In November I had the pleasure to meet with Toronto artist Suzanne Carlsen. She had informed me that the gallery Lafreniere and Pai would be showing a collection of her work at SOFA Chicago. I was so excited for the opportunity to talk with her in person, as Ashes & Milk loves Suzanne’s work enough to offer it in our gallery.

Above is a piece by Suzanne Carlsen called “Animal Relocation.”

On the left is Suzanne Carlsen whom is wearing a fabulous brooch that she made. On the right is another fantastic piece of her’s which was exhibited at SOFA Chicago 2008.

N: I wanted to do this interview to give people a better sense of who you are and the work that you create. How did you get started in making art and what is your background?

S: I am actually from out west in the British Columbia area. I moved to Vancouver and did a two-year graphic design program in which I focused on 3D prop building.

After that I wanted to study textiles, which brought me to Toronto where I went to the Ontario College of Art and Design. The program there was really neat because it’s based on material archives so I studied textiles, jewelry and ceramics all in my first year. Initially I meant to do just textiles but ended up really enjoying jewelry making.

For one semester I went to Glasgow for an exchange program that was super concentrated in printed textiles and realized I didn’t want to do it. I did it so intensely that I got it out of my system and realized that there’s more to this than I wanted. -And I actually really missed the jewelry. I wanted to print things and make it into things and my teachers in that program were like “make it just about the printing.”

Then I came back to Toronto and decided to focus more on the jewelry program than the textile program. In my last year we do a thesis project and that’s where I started doing what I do now. I did some projects that were all metal and then some pieces all in fabric. There was a big pressure in school to pick one or the other but I didn’t want to pick one or the other. So I kind of made it so I would work with both.

People have a hard time with my work. -Like what to do with it. Jewelry has to be so durable right? People have a hard time with the textile part because they think its fragile. But there’s so much embroidery on our clothing that I never really thought about durability.

N: It’s kinda interesting because we assume metals age well like through patinas, though textiles age well too but just in different way.

S: Yes and then we just go with it. I’ve actually had a few of my pieces go through the washing machine. Like I’d be wearing a piece on my clothing and before I realized it I’d thrown it through the washing machine. -But the pieces came out like brand new!

N: Oh really?! Haha! So your pieces are very durable!

S: Well you don’t want to do that but if you happen to toss it in the dryer, it’s fine!

N: I have spent a good amount of time examining your artwork and have come up with my own personal interpretations but would like to hear more from you about the narrative content within your work.

S: Well I always start off with the metal, thinking of it as the framework. Then I apply the textile to fit the scale. The narrative aspect – I always have something sarcastic coming through a lot of the work. Most of the stuff from school was based on nostalgic activities, places, objects, things that people find really comforting.

When I finished school I wanted to do bigger stuff – I guess like real issues around me that are more serious. Also I think because of the colors and imagery of my work, people think that they are really cute and playful. -Which I struggle with because when they do actually read the title or figure out really what was going on with the imagery, it is kinda negative.

In regards to the framed pieces – you  have a piece of jewelry that is worn and then what do you do with it afterward? Does it just get beat up in your jewelry box? And so that’s when I started choosing to use the shadow boxes and creating an environment to hold the jewelry.

N: That’s neat, I guess when I looked at these pieces I saw them as a whole, then I focused in on the jewelry. So I kinda saw it opposite as to how you created them.

S: I’ve always worked narrative and love illustration and drawing and imagery. I’ve thought about just doing textural stuff, but I am not there yet.

N: I would love to know what else inspires you?

S: Most of the stuff I am showing at SOFA Chicago are from social issues and they come from where I live. -Things that I think are important but don’t know what to do with exactly. Like the piece with the deer and two beavers with the houses all along the bottom comes from where I grew up. The town I am from is really small and is expanding really quickly. There are a lot of problems with the animals and their habitats. The piece has the title embroidered on the back “Animal Relocation.” So I am not necessarily dealing with the issues, but definitely presenting them.

N: I like your approach. Aesthetically the fabrics and techniques you use are very classic and people have no problem approaching your work and thinking “I recognize this, I like it.” It allows them to look into the details and then read your message.

S: And then they can flip it over to read the title and think about it even more. -And think, “Oh wait, what’s actually going on here?”

N: Are there any artists or designers that you are influenced by or align yourself next to?

There’s one jeweler Felieke van der Leest and she does these sort of crocheted animals. It’s totally crazy and I can’t even explain her work. It’s all very humorous and meant to be worn. Like for example, she took a plastic figurine of a penguin and crocheted a little jacket for it. Then out of gold made a necklace for it to wear. She’s definitely a favorite artist of mine.

