Translated by Bethszabee Garner

Through these intertwined layers of paint that explode into an almost “living” form of abstraction, a new plastic, topographical language imposes itself on the viewer. Julie Mehretu's extraordinarily coherent and powerful work has made an international breakthrough, with the Ethiopian-born American artist now ranked among the top 100 names on the global art market. Following exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and a retrospective at the Whitney Museum (2021), the Palazzo Grassi in Venice is hosting her largest exhibition to date in Europe until December 2024.

Julie Mehretu: In my painting, I am interested in the space of possibilities and the fact that abstraction can somehow defy language. Abstraction is often contrasted with figuration, but in reality, there is a lot of abstraction in figurative works. Conversely, abstraction can evoke or even imitate things that we understand in the visual world and to which we refer. Let's say that we can see a kind of confrontation between an almost architectural rigor and the colors and shapes that emerge. This is sometimes similar to archaeological excavation. Painting that plays with abstraction offers many possibilities because it is a space where there is great freedom.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: Your works are reminiscent of a parchment with a futuristic dimension that the viewer must decipher.

J.M.: I think painting is a way of understanding the world. It is a space for investigation and questioning, but also for liberation. My painting is a reflection of the world, while attempting to invent something new through all possible languages. In this superimposition of layers, there is the idea of skin, but also of a material that allows you to see through it. Whether it be parchment, cave walls, canvas, or city walls, humans have always left their mark by painting on surfaces. It is fundamentally this space of expression that interests me in painting, even if I have no idea where the brush or pencil will take me when I start. It's a constantly evolving process, and the work made up of these layers eventually gives birth to itself.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: People often talk about cartography, three-dimensional atlases. It's funny to think that your father is a geographer. 

J.M.: Yes, my father was a professor of economic geography at the university. We're a family business (laughs). I inherited from my parents this desire to learn and work, with an interest in geography, but also architecture, urban planning, and history. I am attracted to images and, in general, to what they reveal about our world.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: Do you paint politically?

J.M.: Through my painting, I try to make sense of our times and our current situation, whether political, historical, or social. We are flooded with images from the news, which are highly mediatized. These images of violence, war, and climate disasters show how much we are prisoners of very complex social and political dynamics. There is this question of who we are and why we continue to do these things when it is not necessary: we do not necessarily need to kill each other. It is like an imperative for me to paint from this.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: Your painting has evolved over time and with political events, such as Trump's inauguration.

J.M.: Yes, my paintings have changed a lot over the past thirty years. They have undergone many transformations, moving from black and white to color, then back to gray, then to a form of erasure, and recently I have reintroduced color. The more they progress, the more information is superimposed, making them difficult to decipher. And that's intentional. It's almost like filtering, a kind of skin or layer of information, but I don't necessarily reveal which building comes from where. With my painting, I try to offer a kind of experience, like you can have with cinema, music, sculpture, and video. It's the “transformative” aspect of art that interests me.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: The notion of time is also central: your huge canvases require time to look at.

J.M.: Yes, time is essential. First of all, painting takes time. But understanding yourself as an artist also takes time. In the evolution of my painting, the transitions themselves take time. We live in what I call a state of hyper-information, consuming hundreds of images a day on our phones. And yet I am always amazed to see hundreds of thousands of people queuing up to look at a painting in a museum. It's as if these people are intent on experiencing something. They are experiencing time.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: After Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Cao Fei, and Jeff Koons, BMW invited you to design the BMW Art Car. How did that come about?

J.M.: I initially declined the invitation, but it was while attending the 24 Hours of Daytona last year that I knew how I was going to approach my interpretation of the BMW Art Car. I watched the race, the drivers, and the pit crew. I realized that it was all about innovation, imagination, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. I am fascinated by the impressive amount of data, calculations, and knowledge that went into creating this three-dimensional object. I wanted the car to have a slightly “chaotic” feel so that when it was in motion, it would appear blurred. When you look at the Art Car, you don't get the impression that it's carrying a work of art, but rather that it has sucked the work in through its grille. But it's an adaptation of a painting I did.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: What do you mean by adaptation?

J.M.: Because you can't paint directly on the car, I chose to digitize an existing work, Everywhen, using the same colors and shapes as the painting. I took very detailed photos and adjusted the high-resolution images piece by piece to the contours of the vehicle using a 3D scanning system. Although the overall effect doesn't look like the painting, you can still say that it comes from that painting.

Désirée de Lamarzelle: Which artists inspire you?

J.M.: There are many, in fact. I travel all over the world to see as many masterpieces as possible, including some very old ones. I also follow the work of contemporary artists, but if I had to name just one, it would be Caravaggio.

Article written by Désirée de Lamarzelle to be found in issue n°8 of OniriQ Magazine.