Dena Paige Fischer
New York, NY
Website
www.denapaigefischer.com
Instagram
@dpfstudio
How would you describe your work?
The work I make borders on the edge of recognition, resembling handmade artifacts, devices, tools, and totems. Using a combination of industrial and organic materials both found and handmade, I create sculptures, paintings and drawings that tell stories of human ingenuity, trigger a memory, convey an emotion or engage the senses. When creating my work I am primarily driven by the physicality of the process, the way materials feel sound and smell, and I aim to awaken a desire in the viewer to connect to inanimate objects on a deeper level, as they search for functionality and reason for being, and think more slowly with greater imagination.
What Inspires you?
I am Inspired by my surroundings and the objects I come across in my daily life. I am drawn to imperfection and materials in their rawest form, equally enamored with gestures made by a pile of discarded metal on the sidewalk as with a smooth winding piece of driftwood by a river. I am interested in exploring moments where these elements contrast and combine. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about hands, the shapes they create, the ways they communicate, the tension and emotion they hold and their physical capabilities.
Can you speak about your process?
I collect objects like sticks, feathers, hardware, rubber and whatever else I come across that intrigues me, and I am constantly exploring and experimenting with new methods and materials. I instinctively combine and alter different parts based on what each seems to naturally want to do and work on multiple pieces at once. As the work takes form, the pieces begin to fit together like a puzzle and the once discarded parts and materials take on new meaning. The imagery that emerges comes from a place within the sub-conscious and as I go, these abstract shapes begin to spark memories, develop a narrative and find purpose.
How did you become interested in art?
I was born and raised in Soho, NYC to artist parents, so art has been a huge part of my life and my natural mode of expression from the beginning. I was always encouraged to explore my creativity and from a young age I expressed my dreams, desires, feelings and fantasies through drawing, and object making.
Do you Have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
I always come back to Eva Hesse and Marisol Escobar for inspiration. My grandmother had a signed Marisol print which now lives with me, and it is one of my most prized possessions. Mona Hatoum, Simone Leigh, and Diana Al-Hadid are three contemporary sculptors whose work I love.
Right now I’m reading The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, It was recommended to me because it’s about a boy who hears voices in inanimate objects which is very much up my alley. Francis Bacon said “Engage the viewer at the nerves and bypass the brain,” and that sentiment has always stuck with me.
What advice do you have for younger artists?
Challenge yourself to explore all modalities of making. Find the thread of authenticity and style in your art that is unique to you and forever work on evolving it.
