“Hoboken Sweeps 3D.0” by Jean-Paul Picard

Jean-Paul Picard’s Artist Talk will take place on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 7pm with Ray Guzman on YouTube and Facebook @Hobokenmuseum

Jean-Paul’s Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, January 28, 2024 from 2pm-5pm at HHM.

Jean-Paul Picard is a Canadian American artist who grew up in Morristown, NJ. He received early exposure to the arts thanks to his beloved aunt. As a student at Morristown High School, Jean-Paul participated in the “Arthouse Group,” a small cohort of students who concentrated in the arts. His classwork consisted of etching, woodblock, silkscreen, and print-making. He would spend 3 hours a day, 5 days a week in Denville for advanced art courses. He also received an arts grant in etching from the Morris County Art Association under Jonathan Talbot. These opportunities left an indelible mark on Jean-Paul.

Jean-Paul continued his studies at Parsons School of Design. There, he found great mentors in George Tice and Louis Fauer. He completed a BA in Fine Arts in Communication Design and minored in photography and print-making. However, his greatest passion was photography. He developed a reputation on campus for his dedication to this medium.

Jean-Paul moved to Hoboken in 1981, where he engaged in street photography, but also worked for the Thomson Registry, a boutique advertising agency. In Hoboken, Jean-Paul discovered a vibrant arts community, where he felt supported and most at home.

Jean-Paul’s work is part of the permanent collection in the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Historical Society, Slater Memorial Museum, Drawing Rooms, and the Hoboken Historical Museum.

Hoboken Sweeps 3D.0 is Jean-Paul’s third exhibit at HHM. This show title has multiple meanings. Jean-Paul’s photography is 3-D and sculptural in nature. He uses his iPhone in a sweeping motion to capture his images. He has also evolved in his use of materials from phase paper, to gatorboard, to now shaped aluminum, for his photographs. Kiko Aebi, the Curatorial Assistant of the Museum of Modern Art, expressed, “I never knew photography could look like this.”

We look forward to welcoming visitors to see Jean-Paul’s innovative photography exhibit.

Artist Statement: I call my work “Sweeps,” which is the result of experimenting with moving the camera (iPhone), like a brush during exposures, recording time, movement and memory. After exposure, using my extensive skill set of both traditional and digital photography and printmaking, the file is prepared with little manipulation. In post-production, the chromaluxe aluminum dye sublimation photograph is hand-cut and shaped guided by the image. When finished, it is hung so that the wall becomes the negative space of the photograph, incorporating the entire environment. Centuries old aesthetic rules of exhibiting photographs in same size mats and frames are shattered. Since 2023, I have been producing free-standing sculptures.

Hoboken Sweeps 3D.0 has multiple meanings. The title refers to the following: the location of the photographs; my third show at HHM; all the photographs are 3 dimensional and were created in the 3rd Millennium.

In 2017, the photograph “Artist Need Not Apply” was displayed in my previous museum show “Hoboken Sweeps.” My fellow colleagues would come up to me, point to it and state: “YES!!!!” This photograph and this gallery inspired the work you see here today. Thank you, fellow colleagues, thank you, Hoboken Historical Museum, and thank you, Hoboken.

Special thanks to: Lee Beck, Lou Carbone, Bill Curran, Tim Daly, Gerri Fallo, Robert Foster, Ray Guzman, Roy Kinzer, Liz Cohen Ndoye, James Pustorino, Mary Nicholas Picard, Roslyn Rose, Anne Trauben, David White, and Steven Zane.