ALL ABOUT ELLE
I want to believe that my art can heal not only my soul but it can bring healing to the people as it is being created with love.
ABOUT
I am Laurence Groux, nicknamed Elle. I was born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland. I actually live and work in New York City. I am a self-taught artist.
I received the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Individual Artist grant in 2008 and also won the Saatchi Online Competition in November 2008, where I am compared to the likes of Picasso's and Miro's.
I was reviewed in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Enquirer and also The Manhattan Times. My works are in the collection of Nick Nolte, The De La Salle School, Ronad Holding Corporation, Michael "Punch" Harper, and Le Casino de Geneve, to start with.
I am also part of the documentary called "The Art Of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not For Sale" which won an Emmy in 2009.
After a hiatus of 10 years, (during what time I created a collection of High-End Umbrellas) I became pretty ill physically in 2018, I wasn't able to move and create anything. I realized that I could not take for granted that I will always be physically capable to create. It was pretty much a punch in my gut. I decided I needed to create NOW and give this "being an artist" a real go. So I am coming back stronger and my work has matured. My process is still to channel creation with humility; My hands, a tool to create wonders.
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Birds are a Theme
For some reason, birds are a theme in the artworks. You will find them either hidden or in plain sight. It all started with a painting from Picasso "Girl with the Dove". I would see it every time I attended the art classes in Middle school. The primitivity in which Picasso painted that dove always stayed in my memory as well as my great-Grandma's dove.
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Self-Taught
I am a self-taught artist.
When I visited the only art school in Lausanne at the age of 15, I froze and left. I didn't think I could make it.
I saw this girl holding a perfect pen on paper drawing of an old pair of shoes. And somehow thanks God! I am grateful. I believe it was the way I was supposed to learn. On my own.
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Sculpture is ...
I discovered sculpture when I was 21 years old.
I went to my first museum, to a Degas show. I got bold and I touched the bronze sculpture of "The Little Dancer of Fourteen" I didn't get caught ;) but 5 minutes later, I walked into the gift shop and in the corner of my eye, appeared a book with, on the cover, a sculpture. It was a book about Camille Claudel's sculptures. I opened it, and from that moment on, my life changed. It was a world of wonder. I fell in love with her work.
2 days later, I was buying clay!
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I moved to New York City
In 1996, I moved from Lausanne, Switzerland to New York City. I landed in Tribeca. It was a big culture shock but I just loved it.
Now, after more than 20 years, it is home and a great source of inspiration. I live in Washington Heights at the present and one of my favorite place is Fort Tryon Park. Go and see it if you visit New York City. The Heather Garden is a true gem.
I have yet still so much to create!
From Artworks, to Umbrellas to Greeting Cards to who knows what is next, I just don't want to stop.
Every day I am allowed either financially or physically to create, I feel blessed.
