We recently connected with Zoë Anne and have shared our conversation below.

Zoë, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Having written numerous intellectual screenplays and dozens of introspective songs, this summer I decided to celebrate my success and start making art for the sake of joy! I returned to oil painting, which I had not touched for over 10 years. I have never been formally trained in painting, but visual art has always been an important part of my soul.

With this in mind, I dove into creating my first gallery: Pieces. I am in LOVE with the collection. In each painting, I use oil paints to depict a part of someone. Whether it be their eyes, lips, or half a face, what I strive to express with this special arrangement is the fact that we can never know another person fully. Not our soulmate, mom, best friend, or even sometimes, ourselves.

In the evanescence existence that makes us human, dare we settle down and really take a look at the things that define us: the Pieces.

Zoë, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Thanks for this great question! Many people have called me a Renaissance woman as my work in the arts oscillates between several different mediums. I feel extremely blessed to carry a distinctive perspective, which reflects a unique background of growing up with so many siblings close in age in a New York City apartment. I had the most diverse place in the world as my childhood backdrop, which was coupled with the most amazing family who helped to teach me to maintain strong character and to always believe in myself.

As I navigate between my work in film, writing, painting, and acting one thing remains: the most important thing in life is to maintain good, moral character. In an ideal world, art should be used to help improve culture. This has been my dream since I was young to use entertainment to make America, my home country, a better and more beautiful place.

In the modern day and age of constant consumption and superficial solutions, I believe my work stands apart because of my strong background in classical literature and historical analysis. While I was first a classically trained pianist, who then taught herself the guitar and ukulele, I have always loved reading and writing, as well. I am very blessed that my high school had such a rigorous education.

Joseph Campbell argues that there are only seventeen story archetypes that collectively form the monomyth. I think there is a lot of merit to this idea, which is why the classic works of Homer, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, etc. still resonate so deeply in our modern society. While others may consume what is popular in the moment, I constantly strive to look back to antiquity to think about the deep emotions that truly make us human. We have changed so little biologically overtime, and so these core themes are still pertinent.

In addition to reading classical literature, studying history at Harvard for my undergraduate degree has also been essential for shaping my work as an artist. At the heart of studying history is a desire to understand other cultures and to create original theses as to how to explain the past. This background was most apposite for writing my biopic screenplay about Anton Chekhov, Doctor Chekhov, and it influences all of my work, as well.

I feel extremely blessed I have had the time and opportunity to make art, and I’m extremely excited to see my art absorbed on large scale in the coming months!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is being able to share the lessons that God has given me with other people and thereby, to connect with a greater humanity. I want people to feel understood and to feel seen. Ultimately, I would love my art to offer guidance for everyone to live happy and healthy lives.

As David Foster Wallace says, by default “We all come with a factory setting, replete with arrogance, that places each of us at the center of our own universe.” I believe that art gives us a beautiful opportunity to disconnect from this automatic programming, and instead to connect with our fellow man and woman through the knowledge that life is full of unexpected surprises that are all part of God‘s journey for us. It is through these twists and turns of fate that I believe God shapes us to become the best version of ourselves. It is my great blessing to be an artist, to be in touch with the spiritual realm, and to share my deep emotions with others.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I see my journey as an artist as divided into two parts: catharsis and bliss. I am so grateful for both parts of this journey. My cathartic journey has largely ended with the completion of my fourth screenplay this year. It was an incredible experience to write four films in so little time. It was similar to writing my two albums so quickly, which was also an incredible part of this cathartic journey. I was in a stage of life where experiences did not yet make sense to me, and so I used my art to help process them.

Now, I’ve come to see that everything was for my greatest good and so I move forward to make art for my pure bliss and joy. And I love it! I truly love making art. I love absorbing art, and thinking about art and being an artist. I feel so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given and the special gifts and talents.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ZoeAnneKessler.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeannekessler/

Image Credits

Mona Chu