Q&A [Question & Artist]: Emily Babette Gross

Q&A [Question & Artist]: Emily Babette Gross

Brea Gallery

The Brea Gallery opened “Through the Dreamhouse” exhibition on Saturday, January 27th and is on view through March 22, 2024. As this exhibition heads into its final weeks, we invite visitors to explore their memories and experiences within a home, and to reflect on the meaning and significance our domestic spaces hold. Today we are looking into the creative practices of artist Emily Babette Gross, one of the artists in “Through the Dreamhouse” exhibition. Emily shares with us her approaches of breaking traditional art boundaries, experimental techniques, personal inspirations and more below!

Meet Emily Babette Gross

[Brea Gallery]: It’s been a pleasure to host your work in “Made in California” in the past few years, welcome back! Can you please introduce yourself and share with us who you are as an artist?

[Emily]: My name is Emily Babette Gross and I am an artist and educator working and living around Los Angeles, CA. I am in interdisciplinary artist who strives to create Gesamtkunstwerks (or “total works of art”). Thus the mediums I choose vary from project to project but include: painting, video, sculpture, stained glass, music, and installation.

[Brea Gallery]: Can you explain the design process behind your ‘Duality of Memory’ piece?

[Emily]: Duality of Memory was designed in an indirect sort of way. I was making the papier-mâché window bars already for another project when I thought of the idea of using them for floating windows. Then while I was designing the floating windows I was thinking about how the windows should have something going on behind them to implicate the audience as peeping-toms, so naturally I thought the scenes should be bedrooms. Most of my work has some kind of autobiographical side to it, so I decided that the bedrooms should be bedrooms from my own life—I ended up choosing my parent’s bedrooms from when they were still together in my childhood. 

[Brea Gallery]: What inspired ‘Duality of Memory’ to come to life?

[Emily]: The two images of bedrooms on Canvas come directly from my childhood. I actually found those images while going through some old family photo albums. I was drawn to the fact that both images have the same bed frame yet one of the images is more idealistic than the other. This juxtaposition made me think about how my family members remember our mutual past so disparately. Some members of my family think of it more idealistic whereas others remember it as being full of trauma and pain. My own memory falls somewhere in the middle of idealistic and painful. So this piece was designed to evoke those two sides of the spectrum in regards to my family’s personal memories. 

[Brea Gallery]: What topics inspire your art? Also what has helped you in leading your artistic mission and/or inspires you to keep going?

[Emily]: I’m interested in how art can be both personal and universal. I am also interested in art that stirs up emotions and memories. This is why I use a lot of my own personal history as a catalyst for my work, because I’ve learned that if you make work about yourself, that is a better way of speaking about other people than to try and make some kind of universal work. As far as specific topics, I’m interested in psychology and psycho-analysis, dreams, the uncanny, subjectivity, and the feminist history of craft. 

I’m lucky in that I don’t need my help to further my artistic mission and inspire me to keep going. I wake up everyday and fit art into my daily life. I also teach painting and drawing so I’m constantly surrounded my young artists who inspire me. Opportunities to show my work, like the opportunity Brea Gallery gave me to exhibit in Through the Dreamhouse, always feels like a prize for my efforts. I love knowing my art is being seen by many.

[Brea Gallery]: What are 3 things in your studio right now that you are obsessed with?

[Emily]: My studio is very interdisciplinary as I make all my sculptures, video, music, etc. in one space. My partner and I have been making music together every weekend so I’m obsessed with our small music production equipment that we share. I’m a stained glass artist as well, and I got a ring saw for Christmas which is super fun to use and helps me cut shapes of glass I’d never be able to cut on my own. Lastly, I have all 6 of my dolls in my studio right now, and I just made them all little black capes for an upcoming video project. I’m obsessed with seeing them wearing their little black capes!

[Brea Gallery]: Who are your top 3 artists right now? Also what advice would you give to artists who might not know where to start in making installation pieces or mixed media work?

[Emily]: My favorite art historical artists are Louise Bourgeois and Maya Deren. I’m actually just about to shoot a video with pays direct homage to the work of Maya Deren, so she has been very influential on my work. As far as contemporary artists, I love my friend Trulee Hall’s wild imagination and installations!

Start experimenting! Try to get really good at one or two different mediums and then experiment on how to bring those mediums together. Also, don’t censor yourself! 

[Brea Gallery]: Thank you Emily! Before you go, where else can people find your work or what’s coming up next?

[Emily]: I have an IG and website! Instagram you can find me at @emilybabettegross or you can click this link and my website is www.emilybabettegross.com ❤️

Thank you Emily! We greatly appreciate your time in sharing some insight with us about your creative practices and what works best for you as an artist going beyond the canvas!

Be sure to check out Emily Babette Gross’ website and follow her social media accounts! Visitors can view her amazing art piece in person at the Brea Gallery until March 22nd, 2024.

We are open Wednesday - Sunday

12pm-5pm

General Admission $3

Through The Dreamhouse is on display now through March 22nd, 2024.

Q&A [Question & Artist]: Maria Antonia Eguiarte

Q&A [Question & Artist]: Maria Antonia Eguiarte
Q&A [Question and Artist]: Joetta Maue

Q&A [Question and Artist]: Joetta Maue