 eleste Rapone, (www.celesterapone.com) first place winner of the Art-Interview - 12th International Online Artists’ Competition, was born in New Jersey, in 1985. She received her BFA in 2007 from Rhode Island School of Design. During her studies she focused on illustration and practiced in a technical realist style, but once introduced to the enticing fluidity and vibrancy of paint, Rapone chanced a new dimension to her art practice.
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Celeste Rapone
Invasion
36 x 36 inches
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
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Celeste Rapone has gained strong recognition for her most recent series of paintings, “Catholicism”. Raised with a strict Catholic upbringing, Rapone identifies concealed truths about childhood, puberty and sexuality. Her oil paintings reflect upon how children understand these themes and the effects that they have on children’s personal development.
Since graduating Rapone has received a one year fellowship at the Phoenix Gallery in New York. She is currently living and painting in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Celeste Rapone: I was born in New Jersey in 1985. My mother is a school nurse and my father is a lawyer in New Jersey. New Jersey is a very easy place to get stuck in, physically and mentally. My parents are both catholic and my upbringing was religious and quite strict. I didn’t see much of the world; I would go to school, to church, and fill the rest of my time with activities deemed appropriate for a young suburban girl. Then I went to the Rhode Island School of Design. That was the first time that I was exposed to different types of people and a new environment.
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Celeste Rapone
Gimme Gimme Gimme
24 x 48 inches
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
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Art Interview: Why did you choose to study art?
Celeste Rapone: Mainly because I liked to draw. When I was younger I was in a advanced art program in my school. I did a lot of drawing and painting throughout high school. Initially I wanted to go to art school to learn to use my drawing skills in a practical way. I intended to work in advertising or graphic design. But once I started school I was very drawn to painting.
Art Interview: What was the Rhode Island School of Design like?
Celeste Rapone: It was very challenging. When I entered art school I could already render any subject, but that was about it. I used to think that being able to draw was the most important component of being an artist. It was in the illustration department that I learned to use oil paint. I now had the tool I needed to delve into more conceptual territory.
Art Interview: Did you have any professors who influenced you dramatically?
Celeste Rapone: There were many who influenced me in different ways. A lot of my illustration professors encouraged me to find my own style and to look beyond the traditional boundaries of illustration.
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Celeste Rapone
Tenderizer
35 x 54 inches
Oil on Canvas
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Art Interview: Did your parents encourage you in your artistic endeavours?
Celeste Rapone: They were very supportive which is perhaps surprising in view of my upbringing. They were in favour of me becoming a fashion designer, which they saw as a more realistic career path. As I became more involved in developing my ideas my parents had a harder time accepting some of the themes I focus on, but they are still supportive of me. They helped me with my tuition, which made me restrain myself slightly during my studies, as a kind of gratitude to them. I’m over that now though and now have paintings that I simply choose not to bring home.
Art Interview: What has drawn you towards the themes that you work with?
Celeste Rapone: Being away from my hometown and experiencing something new for the first time has had a great impact on me. I’m very interested in the contrast between the life I was leading and the life I’m leading now. Medication for children, mental health, religion, marriage and sex are all really heavy issues that interest me. These are things that were very watered down for me as a child but now I’m beginning to understand what they’re really about. My paintings are adult responses to the stories I was told as child.
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Celeste Rapone
Snack-time
36 x 36 inches
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas |
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Art Interview: Are your paintings autobiographical?
Celeste Rapone: Yes, I consider them very autobiographical. My paintings are related to a lot of my personal experiences. However, I am finding that people respond to these themes because they are so common.
Art Interview: Are you currently represented by a gallery?
Celeste Rapone: No I’m not. I recently finished a one-year fellowship at Phoenix Gallery in New York
Art Interview: Is that something that you applied for?
Celeste Rapone: Yes it was.
Art Interview: How did you hear about their fellowship?
Celeste Rapone: Someone sent me an email and I had heard of the gallery. I wasn’t familiar with their fellowship though. I wasn’t even certain what a fellowship was. It’s been a great opportunity and I would definitely consider applying for another one after this.
Art Interview: Are you painting with oils?
Celeste Rapone: Yes, It’s something I prefer because I enjoy the texture of it. I would like to learn more about mediums and different techniques, but I haven’t had time to really experiment with them. I’d like to spend a year just experimenting with mediums. I use whatever canvas is cheapest at the store. If I become a bit more successful I will be more particular about the materials I work with.
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Celeste Rapone
Cream Filled
36 x 48 inches
Oil on Canvas
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Celeste Rapone
Chin Up, Dollface
39 x 54 inches
Oil on Canvas |
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Celeste Rapone
Jesus & Co
30 x 30 inches
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
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Art Interview: You say that you learned about painting in the illustration department?
Celeste Rapone: Yes. Part of the curriculum in the illustration department involved learning how to use oil paint as a way of exposing the students to another medium. The first time I opened a tube of oil paint I cried because I didn’t know what I was doing. After one semester I was completely converted and I didn’t want to go back to acrylic at all.
I had a textile class in college that really influenced my sense of composition in paintings. I like the idea of repetition and patterning in painting. I like it when images overwhelm you. Working with pattern and repetition really helps me to achieve that.
The themes that I work with are themes that I can’t avoid. For example, I feel very strongly about body issues. When I was going through puberty it wasn’t something that was celebrated at all and that was very confusing. My painting “Cream Filled” isn’t about achieving a milestone, it’s about the events surrounding it. Milestones for children are never just about the events themselves, they’re about the feedback, positive or negative, that’s received.
I’m very interested in uncovering what I was misinformed about as a child. My piece “Chin Up, Dollface!” is about how the image of the virgin and the term itself has changed from the 1940’s.
Art Interview: How long did it take you to develop you style?
Celeste Rapone: I knew what I didn’t want in my paintings before I knew what wanted. I knew that I wanted central figures and I knew that I wanted lots of color and iconography. I think my first painting in this style began almost by accident. It was the first Easter that I wasn’t able to go home so my mother said that she would send me something for Easter. I received a box with eight huge chocolate bunnies and nothing else. I started to think about what the meaning of Easter actually is and to wonder where it had gone. What did chocolate bunnies have to do with Easter? This was a turning point for me. I started to integrate the way I wanted the compositions of my paintings to look with the concept that I had found.
Art Interview: How long have you been out of school?
Celeste Rapone: I graduated in 2007.
Art Interview: Have you continued painting on a regular basis?
Celeste Rapone: I have. I went to The School of Visual Arts in a residency program the summer after graduation. Then I got a part-time job in New York and painted on my days off. I did that for a while and it was really not very satisfying. I wasn’t painting enough. I got the fellowship in January so I had a goal to focus on. I took a year off to paint and prepare for the show. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been showing since I left school. My solo show this past December was my first exhibit with work produced outside of school. The show was very well received, and I now understand a lot more about what it means to be a working artist.
Art Interview: Do you have a five year plan?
This oral history transcript is the result of a digitally recorded interview with Celeste Rapone on May 14, 2008 and updated on May 19, 2009. The interview took place over the telephone between Berlin, Germany and Wayne, New Jersey, USA and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine.
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