Meet Avery Judge

We recently connected with Avery Judge and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Avery , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My purpose as an artist is to investigate how visual elements are able to convey a specific experience or emotion. I have difficulty expressing my thoughts and feelings into words. Thus, I turned to art. Art allowed me to communicate my thoughts in a way that words failed to do. Finally, I could grasp what I was feeling, and why, by turning it into a composition.
My artworks are inspired by personal experiences and emotions. I realized that discussing my concepts could help my viewers feel represented in the pieces. Specifically, my artwork is informed by mental health issues and disabilities. The artworks allow me to start the conversation around these stigmatized topics. This, in my experience, has made it easier for my viewers to continue it. In the end, my artwork creates a gateway for disabled and mentally ill individuals to have their voices heard.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I earned my BFA (with an Emphasis in Painting) from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 2024. Currently, I am based in Boston, Massachusetts. I explore how amorphous shapes and color interactions are able to convey complex emotions/feelings through minimal elements. I utilize acrylic paint and opaque, clean forms to create tension between color combinations and shapes within the work. Overall, I paint to research the complexity of the brain through images of organic forms.

Furthermore, the process of each painting or series is the most significant step in my process. I plan out every element of the work before I put paintbrush to canvas. This enables me to be able to fully convey what I want to within the artwork. Currently, most of my work is human-sized or larger. However, now that I am beginning to exhibit my pieces in galleries, I’ve begun to investigate how to convert the presence of my larger paintings into smaller sizes. I want my artwork to be accessible to all.
Currently, I am in the process of starting a new series inspired by the feelings of otherness. Specifically, the desire to possess normalcy and inability to obtain it. I am planning to push my color combinations even further within this series. My plan is to investigate how the juxtaposition of colors changes the overall composition of the piece.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three significant qualities are perseverance, bravery, and curiosity. Curiosity allows me to never settle as an artist. I am always interested in how I can push myself to do more than I have ever done. Perseverance allows me to never give up on my dreams. My art knowledge (up until college) was self-taught. Thus, I did not believe that I would have the skills to get into an art school. However, I applied to Pratt Institute anyway. Once I was in college, I knew that, at the beginning, I would have to work much harder than others to reach the same level. I was lacking education that many others were not. However, my perseverance allowed me to leave art school vastly more advanced than when I started. I wasn’t afraid to push through challenges.

Bravery allows me to push myself out of my comfort zone, even if I am anxious. I struggle with the fear of failure. However, in order to advance as an artist, you need to fail. New challenges allow you to investigate your art style in new ways.

I am new in my art journey. I do not know how much my advice would be beneficial. Currently, I focus most on being brave. You can never succeed as an artist if you are afraid to apply to open calls, investigate a new idea, put yourself out there. It is scary to be a new artist, but the only way to get through is to get through it.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I am currently struggling with the transition out of art school. I no longer am able to devote all of my time to creating new artworks. Along with that, I have been thrown out of my routine. I have to figure out a new work/art/life balance that allows me to fulfill what I want to achieve as an artist as well as being able to finance my art career. I’ve realized that having my time split up has caused me to be much slower at producing artworks – something that I struggle with not passing judgement on. I am currently attempting to establish a new routine so I can produce the amount of art that I would like to. This isn’t a challenge that is unique to me, but it is a challenge that is significant to my journey. I know it will make me stronger as an artist, in the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.avery-judge.com/
• Instagram: @averyjudge_art