Renowned Photographer J.J. L’Heureux Shows A Different Side In Santa Monica Exhibit

The art of J.J. L’Heureux will be featured in a solo exhibit at BUILDING BRIDGES ART EXCHANGE in Santa Monica (Bergamot Station Arts Center) starting next Saturday, Dec. 12.

Although L’Heureux is well known for her photography, she works in various mediums. Her solo show entitled “J.J. L’Heureux: Etichette” is curated by Marisa Caichiolo and will spotlight her whimsical collage – Etichette.

While visiting a friend in Italy, she noticed a variety of old style cheese labels such as Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Bel Paiese and other kinds of Italian cheeses.

She was drawn to the designs, and the colors of these traditional wrappers and she decided to create collages using the Italian cheese labels.

“I would see an especially attractive label on a cheese, and with a friend locate where the cheese was made to find clean labels,” she said. “Gorgonzola for example: we drove to the village of Gorgonzola and inquired at a small cheese shop where to find the cheese. The shop owner told us the factory had recently moved to the next village, ‘just drive on the road out of town and we could not miss it.’”

This is how her ‘Etichette’ series began.

When asked how she splits her time between the various mediums, she said her studio time is dependent on her exhibitions.

“I have two one-person exhibitions installed at this time,” she said. “My exhibitions are specific for each venue: the number of pieces, text, videos, and talks. Once this is decided upon I make the work, have them framed, crated, and shipped. Working with paintings is a slow process as the oil paint often can take a number of weeks to completely dry. To answer your question, I often move from series to series each day focusing primarily on the next exhibition.