Anne-Céline Grandury

Femme á la Pipe (Magenta)

2021

Anne-Céline Grandury is a French-American artist who started her artistic journey in photography. After earning a Master of advanced studies in European Law in France, she completed an MBA in International Business at Baruch College (CUNY) in New York. After graduating from Baruch, she worked for a fashion photographers’ representative, which expanded her passion for photography. She then studied at the International Center of Photography in New York. During her personal artistic journey, she also explored a variety of disciplines and mediums, ranging from painting to print making. She studied painting at the 92nd Street Y with painter Brian Rutenberg. She took print making with Kathy Caraccio at the National Academy School of Fine Arts. Through her studies, she discovered the potential of combining these disciplines to fulfill her artistic vision. Anne-Céline started the series “Soul Searching’’ as a metaphor for life and her inner journey as a female artist toward finding her voice. Her work seeks to embody the process by which we, as individuals, progressively layer experiences on top of one another as we open and close certain chapters in our lives. Some layers may be buried while others may come forward more easily. Throughout the ebb and flow of life, these layers and memories gradually shape us into who we are and serve as a foundation in our search for our inner selves. The different pieces of torn off and removed paper reflect this excavation-like search through the layers that we have long ignored and those that we have recognized. More often than not, layers that we bury over time, whether unconsciously or not, are equally critical in our effort to make sense of how the experiences that we live through define us. Throughout this self-reflection process, Anne-Céline incorporates photographs from her layers of life and reassembles them into collages, seeking to forge her own interpretation of past memories and take control over what defines her. As she contemplates this body of work, the artist wonders to herself and engages the observer to ask, “we are continuous works in progress, advancing on the path of consciousness, but will we ever feel complete?” Anne-Céline uses images taken over the last decades, her own paintings, as well as torn posters from New York City and previously visited places through her extensive travels. She is deeply drawn to graffiti and poster ads, which she sees as temporary marks of our humanity, slowly fading with the passage of time. Anne-Céline meticulously tears and reassembles these personal artifacts one by one as she reflects on the essence of time, learning how to flow with it and attempts to be more present, more inspired, and more connected to her inner self.