Statement
Art for Art sake?
I am a Swiss American artist. I loved art all my life but never thought I could be an artist until my 13 year old son dared me to take a drawing class. I took the challenge, but asked him to take the class with me. He was the class pet, naturally talented and fun, and I learned that I could draw. I never stopped doing art after that. Art helped me survive when my African-American son was killed by a total stranger on a street of Harlem - he was 18. His father, a former Tuskegee pilot, never recovered and died a few years later. I kept working; I was a clinical psychologist, and art helped me find hope that life may still be worth living. A few years ago, I closed my practice as a clinical psychologist to do art full time.
In my figurative work I find that I return again and again to the face. Am I looking for the people I loved, some pieces of my heart? Most portraits are of strangers whom I photographed while walking in the streets of New York City. With the abstracts paintings I let loose my love for colors and movement. Collages are playful and a form of improvisation.
Photography by Fabrice Herrault
Bio
Chantal Bruchez-Hall is a Swiss American artist who lives in NYC. Born in Switzerland, Chantal moved to the US many years ago, fascinated by her new city, its opportunities, its art and its people. For many years, she worked as a clinical psychologist, working first in research, then in private practice. Art was always her first love and she closed her practice a few years ago to do art full-time. Her work has been shown in NYC, Boston and Lisbon, Portugal.
For sales: contact info@chantal-bruchez-hall.com