ghenie. You can see in his work that he is influenced by Bacon, for example. But Adrian Ghenie managed to create a new image of painting while doing it in a crazy strong and contemporary painting. So yes, Francis Bacon then and Adrian Ghenie now.
FC: How would you sum up your aesthetic?
LR: Well, there are cases where you can drop every kind of art. Mine would go in the ‘figurative expressionist’ one I guess. But I would describe it now as almost abstract when it comes to painting a landscape. I think my work is constantly evolving but yes, figurative and expressionism are the most fitting.
FC: Do you have a favorite medium to work with and why?
LR: Yes, I am a big fan of acrylic. I tried almost every medium as I did not learn the technique at school. I tried everything by myself to see what would be the best tool with my way of painting. And clearly acrylic is the best one for me. It allows me to work superquick. To do any kind of effect. Plus, it’s one of the best long-term painting medium in term of stability for collectors. So I just use pastel to draw the lines on canvases and then 95% acrylic, then 5% of oil because the only bad side of acrylic is that when it’s not wet anymore the deep black or clear white they lose a bit of their deepness. So for small touches, I use oil.
FC: What do you look to communicate through your work? How your style evolved?
LR: Really it depends. It can be simple things like painting the portrait of a friend or an image I really like. But recently I tried to work with a stronger subject matter like climate change but not in a boring way. So I do not really talk about it or attach a big political text that nobody would read. I tried to make it look interesting and then you realize it could be something that could disappear. I think in my case subtility is a good way instead of full on confrontation. But maybe I am a bit too kind to it.
FC: What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given when handling the art world?
LR: I think it’s to do it sometimes instead of overthinking and not doing it. That was the best advice my mother gave me when I was struggling. And this is the advice I do give now when people ask me how I became successful. I did work a lot. That is how you can be successful even in the art world.
FC: What do you have coming up for the rest of the year?
Follow Lou Ros on Instagram.
