JJ Priour
1986-
Naturally, my father, Damian Priour’s history is at the root of my own. Growing up in the beautiful Texas hill country, watching him in his studio develop his creativity and technique has had such a profound effect on me. All throughout my childhood, I played in his studio and enjoyed seeing what could be done with the raw materials. I loved trying to transform things into other things, but could not yet understand the elements or process of my own creativity.
However, I moved away and went to college in Seattle following an undirected and short-lived track in international business.
After my interest in the corporate world shrank and my awareness of water and the environment expanded, I moved back home to Austin, and knew immediately where I wanted to be: back in the studio. Seeing and experiencing the relation between my father’s abstract style of art and the environment has provided me with the deep connection, understanding, and respect that I now have for the artwork and artists among us. And within myself.
Using the same gorgeous fossiliferous Texas limestone, and industrial glass, and building upon my father’s original techniques, I continue to expand creatively and work in the same studio my father did for 25 years. Over my lifetime, seeing Austin and the unique central Texas hill country transform into the generic suburban area it is today has embedded in me the motivation to preserve our environment, and beautify our public spaces, creating a beautiful, artistic relationship between people and the environment.