“Goliath”
52 x 48
acrylic & charcoal on canvas

April 9th 2024 1:00 PM 

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Alright, let me close the door.

We wouldn’t want anyone to hear what we're saying in here.

I know. So intimate.

So what's your name and what do you do?

My name's LUZ [LOOZ] and I'm an artist.

And you go by just ‘LUZ’. Right?

Yeah.

When did you start going by that?

When I started doing art more seriously, I just wanted to go by something different.

My family calls me eLuz so I just shortened it.

And how long have you been in New York?

Currently 7 months. But before that for, like, a year and a half.

Okay. So you were here for a little bit, and then you moved to LA. Right?

Yes.

You've been in a fair share of galleries, including Super Chief Gallery-- Shout out Bill.

Shout out Bill.

Is there anything that galleries or gallerists have done that you specifically enjoyed as the artist or maybe disliked when displaying your work?

Yeah. I feel like it's a good question because it kind of explains why I wanted to start curating my own shows. The intention and care taken for the types of shows I was being put in, I didn't really appreciate. It's shows where there's no labels or there's no, like, real theme. You're just a bunch of people who wanna show art. So we're just gonna put a bunch of shit on the wall and be like, ‘this is you guys'. Salon style group opening.

I didn't like that because, just because you're at a less serious phase doesn't mean that your work should be taken less seriously or, like, shown with any less integrity. So, no shade to any of them, but, honestly, all of them except for Super Chief were pretty… not shitty, but, like, were kind of the reason why I'm like, “Okay. Let me learn how to do this myself.” You know? So I was like, “Okay. If this is the treatment I'm gonna get now, I'll just do my own thing.

And when you say your own type of thing, what do you mean?

Like curation and seeking out venues to do my own solo project exhibitions type of things.

Like, I'm not waiting for anyone to give me opportunities but make them for myself.

Do you have any of those projects on the horizon right now?

Yeah, I have something in the works now for this summer.

That’s exciting! Going back to your work- Do you feel as if there are many, metaphysical themes in your work, or do you feel like it's more of a means of aesthetic expressionism?

That's a cool question because I was thinking about that the past few days. My work started working with spiritual and metaphysical themes. Inspired by a lot of religious art, mythological creatures, and spirituality as a whole. For example my first few paintings were about hell, then it shifted to be more about sensations and states of being. 

Recently, I feel like I wanted to try to give things more meaning than they had, maybe looking for more metaphysical meaning. 

I’m re-learning that it’s ok to make something just because “it looked cool” and not forcing myself to give narrative when there isn’t. 

I wanna start doing more of, more just, like, conceptual performance based stuff. Getting away from painting and doing more work that challenges my thoughts and makes art fun again. 

So do you feel as though currently you plan out these paintings, or do you feel it's very with the flow?

They're all very planned and based off of journal entries and books I'm reading. Since I started, that's been a thing.

And, what's, what's the obsession with the teeth?

No. I don't know. I like anatomy. I like bones. Like when things look distorted and broken. Have you ever seen those pictures on iFunny? There is one I remember seeing in the 7th grade. Were you in the 7th grade when I was in 7th grade?

Probably. I'm 25.

Okay. Yeah. You're in 8th grade, maybe.

How old are you?

23. In the picture this kid has a bunch of teeth on the roof of his mouth. You don't know what I'm talking about?

I've never seen this.

I have a very specific memory of that meme. It just made my skin crawl. I like the way it looked. I feel like that's kind of the base of this. Honestly, any kind of, like, a lot of small things. There's just this feeling you get. Kind of like trichophobia. I like gore and horror movies a lot or if I look at a medical journal. That feeling that, like, just like the blood and, like, the ripped open flesh gives you. It’s less of what it looks like and just the, like, ‘my skin is crawling’ feeling.

Definitely, and are there any certain artistic movements that really inspire you or that keep you wanting to paint?

I guess the whole German expressionism movement. Mhmm. How it is translated here in neo expressionism.

Are there any specific painters that inspire you or that you aspire to be like?

I think I really like, for painting, Matisse and Philip Guston's paintings specifically. I feel like they just got easier as they got older, and I feel like that's supposed to mean something. So I keep looking at that. There's something about when you're oldest and at your most successful, you were trying the least hard. But, also, who says “least hard”? It’s that the stuff just looks simpler? Compact figures, blocky. Simple and shit. 

So you're not as much of a fan of hyperrealistic paintings or anything?

No. Whenever I go to the Met, I  like to go to the classical section because the scale is really inspiring. And I like medieval lore and gods and goddesses and all that old stuff. Seeing those stories depicted on a large scale is inspiring, but the actual, like, visual language of it, I don't too much care for adopting into my own work… at least now.

Have there been any artists that you've been able to post alongside in galleries or at shows that have really inspired, maybe not even just painting, but inspired you to keep, you know, working and making?

Mhmm yes. Two artists in particular, Polo Cutty and Obi Agwam. I may have mispronounced them.

It’s ok they can’t hear you.

True. Dimitri Victor as well. It was cool following their stuff for a while so then getting to work with them and also display next to them was really cool. 

I also saw that you had a fashion project or projects that you were working on. You had some jeans and, like, clothes that you were making?

I did.

Do you have any fashion projects coming up?

I really wanna get back into it. Do you know the designer KidSuper? 

I don’t think so.

He was also a painter, and then he became a fashion designer. And, like, our paintings feel similar. Then how he incorporates painting and artwork into his clothing. But that’s not an upcoming thing. I just think it would be sick.

Yeah. Cool. Well thanks for chatting. If you have any things you wanna shout out-

Yeah. There will be a solo project this upcoming summer, fall time.

Stay tuned

Do I get to, like, see this?

Oh, yeah. I mean, I'll, I will show it to you before I post it.