Bio
Svea Ferguson (she/her) is a sculptor living and working as a settler in Mohkínstsis, the traditional land of Treaty 7 peoples (Calgary). Her work was commissioned for the 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art and has been shown across North America and abroad. Notable exhibitions include the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Glenbow Museum, Esker Foundation, Division Gallery Toronto, Holland Project NV and Art Athina in Athens, Greece. She received the BMO 1st Art Prize for Alberta in 2015. Her work is included in numerous private collections and the permanent collections of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and TD Canada Trust.
Statement
Found primarily in domestic spaces, vinyl and linoleum flooring materials are designed to mimic the appearance of high-end options such as marble, granite, and hardwood at significantly lower costs. These flexible, faux veneers present physical qualities which allow them to be easily manipulated by the hand, without the need for specialty tools or facilities. In both ways, they are highly accessible domestic materials.
My ongoing body of work explores the vast potential of these types of surfaces and how they can relate to our physical selves. Manipulation through cutting, folding, and draping explores its ability to contain and be contained by new forms. Each piece I create utilizes the material’s versatile physical capabilities, simultaneously exhibiting both structure and textile-like drapery. The works may be viewed as abstracted bodies, allowing the viewer to recognize their own physicality in a synthetic, everyday material.
Links
Review: ExtraOrdinary Objects. Canadian Art
Interview with Amanda Parris. CBC Arts
Materials Girl by Chris Lanier. Double Scoop
breathe, sigh, heave by Pierette Kulpa. CCAI
Video: Open Studio. Banff Centre
Top Tabs: All the Words, and All the Feels. Canadian Art
Inside The Banff Centre’s Artist Studios. Avenue Magazine
Contact
VivianeArt Gallery
587-349-2014
viviane@vivianeart.com
Svea Ferguson
sveaferguson@gmail.com
