Today we’d like to introduce you to Naomi C-G.
Naomi, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in Switzerland in 1993 and raised in a family of 5 generations in graphic arts. Creating and drawing have always been an essential way to express myself since I was a child!
High school done, I’ve been admitted to the international university of art and design (ECAL) in the graphic design department.
After three years of studying, I decided to take a year off and come to California for working as an intern in the inspiring graphic design studio Wedge & Lever (Leucadia). During the stay, I have developed a strong interest in branding and found myself deeply inspired by the west coast scenes and color palette. It gave me the desire to draw more and more assigned to my work a kind of “Californian neo-vintage” style.
Back to Switzerland, I graduated, obtained a young talent’s award for illustration and got an article in the renowned Etapes magazine, the Parisian review of graphic design and visual culture.
Since then, I got several opportunities to show my work around Switzerland, France, and California.
When I am not drawing, I work as an art director and keep working as a freelancer, always seeking new collaborations.
At the moment, I live in a small town, and I will start in a few days, an artistic residency until September. I want to practice painting; I always need to see my work growing up!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I do illustration with a pen, a brush, and a mouse!
I place great value on colors. Selecting them is a very much part of my work process.
My work is minimalist; I like making room for people imagination by not telling the whole story. I am a dreamer; I love to observe things around me and creating my own movie. I hope my work encourages people to do it as well.
The way I represent my characters is refined, not a lot of details, woman’s grace and people natural elegance inspire me. I like the body or face in movement; it gives unexpected poses.
Cultural hybridity is an important issue to me and inspires my work a lot. I deal with a large skin colors palette, brought together on a single character, mostly female, embody various cultures. I feel concerned about integrity, so I try to represent a cultural symbiosis through my figures. Combination of various tones can also remind lights and shadows. Sunlight is omnipresent in my work.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
Today I feel art has a large place in our society. It is something very precious and infinite. Art evolves, it is a treasure that provides information on values, dreams, or significant concerns about cultures and generations. This is an invaluable and inexhaustible source of inspiration.
Art inspires cities and extends to some other fields like fashion and design. There are so many ways to include artistic work!
Even if, it is hard to make a living by being an artist, I think artists will always be respected because they have a unique creativity and a particular way of seeing the world, which is priceless.
Artists can’t be stolen, I mean everybody can imitate, but a real artist has something to express. It sounds real, full, right, and deep.
But of course, life is not easy; every artist always has to work hard to establish himself and gain recognition, welcome to the jungle!
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I post regularly my work on Instagram. People can also find my work on my website, where I have an online shop for small objects like postcards and silkscreen prints.
I had an exhibition in Encinitas last October, and I will have a new one in Switzerland end of summer.
Nothing blocked in yet in California this year! I would be up for it!!
Contact Info:
- Website: naomigallay.com
- Email: naomigallay@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naomigallay/
Image Credit:
©Naomi C-G
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