Jessica de Vreeze
Jessica de Vreeze is a French-American visual artist, born in Paris and now based in New York. Her life has always revolved around art but it’s only later in life that she pursued art as a career. Self-taught in photography, Jessica’s compositions reflect her raw emotions. For Jessica, “life is art and art is an essential part of life.” “I like to tell stories about everyday heroes to build bridges and break barriers. I capture people in empty scenes and spaces (Portrait d’Atmosphere Volume I, II, III, shown in New York City between 2016-2018) and uncover the soul of people by photographing their actions. “My new body of work is about women in their daily lives. I am fortunate to be part of a generation of women that has choice and individual rights; we can decide to have a career and support our families. In all cultures, women share the struggle to find the balance between needs, dreams, ambitions, reality, family, work and volunteering. Three years ago, it struck me; I needed to tell our story. I finally understood how to give a voice to many women in preceding generations and us to come. I could reveal their lives and remove the cloak of invisibility soviet places on us. I wish to use my art to showcase great stories and inspire others. “For the project, I decided to profile 12 women. To magnify the impact of these women, I decided to show them out of context, contrasting them with singers, boxers, artists, dancers, celebrities, business leaders and politicians. As sharing is a key part of my work, I collaborated with other talented artists to show their work alongside mine to enhance the contrasts. “My first three profiles are American women born in Israel, Brazil, Cape verde Islands and the project explores what they have in common. All three are educated, generous and hard working. They paused their careers to step up for their families and at the same time, gave back to their communities and the causes they embrace. And while many people benefit from the fruits of their work, not many people realize the amount of work they have been doing - silently behind the scenes. They bridge gaps and unite people. They never stop or think about how much they are doing; they just do it because it makes a difference.
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“I chose to match Viki Galchen’s everyday strength with photographer Bruce Byers’s boxer. Viki paused her career as a computer programmer to volunteer as a “Copy Cat” in the copy room of her children’s elementary school and running a team of 25 parent volunteers, which enables teachers to better concentrate on the students. Jenifer Ting Chen has rejoined the workforce at a top real estate brokerage company in New York City and still continues to volunteer in her children’s school and as the co-president of the middle school PTA. Her voice is contrasted with
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