Julia Benz by Arnaud Ele for Canada Goose
As another potential lockdown looms large over Berlin this winter, German artist Julia Benz has unveiled a collaboration with Canada Goose providing some much-needed escapism from the troubling times. To celebrate the opening of the brand’s first Berlin store, Benz has added her signature kaleidoscopic vibrance to the store’s windows via a collection of installations titled ‘Living in the Open’. As the Berlin-based artist applied the finishing touches to her installations, she discussed the enduring resonance of the city to the international creative community, the cathartic process of involved in the production of paintings and the darker layers of her vivid work.
Courtesy Canada Goose
In your work, geometric patterns coexist alongside undefined lines creating a duality between rigour and freedom. Do you see your work as an exploration of the tension between the two or of the harmony between them?
Both! My work is a celebration of ambivalence—the coexistence of chaos and calmness: one half of me indulges in spontaneous brush strokes and the other half of me is very premeditated in how I intend to execute patterns and layers.
How do you explore chaos in your art?
I always start with chaos, I start by creating very freely, based only on intuition. Watery paint and ink not only ends up on the canvas but also on the floor and as I try to tap into true truly free creative expression. Then, when it feels right, I proceed by having a dialogue with the painting: I examine what has emerged through the first process and I see what will work. I intentionally include mistakes.
It sounds like a meditative process.
Absolutely! That’s the most interesting part to me—figuring out what is going on in your brain subconsciously. It can be hard to put everything on the canvas as an artist. Occasionally, I look at my work and feel like screaming “what do you want from me?”
The kaleidoscopic colours in your work evoke positive emotions of joy and fantasy—how, if at all, does your work relate to the more negative spectrum of emotions, such as failure?
I come across some people that only see the positivity in my work. Others that I speak to recognise the darkness and negativity inside my paintings, sitting within the layers of colours. Negative themes are certainly part of my work, and I think that’s because of how people are affected by certain colours. As far as what I bring to the artwork, every emotion that I feel is there. I often feel conflicted, sometimes to the degree that I hate the process of painting. However, these kinds of experiences also lead you to find solutions within yourself and your work. There are two main ways you can interpret my work: either, you are open to seeing the negative emotions, or you take the colours at a surface level. As far as I’m concerned both ways are valid, I certainly don’t judge either of those views, and I have no intention of prescribing one dominant view of my work.
Arnaud Ele for Canada Goose
Last year, you held a Berlin-based solo exhibition titled ‘Catharsis’. Is the idea of reinvention through catharsis something that you experience during the development of an artwork?
I constantly find myself leaving my comfort zone, facing fears and pushing the boundaries of my work. That’s why catharsis seems to crop up so frequently in my work. If I recognise that I’m being too ‘safe’ in my work, I step back, reflect, and figure out a way to be more progressive.
Reinvention is frequently followed by failure. As an artist, how do you contest such moments?
Failure is central to my creative process: it can be something as simple as dropping paint in the wrong way or accidentally choosing a different colour. Mistakes are essential for growth so I always manage to see the beauty in them. Make no mistake, it’s a horrible feeling, but if you can take a positive perspective on it, failure can drive you forward.
When you see these “mistakes”, are you inclined to show your work to others or do you just put it away and move onto the next blank canvas?
I find that I only show my work to others after I’ve reached a point where I won’t be influenced by their feedback—it allows me to retain a sense of artistic autonomy.
Historically, it often seems that discomfort and environmental constraints breed creativity and a compelling artistic output. Have you found the pandemic conducive to creativity spurts?
During the first few weeks of the lockdown earlier this year, I tried to paint but I felt overwhelmed by the general sentiments of the time. It took some time to adapt but I was able to carve out a safe creative place for myself within my work. Creative people in general are so lucky because we are afforded a sense of escapism through creative pursuits. It’s an incredible gift! With this gift comes great responsibility as I believe that we need to be able to share this escapism through the work that we create.
Courtesy Canada Goose
You’ve developed your artistic identity in both Düsseldorf and Berlin—cities that are renowned for linearity, brutalism, and dark tones – how have you developed such a colourful aesthetic and where do you take inspiration from?
Perhaps the colour in my work came, almost, as a response to the lack of it I was encountering in my daily life. With that said, I’d argue that it’s more influenced by what I feel internally as opposed to being inspired externally by my environment. My mother recently said to me: “I can see you, in every piece you do”. Colours incite quite a visceral reaction in me—that’s the way it’s always been.
You’ve collaborated with Canada Goose for the unveiling of their first Berlin store. You took this as an opportunity to bring some colour to the city. Why do you think this city continues to attract and resonate with a global creative audience?
Maybe it’s not the most romantic answer but I think it’s because Berlin is a relatively cheap city. Artists inherently are drawn towards affordable living and studio space. I guess that’s why there was such a tremendous influx of people in the 70s and 80s. I take great interest in the fact that, on the one hand, it’s a city full of German history and on the other hand there is this entire community of creatives celebrating diversity, freedom, and self-expression.
The collaboration looks to explore the theme of ‘Living in the open’. How do you interpret this concept?
The concept was to create something so striking that you end up bringing the outside world in and vice versa. We are approaching winter and will potentially head into a second lockdown. It is now more important than ever to connect with people.
Alongside Benz’s ‘Living in the Open’ installations, the store also features a state-of-the-art customisation suite complete with a range of personalisation options to add your signature touch to your favourite outerwear options.
You can explore ‘Living in the Open’ by Julia Benz at the Canada Goose store featuring a unique, state-of-the-art customisation suite on Kurfürstendamm 26A, 10719 Berlin.
Credits
Selected images shot by Arnaud Ele
Assistant: Julia Lee Goodwin
DOP: Sebastian Vellrath
Editor: Irina Baconsky
Producer: Jenny Halonen
Hair & Make-Up: Meilynn Lindlar