Modern art feels almost beyond the realms of critique. Whether positive or negative, opinion weans and wallows in the depths of commercialism. The practice of historically significant, technically nuanced and emotionally resonant art tends to get lost in the maze-like facade of derivative ambiguity.

It’s excessively refreshing then, when an artist emerges from the industry’s pretty rubble with the intention of succumbing consumers into the challenges of their creative vision. Enter Jeremy. A rising star, the artist graduated from Haute École d’Arts et de Design in Geneva in 2021, with his debut solo exhibition Art Is Lifer at Wallstreet, Fribourg coming the same year. Jeremy has since participated in a range of group exhibitions, such as La main-pleur, curated by Nicolas Brulhart and Sacha Rappo, in Kunsthalle Friart Fribourg, Switzerland and A moment of being at Bollag Atelier, Basel.

Running now in Berlin until March 17th, Jeremy’s dazzling new collection, Mourning Opulence, is his first solo exhibition with Peres Projects. A poignant, complex and lyrical assemblage, each piece draws on a wide range of influences and themes, such as fantasy, sensitivity and lust. The collection takes us on a visceral journey, with each canvas a disparate page from a book of striking characters, meanings and stories. Flowing with juxtaposition and intensity, each work truly demands perception from its viewer, forcing them to see beyond the brushstrokes and into the gaze of liberation and expressionism.

We had the pleasure of immersing ourselves in Jeremy’s mind, catching up to reflect on his journey into the art world, the essence of his work, his visual amalgamation of emotions, and his stunning new exhibition.

Read the full interview below

Hey Jeremy! How are you?
Hi Wonderland. Feeling good.

Talk us through your journey up until this point?
I was born in Geneva from a Spanish mother and Swiss father. My brothers and I grew up in the countryside near the mountains, surrounded by cows and sheep. I used to hate it. I wanted something else and was attracted to the city life. Now I realise how lucky I was. As a teen I studied visual communication, and from that I realise my desire to work within the Arts. I went back to Geneva later on to pursue my studies in Visual Arts. From there I moved to Berlin, and that is where I’m currently based.

Who is an influence to your art?
The people closest to me. The ones I get to know profoundly. Whether they are artists themselves or not, the people on my entourage are an endless source of thoughts, ideas, stories, interrogations, etc…

How have your experiences and upbringing effected your art?
I grew up outside of what would be considered a cultural setting. I didn’t really get to experience proper museums until I was in my late teens. I was nonetheless always drawing with obsession and dreaming of designing clothes, creating comic books and painting on big canvases. My interests haven’t change much since. I was always quite determined and ambitious in many ways, learning by myself with the tools at my disposal. I had to go and look for the things that attracted me. This mindset is also something I carry with me still.

How would you describe the essence of your work?
The work is about is about constant metamorphosis, the ever changing state of body and mind. It is about erotism and sexuality, gender identity. It displays unknown situations of familiar places. It plays on layers of oppositions and contradictions, formally and conceptually. It tries to bring together irreconcilable by morphing them in the same body. It seeks the emotional and the spectacular as well.

Where does your inspiration to paint stem from?
From many different entry points. Myths, stories, movies, theories, comic books, animes, video games, landscapes, other people’s works,…

What do you think allows you to continue to find the vision and inspiration to create art?
I don’t really question myself that way. I’m basically drawing 24/7, whether I’m in the studio, in public transport or chilling with friends. I can hardly consider myself not creating, as it seems to help me navigate what’s inside and around. In that sense, I feel always inspired.

What are your interests outside the art world?
Not much!

Your art is such an amalgamation of a variety of emotions that are often disparate, how do you concoct that into pieces that are so visually striking?
It is important for me at this point to keep exploring and experimenting. I have an interest for many types of images and languages. The History of painting is also so rich, deep and attractive. There’s so many ways to approach and explore it, to communicate with it. I try to bring different symbolics, languages, subjects, clichés and respectfully force them together. It is how I make sense of our time as well, with this overload of information and possibility, with the way we receive and perceive images, all smoothed together.

Talk us through the current show at Peres Projects in Berlin, what makes this one special?
It is special in many ways. First of all, it is my solo debut with Peres Projects and with a commercial gallery. I’ve been intensely involved in this project and put all of my strength into it. The space is huge and attractive, I wanted to do it justice and also present my work outside of the typical white cube setting. The idea was to also use the space as a platform to further establish the story and to involve the spectators in an experience outside of the image. The gallery is entirely painted in pink and we used a similar shade for the carpet. It creates a feeling of coziness and home. The ambiance is quite seductive and calming, while putting is on a certain state of (uneasiness, awkwardness, uncertainty, danger?). It is extravagant for sure, but also delicate. I am quite thrilled about how it turned out.

What was the inspiration for the piece for the exhibition?
Mourning opulence is a moment outside time, it is a peak through a parallel world in which shape-shifting entities go about their days. It proposes segments of the same fragmented story, outside of our linear perception of events. Every piece adds on the shared lore , whist being individual too.

What else is on the horizon for you?
I have many exciting personal and collaborative projects are on the way, some confirmed and others just fantasised.

Where do you want to take your artistry in the future?
To keep challenging myself and learning as much as I can. Expand on what I’ve got. Collaborate on bigger projects, involving more people and with a greater audience.