“Cast that Aids the Function of a Hand,” Silicone, protein powder, fiber supplement and dry clay, 3.5 x 5 x 8″, 2013
Briefly describe the work you do.
My work begins out of an inquiry into objects that are close at hand. The process is mutable. Many works germinate at once, but rarely adhere to a straight path. They converge and separate bouncing off of one another and propelling each other into unforeseen directions. Sculpture allows me to address an immediate physicality thus evoking a somatic experience with the viewer. Something tenuous and dismissible is transformed into something challenging or even carnal.
Tell us a little about your background and how that influences you as an artist.
Porcelain is ingrained in my generative process. My maternal grandmother taught me how to cast porcelain as a child. When I pour porcelain into a mold, I am not simply replicating a form but engaging my personal lineage. When I watch my hands at work, I am watching them mimic my grandmother’s hands as she worked; my hands are copies and extensions of her hands.
“Foot Bath,” Pigmented porcelain, Styrofoam, almond milk, rice cereal, ground peanuts, protein powder and silicone, 18 x 11 x 15″, 2013
The concept of the “artist studio” has a broad range of meanings, especially in contemporary practice. The idea of the artist toiling away alone in a room may not necessarily reflect what many artists do from day to day anymore. Describe your studio practice and how it differs from (or is the same as) traditional notions of “being in the studio.”
I am a member of the artist run studio/exhibition space CAVE located in the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit, Michigan. The 6 members each have their own studios and separate studio practices within CAVE. The rent from our studios subsidizes our exhibition space. The gallery collective’s focus is hosting artist led projects and exhibitions. As a member of CAVE I have a dual focus on my individual studio practice and being part of a community that runs an alternative art space. http://www.cavedetroit.com
What unique roles do you see yourself as the artist playing that you may not have envisioned yourself in when you first started making art?
Issues of food and digestion have entered my work recently. There are aspects of my process that are evolving to look more like food preparation; kneading wheat-based clays, blending silicone smoothies and dehydrating/grinding nutritional elements into organic concrete forms.
“Digestive Rest,” Pigmented porcelain, wax and floor pillow, 11 x 33 x 29″, 2012
When do you find is the best time of day to make art? Do you have time set aside every day, every week or do you just work whenever you can?
My schedule fluctuates regularly and I work in the studio at different times. However the night is my favorite time to work. Once the sun goes down I find there is so much more possibility for what can be achieved and it feels like I can step outside of time.
How has your work changed in the last five years? How is it the same?
My work itself has changed subtly in the last five years, however the biggest change in that time is my location. Five years ago I was living in New York and attending graduate school at Hunter College. Now I live and work in Detroit.
Are there people such as family, friends, writers, philosophers or even pop icons that have had an impact on the work you do?
My pool of influences fluctuates from project to project. Currently the people influencing my work are: Georges Bataille, Tom Robbins, Sarah Lucas, Helen Molesworth, Ice Hockey Goalies, and Prince
If you had an occupation outside of being an artist, what would that be and why?
Surgeon or professional swimmer; to work inside the body or to spend a significant time in water is greatly appealing to me.
About
Kylie Lockwood was born in 1983 in Detroit, Michigan. She received her MFA from Hunter College in New York City in 2010 and BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit in 2005. Lockwood’s recent exhibitions include South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, Indiana; Printed Matter, New York, New York; Brooklyn Academy for Music, Brooklyn, New York; and Mediodia Chica, Madrid, Spain. She currently teaches in the Fine Art Department at the College for Creative Studies and is a member of the studio/exhibition space, Cave at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit.
Studio
All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.
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