Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Friend.
Zoe, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I have identified myself as an artist since I could first speak, my baby blanket was covered in ink stains from falling asleep while drawing. My mother and father are both creative, coming from arts and engineering fields. I grew up idolizing the maker-minded life. I maintained an arts trajectory throughout high school and received my BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute, but my true love was always sculpture.
I graduated in the 2008 recession, in an already overcrowded field and decided if I was going to make a living, I was going to do it doing something I really loved. With that, I took a leap of faith and a few choice belongings and apprenticed for ceramic sculptor Allison Newsome of Rhode Island who taught me the advanced techniques needed to execute and fire large-scale hand built ceramic sculptures. I describe it as my “bohemian phase” as I lived in a tree-house/loft in a section of her studio, slept in a sleeping bag, and warmed my sleeping area with a broken kiln. Shortly after moving into my semi-legal living space, I met my now-husband and a year later, with his help and encouragement, set up my own studio in my hometown of Boston.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My work is very much about transforming our perception of the familiar. This lends itself well to my representational style. I like to toy around with scale, and “overdressing” things with the intention of creating a visual treasure hunt for the viewer, engaging at multiple distances and offering something new from viewing to viewing. Some of my art presently is exploring the concept of “Nature as Commodity” through the assembly of small parts sourced from global retail entities. My intentions through this work are to communicate the love of collecting that has been so important in my life as an artist and lover of natural history, and the morally precarious situation of the collector in regard to the very thing we aim to preserve. Preservation, in all of its meanings, has very much informed my work. I also very much enjoy dealing with the idea of temporal suspension, again coming back to my love of the concept of “preservation.” Many of the objects and materials I use are carefully curated for their unusual temporal properties. Examples of this are ceramics ability to outlive civilizations, styrofoams staggering half-life, and plastics in the context of nature and mimicry. I am also very interested in duplicity, and things-not-as-they-seem. I have touched on this recently through the use of preserved insect specimens, altered to look artificial, placed among bouquets and plant-scapes of plastic and silk flowers and fruit. When viewing my work I encourage the viewer to never trust what they see, and to keep looking! There is always something more to find.
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
I think the pressure to adhere to a retail market for sustenance vs. residency options and grants (both of which are highly competitive and far between) can quickly cripple an artists creativity and expression in favor of a client-driven process. On the flip-side, a shortage of affordable studio space in urban areas (like Boston) creates a creativity drain in quickly gentrifying areas.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
While I am in the process of completing my MFA, I have opted to close my studio to the public. Right now the best place to see my (ceramic) work is the distillery building in South Boston, and Kings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont. I also open my studio for private visits by appointment and can be contacted via my webpage www.zoefriend.com.
Contact Info:
- Address: 450 Harrison street studio 412-c Boston, MA 02118
- Website: www.zoefriend.com
- Email: friend.zoe@gmail.com
- Instagram: @zoeshepherdfriend
- Other: tumblr- @zoefriend
Image Credit:
Ted Bowman
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