My essentials: SJ Fuerst’s cultural picks

About  

I’m a painter who lives in Gozo. I’m American; I grew up in Connecticut and studied art in New York, Florence, and London. I moved from London to Gozo in 2016 with my partner, Luca Indraccolo. He is also a painter, so we renovated a beautiful old farmhouse in Xagħra into our home and studio.

Book

In preparation for my exhibition at il-Kamra ta’ Fuq, Madonnas on the Rocks, I’ve been reading a lot about rocks. I began with Rocks & Minerals: The Definitive Visual Guide for inspiration, and then a translation of The Writing of Stones by Roger Caillois for a more poetic and philosophical look at how stones have influenced art. For fun, I read How Not To Be A Supermodel by the brilliantly funny author and model, Ruth Crilly.  

Film 

I recently rewatched Little Miss Sunshine, it’s one of my favourites. It’s so funny, despite touching on serious issues. The cast is also fantastic, I particularly love how Steve Carell runs, and how Toni Collette stress eats a fudgesicle. The movie balances absurd chaos with everyday struggles in a way that feels genuine and unpredictable. Despite everything going wrong for the characters the movie still feels uplifting; it’s a reminder that things don’t have to go the way you planned for everything to be ok.

Internet and TV 

I have the British Vogue Arts & Lifestyle site set as my homepage. I enjoy seeing articles about art, music, and films first thing when I open my browser, rather than political headlines. It was a small change, but shifting my focus to those working to bring beauty and entertainment into the world, rather than destroy it, helps balance out the doom-scrolling of our current political climate, which feels amplified by social media.

Music 

Lately I’ve been listening to meditative playlists, specifically 432hz music. I find it helps to listen to music that ties in with the concept of the project I’m working on. For example, when I was doing a painting of a seagull, I was drawn to listening to ocean and beach sounds. Since the paintings for Madonnas on the Rocks incorporate the symbolism of the rocks themselves, I enjoyed listening to music that was designed to evoke the frequencies and vibrations of the Earth. This is more philosophical than scientific, but it helped me get into the quiet, meditative space I was trying to create for the show.

Place 

My favourite place is our little patch of field in the valley behind our house. Luca and I got a dog a few months ago, which was the wonderful excuse we needed to clear up our plot of land. I used to sit in my studio window and just look out at the beautiful valley, now I’m going out daily for walks, sitting in the grass and listening to the birds, and learning to forage the asparagus and mustard that’s growing wild.