Self-taught Los Angeles based artist Brooklin A. Soumahoro is the worldly and educated artist you want to add to your favorites list. The polyglot artist brings his life knowledge into the studio as he delves into painting and drawing through completely different and equally calculated processes. We had the chance to interview Soumahoro, and learn about his internal creative processes, his daily life as a prominent up-and-coming contemporary artist, and his multicultural upbringing as a driving factor in his approach to his work. Soumahoro uses abstraction to reflect “an era in which we are clearing away outmoded systems and ways of being.” Read below to learn more about Brooklin Soumahoro and his aesthetically pleasing yet heavily calculated abstract works.
Portrait of the Artist at His Studio for this interview with AOC, 2021, Los Angeles, Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did art first come into your life?
I was born in Paris, grew up in the suburbs, a small town just outside of it. I spent my adult life travelling all across the globe, which gave me the chance to engage with many amazing cultures. I’ve lived for large periods of time in London, Brazil, New York, and now Los Angeles. I speak and understand 7 languages today.
In terms of art, as far back as I remember I’ve always drawn. As a kid, I had a big passion for comic books—I used to copy pages for hours and create my own stories. In fact, the first time I had a crush on a girl, around 12 years old, I made her a drawing of my favorite character and in the bubble, I wrote, “Should we have a date?”. Thinking about it now, it makes me laugh, but at that time I thought it was genius and understood art would convey my message. I was also a big fan of tags/graffiti, I loved the beauty, dangerousness, aggressiveness and competitiveness of it.
Untitled (Energy Field Painting), 2021, Oil on linen, 68 x 56 in, Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
Has your work always taken on the style it currently embodies?
No. As a self-taught artist, I’ve had to create my own studies, my own school, and I am always researching, learning and dissecting. I have attempted many different things along the way, always staying adventurous. Some were good ideas, and some weren’t. Ultimately you start to understand and get closer to what you are meant to do. But regardless of what I have done until now, there has always been a common denominator, and learned overtime how to remove my ego from the process of creating, to be a vessel. Ultimately, I’m only in charge to a certain extent.
Untitled (Energy Field Painting), 2021, Oil on linen, 68 x 56 in, Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
What is your process like? How do you begin a work?
I always come into the studio ready to work. I have my next day fully prepared the night before. I don’t like surprises when it comes to work, and want to know what I’m going to do in advance.
If I’m working on a painting, I know my energy is different. It feels like I’m getting ready for war. The canvas becomes the battleground, and I simply can’t think of anything else. I begin with the background color, using oil paint, and I apply layers and layers until I get it just right. Sometimes this takes days, and sometimes weeks, in which case I always have other canvases ready to go if I need to move on and let one dry. Once the ground is set, I use black oil paint to apply lines on top. I begin slow/steady, using patience to get into a rhythm. The process loosens up as it goes along. I listen to music, and when I find a track with the right beat and the right lyrics, then I’m locked in, and I will listen to that song until the painting is finished
My energy and approach to drawing is completely different. I have no clue of the process and what the outcome will be. I don’t know what I’ll make in advance—I just take it one color at a time. I draw when I decide to have fun.
Regardless if I’m working on paintings or drawings, I consider my process to be physically challenging. Art and athletics are closely intertwined. The Olympic games and art have common history for example. I like the feeling of going home every night feeling drained out. Like many coaches in many sports say: leave it all on the field. Well… I leave it all in my work.
The visual aspect is one thing, but then there is this part in every artwork that is present but invisible. I make sure you see that one too.
Portrait of the Artist painting at His Studio, 2021, Los Angeles, Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
Walk us through a day in the studio.
Simple:
Clock in at 9:30/10:00am. Change, then straight to work.
20-30 min. lunch break around 2:00pm, then back to work.
Leave the studio around 5:30/6:00pm.
On repeat the next day.
No different than a 9-to-5 besides the fact that I don’t take breaks.
Untitled (Lightning Field Drawings), 2020, Colored Pencil on Paper, 18 x 16 in (drawing) 22 x 20 in (framed), Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
From where do you draw inspiration?
From everything, I approach life like a tourist and a spy, trying my best to constantly stay right in between. Taking it all in. A big part has to do with being a millennial—we are the first generation to grow up with the internet. Once we jumped on the computer there was absolutely no limit to what we could be exposed to. As a kid I grew up in a small town but was always curious to see more, learn more, so a computer became very handy. When my parents could not afford vacations for the seven of us, I used to love using Google Earth as a way to visit places all around the world, I found that fascinating. I don’t want to be limited in my life and that applies to things I draw inspiration from.
By the way, limitation is different than restriction, and that’s another concept which is necessary to everyone.
Can you tell us about your relationship to color?
People are color junkies, including myself. I do my best to stay respectful to each color, to give each color the space to exist on their own. I want my colors to have a quiet presence but a strong power. I treat colors as if each one of them was a person. As people need togetherness, but also our own space sometimes.
Untitled (Lightning Field Drawings), 2020, Colored Pencil on Paper, 18 x 16 in (drawing) 22 x 20 in (framed), Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
Does your work reference any Art Historical movements or figures?
I like the sentence, “Life can only be understood backward but must be lived forward.” I’m definitely influenced by certain movements. It’s no secret that my work is a fusion of minimalism and expressionism, which are two movements with clear oppositional approaches to making art. That would be like when you live in Manchester, England and support Manchester City and Manchester United—it’s impossible. I consider these movements to be the apex of abstraction. But I try to make work for the future. We all have our influences, certain works by certain artists are like omens or a stamp of what the world used to be like. I want my work to feel timeless.
What’s next for you?
I have a show with Peter Ibsen at his Sunday-S gallery (Copenhagen, Denmark) in June. I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve had the chance to speak several times with him. I appreciate his sensibility and understanding of art, beside the fact that he’s a visionary, always thinking forward. On top of that, Jen (i.e. Jennifer Guidi) is having a show just around the same time with Massimo De Carlo in their new Paris location called Pièce Unique. It might be our first opportunity to travel back to Europe since this pandemic started.
Portrait of the Artist painting at His Studio, 2021, Los Angeles, Courtesy of the Artist and Artist Studio. Photo by: Brica Wilcox
At the end of each interview we like to ask the artist to recommend a person whose work you love and would like for us to interview next. Who would you suggest?
Zinedine Zidane.