Interview by Jimon

1-Your name is Emmanuel Werthenschlag, why the change to Méïr Srebriansky?  I needed a shorter, easier name. OK, more seriously, Méïr is my Hebrew name and Srebriansky is my late mother’s maiden name. I started using my alias to separate my artistic work – music videos at the time – from my professional work as a graphic designer. My mother didn’t have brothers, so taking her maiden name was a tribute to her and my matrilineal family line.

2-You were born in Strasbourg, France and after many years of painting and creating you decided to move to New York, why New York?  I first visited New York when I was seventeen. I enjoyed the city then and have since visited quite frequently as my brother moved here 20 years ago. I envisioned myself in a more laid back city; somewhere close to the sea where I could stroll by fishermen and enjoy permanent sunshine. Then I met my wife, a native New Yorker, and settled in for good in the inspiring madness that is NYC.

3-I understand that you were studying sciences before you decided to pursue art, why?  I was actually studying biochemistry as I come from a family of biochemists. I love the sciences but didn’t pay enough attention to the coursework – in class, I got lost for hours perfecting anatomical drawings. Soon enough, I decided to drop out and to embrace the obvious: art school.

4-What school did you attend and how do you think it contributed to who you are today as an artist?  École supérieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg. Initially, I didn’t like much what art school had to offer. To support myself I worked on music videos and graphic design, which in addition to classes left little time for pursuing my painting practice. Luckily two teachers, Mr Lang and Schlier, both accomplished artists in their own right, picked up on my frustration and set me up with a private studio where I was free to paint and work as I pleased without having to be accountable to anybody on the condition that I met with them once a week.

5-You lost all your paintings to a fire in 2004, how did that change you as an artist?  It affected me greatly. My paintings, books, drawings, computers…everything was all gone. I stopped painting for several years; however, I could not stop drawing. So, I drew at night and worked corporate gigs by day: websites, branding, and art direction. After moving to New York I started to paint again. My wife pushed me start again, and I am thankful for it. When I started my style radically changed, like magic.

6-What influences you as an artist?  Literature, other people’s work, science, emotions, and the way my brain works. I think that there are no boundaries to what can inspire a painting and these influences and inspirations are not always apparent. But that’s what I love, the inner mystery that paintings carry.

7-Some of your pieces seem to be very time consuming. What is the longest you have spent on one piece?  My painting process focuses on exploration and transformation of shapes, colors, and, more recently, materials. I begin with an embryo of a shape, and then I let it sit, re-work it, and layer it – often multiple times. Zembla took me a little bit over a year to make. Actually, Watermelon and Across the Universe, Jardin du Fumée, and Napalm D’Or/Climate Change all took me between six months and a year. So, pretty long.

8-How has your style changed over the years?  I see my practice as fresh and continuously progressing. After the fire my style changed drastically. I moved from figurative painting to the abstract with a larger focus on expressive elements. I wanted the work to be more real and direct in an ‘in-your-face’ kind of a way. To harnessing a physicality of the act of painting I started exploring resin, cast resin, wood, epoxy, and other more sculptural material. This led me to play with perception and dimensionality; my work slowly began protruding from the wall. These works are more sculptural and spontaneous than my classic oil paintings, like Across the Universe or Blowing Poodle, which I worked on parallel. In Watermelon and Napalm D’Or my different techniques started to meet – drawing, oil, resin, carving.

9-How do you define success?  Success is not a point of arrival it is not static. Instead success is a constant evolution, growing while being fulfilled by what you do, and of course, being surrounded by the people that matter. Oh did I just say that?  I meant a huge bank account and a retrospective at the MoMA while drinking mojitos on my yacht with RBG, Mick Jagger, and Beyoncé.

10-How would you like to be seen as an artist years from now?  Like on my tombstone? “He tried his best.” Is that an OK answer?

12-You work in multiple platforms which one is your favorite?  I love drawing. I started as a toddler and never stopped. For me, it’s like journaling, but more fun and more obsessive.

13-Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  Lots, but I always come back to the Oceanic and African arts section at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. But, honestly, I don’t really believe in inspiration. I trust consistency in the practice and hours of work and once in awhile magic happens.

14-Best advice you ever received in regards to your career as an artist?  “Do it with joy,” from a very important person.

15-What forthcoming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled?  I am about to start working on a limited edition lithograph based on “Big O,” one of my acrylic on paper works. Silk screening is labor-intensive process that involves both hand-painting and digital re-touching. It’s entirely new for me and I will be working with Gary Lichtenstein Editions. Gary is one of the best in the business; he has published editions for Robert Indiana, Ken Price, and Alex Katz. So, I’m in safe hands and I look forward to the collaborative process.

16-If you could have dinner with any artist living/dead who would it be?  Can I pick two? The filmmaker John Cassavetes and William Blake, the poet.

17-Name three things you can’t live without in your studio?  Besides my brushes and paints? Books, coffee, and light.

18-How would someone find you on social media?  @meir__s don’t be shy to follow me or spark a conversation.

Anything else you would like to include?  I work out of Mana Contemporary, a complex for art studios in NJ. Mana organizes an Open Studio event once a quarter. Feel free to stop by and say hi next time. Oh and my website is meir-s.com. Thanks guys!