Julia Gessner

Year of birth: 1992
Where do you live: Berlin, Germany
Your education: Master’s specialising in Economic History
Describe your art in three words: glamourous, alluring, beguiling
Your discipline: Acrylics
Website | Instagram

What first inspired you to focus on Old Hollywood as the main theme in your art?

I have always been into the aesthetic of the older styles of doing makeup and the kinds of fashions of the era. When I was in my teens and my 20s, I used to make an effort to dress well and wear my winged eyeliner everyday. Since then, and as I have moved into my 30s during the pandemic, I’ve been more invested in creating art that works well in my living spaces. It made sense to me to make a home more comfortable and more inviting since that is where we spend most of our time, so I feel like it was a natural move to focus on creating interior decoration that emphasises the more dramatic and fluid lines of the Old Hollywood aesthetic. The celebrities, figures, and glamour from that era to me represent a timeless artistry and femininity (as the majority of my art showcases a feminine beauty), and I wanted to explore how to make them feel relevant and alive to a contemporary audience, and for myself.

How do you choose which iconic photographs to reimagine and transform with color?

My decision typically depends on a mixture of two things: what canvas shape and size am I using, and what do I really want to focus on in my latest piece. In terms of canvases, I recently did a small series on small, black, round canvases, so I mostly looked for faces with very specific shapes and light and shadow combinations that I believed would look striking and be complemented by the black canvas.

To my second point, I like to browse through old photographs online for some personal favourites (I think Myrna Loy has one of the most beautiful side profiles I have ever seen), and then I expand my search depending on a fashion (do I want to do something that features a headpiece, for example), or a very specific physical feature (do I want to work on a face that features the way an eye is tilted, or their hair is styled).

Julia Gessner, Inspired by Carole Lombard, 2024

Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you go from a black-and-white image to a vibrant, contemporary piece?

Once I have selected a photograph, I sketch it out onto the canvas. It’s not a complex sketch; to me, it’s more about capturing the glamour of the features and the figure rather than concentrating on the smaller details.

In selecting colours, one thing I gravitate towards is using browns. I select browns for skin tones and darker tones, and from there, I choose a second colour like a blue, or a green, or a pink, which will inform the other prominent colour to be used in the shading. I don’t like to be too complex in the number of colours I use; I only use about three colours in the majority of my portraits.

From there, I just have fun experimenting as I am painting. I’m not too focused on capturing the essence of the person exactly, but rather the whole look and feel for my end product. If I don’t feel like the person’s hairstyle or clothing piece is necessarily “working” in the context of what I am creating, I have no qualms about changing it to suit the mood.

How do you feel about the role of nostalgia in art? Why is it important to revisit and reinterpret images from the past?

This is an excellent question. Nostalgia is an interesting phenomenon, because often it clouds our judgment. To me, it’s a double-edged sword: it makes us happy because it makes us think of a time when we were younger, but it also makes us angry or sad because we wish things could be how they were. It’s no different when it comes to art. We like to see old motifs or styles, but some people get angry because it wasn’t replicated in a way that feels authentic to them, or wasn’t done “properly”.

I think everything that has come before the present, especially in the art world, is fair game. We can keep challenging norms and styles and “the proper way to do things” because our world is always changing. Of course you can revisit and reinterpret old styles, and you should, whether it’s to convey a message, or you want to create something that simply makes you happy. I think some of the best works of art has come from a place of irreverence.

Julia Gessner, Old Hollywood Glamour in Brown and Green, 2022

What emotions or reactions do you hope to evoke in viewers when they see your work?

I want people to feel a sense of happiness, or a comfort when they look at my work in the context of their own home. I’d love for people to feel a connection with the past, and have an admiration for older fashions and looks. At the same time, I want the work to feel vibrant and engaging on its own terms.

In a more practical sense and maybe this is my own sly, personal goal, is I wish people could feel comfortable dressing up as much as people like to dress down in our own pocket of time. When the average person makes an effort, it may seem like theatre to others, and I don’t want people to feel self-conscious because they are making an effort to look and feel good about themselves.

Have you faced any challenges in transforming historical black-and-white images into colorized artwork?

I think the most obvious answer here is imagining the colours I want to use, but it is true. Sometimes the result might look a little flat to me because I don’t have the full scope of colours readily available to replicate, and I am making it up as I go along. Its this challenge which ultimately makes it fun, and navigating this issue often turns out the most rewarding part of my creative process.

Colour experimentation can also mean that maybe a colour is too vibrant (or dull) for the mood I want to achieve. In this case, it’s about figuring out what I think is the most appropriate way of colouring that suits the tone. For example, I like to use dashes of gold to make an item of clothing or a decoration, or something in the background stand out, but it can also feel like I am taking away from the vintage aspect, so I am always making sure there is a balance between the old look and the modern style of painting.

Julia Gessner, Old Hollywood Glamour, in Pink and Blue, 2022