About AJ Gross
I started my art career as a fashion illustrator. A profession that has been replaced by photography. As a fashion illustrator you are trained to focus on line and gesture to give the viewer an illusion. As I grew in my career and the digital age expanded into the fashion world I climbed the corporate ladder to art director and brand manager for many of the largest fashion companies. After 20 years of producing art for the masses for fashion and advertising I decided it was time for me to make art that expresses who I am.Growing up in New York City, I was always visiting all the art exhibits and all the museums that NYC has to offer. I have spent 15 years living in
Asia and traveling the world. Now I reside with my husband and 2 dogs in South Florida.
Artist Statement
Finding my true voice as an artist has been a journey. Producing commercial artwork for the masses and then switching to creating art for myself has been a challenge. Between living in the NewYork Fashion World one can get lost in all of it. Is fashion art? Does may art look like fashion? Taking a few years off from that world allowed me to focus and study with other artists throughout the USA.
I found encaustic to be the medium for me. It cools to a hard exterior but has many layers underneath that give depth to each peice. The high shine and luster that can be achieved on the exterior sufrace and the sweet aroma that the beeswax releases in the studio fills me with happiness. This medium reflected my personality, the hard edge/one dimensional city girl on the outside, but once you get to the inner layers there is depth and sweetness.
Since I act mostly on intuition, the medium allows for experimentation and from that creation. I use the blowtorch to move the wax much like a paintbrush. I find the medium can have a mind of its own and I never know; am I in control or is the wax. Painting in a studio is a very solitary act. It is not the same as creating fashion for the masses, which the only concern is the other person. I create based on some inner voice that wants to come out. Encaustic is a labor intensive process and that connection with the piece is not the same as the viewers. It is truly complete when the viewer can see something in my work, that reflects their inner voice.
