Interview Grègór Belibi Minya

Can you tell us about your background?
I grew up in a religious community. I always liked to draw, but I started being an artist at 23 when I left the Mormons. I then made electronic music for about ten years, and then I joined the Superior School of Fine Arts, from which I graduated five years ago.

How do you see the relationship between music and painting in your work?
My relationship between music and painting is synesthetic. These are two polarities that coexist and balance each other. Painting and music are languages that have color in common. I feel color as an emotional charge.

Can you share your process for creating character sound pieces? How do you approach the composition of music in your visual art?
The music is always in line with my visual work. Because it is completely abstract, the music is closer to my thoughts and my unconscious. Very often, I already have everything in my head. I go to Ableton Live to compose the music and explore the colors directly on the computer. Otherwise, I also improvise a lot on the piano, and when I feel there is potential, I save it on my phone to develop the idea later on Ableton (I don’t know how to write music theory on a score). Painting comes next; it gives the physical body to the music.

What inspires you?
The different energy fluctuations that go through my body are: Sometimes it’s a feeling, a conflict, a pleasant feeling, a person I meet, the different seasons, or nature. At the moment, I am very interested in deconditioning and in the thought of Krishnamurti. There is also Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s relationship to the body and the spiral, which interests me a great deal. What inspires me is anything that can help me understand the world around me. I work with biomimicry.

Can you tell us more about the exhibition at Robertson Arès Gallery?
The Roberston Arès Gallery presents a set of pieces from the Exsolution series. Paul Trigoust, a curator friend, wrote the text of the exhibition: „Through this series, Grègór oscillates between moments of clarity and moments of exploration that he describes bottomlessly. Through these moments of intense freedom, he erases the boundaries between the past and the present, inviting our consciousness and his to immerse themselves in the present moment. The molten structures it presents become an invitation to transcend our usual understanding of space.

We are transported to a timeless dimension where limits dissipate and eternal thoughts merge into infinity.

How do you spend your summer?
I’ve been learning to be a dad since the beginning of June when we had our first child, who is called Jeanne. At the same time, I have been establishing for several weeks (even several months) a research plan that I have called „the Cycle of Joy.“ This new creative cycle is composed of 12 chapters; each chapter develops a metaphysical theme (nature, spirit, emptiness, death, space, etc.). I structure my creativity in this work process so as not to go all over the place and waste my energy. The introduction to this cycle of creation is a musical piece entitled „Le champ des possibles“ for orchestra and electronics. I am currently creating his graphic score. Listen here.

How do you see your work evolving in the future?
I evolved towards a much more musical and collaborative work, in painting towards more space and on large format. I hope to collaborate with musicians, an orchestra, dancers, and a film director. I remain open to proposals.

Grègór Belibi Minya – www.gregor.studio, www.instagram.com/gregor.belibi.minya