The above jewelry was created by artist Felieke van der Leest. The left piece is a ring and titled “Seahorse” while the right piece is a brooch called “Emperor Penguin Freddie with Polar Bear Claw Necklace.” (Photos are courtesy of  the artist. Thank you Felieke!)

N: Where do you create your work and where is your studio?

S: I have a studio residency at the Harbourfront Centre in the arts and cultural center of Toronto. The program is government funded so they encourage the public to walk through to watch us create our art. The building is an old warehouse and the jewelry studio is a tall narrow space that is located at the old loading base.

N: Thank you Suzanne and I can’t wait to see what comes next from you.

All images of Suzanne Carlsen’s artwork were photographed by Nikko Moy and were exhibited by Lafreniere and Pai. (Thank you Megan Lafreniere for bringing Suzanne to Chicago!)

[ You can see more work by Suzanne Carlsen right here. ]

[ For Suzanne and those of you in the Toronto area, you can personally see more work of Felieke van der Leest here at the Visual Arts at York Quay Centre. Opening reception is on Friday, January 23, 2009 from 6pm – 10pm. ]

So I am doing a little catch up today and wanted to show you some additional photographs I took from SOFA Chicago 2008.

The following wood pieces by Mark Hanvey won my heart over so much that my husband was about to purchase one for me. Unfortunately I refused this idea with much regret, but the upside is I was able to take some pretty intimate photographs of Mark’s work.

Mark creates gorgeously organic hollow wood forms that are extremely smoothed and yet texturally rich. The wood is carved from the cross sections of trees so that the growth rings are exposed.

Looking down into the hollow of these pieces, you will that find Mark preserved the delicate stem of heartwood found at the very center of a tree that gave it the strength to stand.

You can see more images of the work of Mark Hanvey here.

FYI: an exclusive interview with Suzanne Carlsen soon to come.

I was honored to experience and photograph the work of jeweler Iris Eichenberg. She is well known for her bold, organic forms and melding of diverse materials including copper, silver, leather, Bakelite, wood, tweed and brass. She has that no nonsense earthy quality similar to the Mid-Century Modernists, where form follows simplicity, democratic design and natural shapes.

The left image shows the work of Iris Eichenberg displayed on the far wall while the right image is a detail of a necklace. Thank you Gallery Ornamentum for bringing the work of Iris Echenberg to Chicago!

This year’s SOFA exhibit included some outstanding jewelry including the work of Suzanne Loew.

There’s a certain delicateness and organic quality to this necklace that excites me. Thin sweeps of warmly colored metal remind me of some type of plant matter while the texture follows the natural quality of the material. You can see more of Susanne’s jewelry here and here.

I have to thank Charon Kransen Arts for bringing the work of Susanne Loew to Chicago.

I have a personal fascination with wool and am always excited to see how other artists are using the material. Above is a detail from a wall piece by textile artist Brigitta Varadi. Originally from Hungary, Brigitta now resides in Ireland and is very inspired by the natural landscapes around her. She mixes fibers like wool and linen with nontraditional materials including moss and lichen.

One of the advantages of having a press pass at SOFA is being able to photograph art within a dangerously close proximity and I am delighted to be able to show you a few examples of why I am a big fan of texture and neutral hues.

Above is an etching by Claudi Casanovas called “Arbol – Inmovilidad en el paisaje (Tree – Stillness in the Landscape).” From a series of delicate hatch marks, Claudi creates an impression of bark from a giant tree onto a rather large piece of handmade paper. At sixty inches wide, this print is absolutely soothing to look at and bursting with texture.

Below is the work of ceramicist Annie Turner, who created these handsome organic Eddy Spoons and Mussel bowls. The gray finish reminds of a glaze which is literally made from Quick Crete.

The above pieces were shown by Galerie Besson a fantastic gallery from London, whom I have to thank for coming to Chicago.

Each year a few hundred famous galleries come together to curate the fantastic International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Arts also known as SOFA. I braved up the courage to blog about this year’s show held in Chicago, got myself a press pass (Thanks, Ann Host!) and photographed some of my favorite galleries and artists. This entire week I will be sharing my experiences at SOFA Chicago 2008 with you, including an exclusive interview with Suzanne Carlsen.

The pieces shown above are from the Ireland National Craft Gallery who won my attention with with artists like Mark Hanvey, Brigitta Varadi, Frances Lambe, Liam Flynn and Joe Hogan.