Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 39
Occupation: Artist.
Instagram: @haftcandell
Hometown: Oakland, CA.
Studio location: Los Angeles.
Describe what you make: I make drawings and sculptures of bodily shapes with sociopolitical implications.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: A written and illustrated glossary that lays out all the symbols in my visual vocabulary, with definitions for each that combine social histories with personal memory.
Describe the problem your work solves: The paradox of loving modernism but being repelled by the ubiquitous story of the macho modernist hero toiling away in his studio guides me as I navigate my practice as an artist. The binary values of western culture encouraged me to choose this or that: either be a part of the patriarchal story or do something entirely separate. My art practice is the result of being influenced by and fighting against the history of modernist sculpture. I offer an alternative to the binary values of Judeo-Christian narratives, and tell a new story of nuance and vulnerability.
Describe the project you are working on now: Currently I’m working on a series of large scale bronze sculptures depicting interlocking hands.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I have a new bronze work, “Expanding Turquoise and Orange” at Candice Madey in New York. My work will also be included in “SeenUNseen,” a group show curated by Alison Saar, opening on November 11th at La Louver Gallery in Los Angeles.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: I need natural light, seltzer, clay, paper, pencils, and watercolors.
What you do when you’re not working: I like to swim, spend time with my partner Brice and our cat Ollie, wander outside and look at nature, and take pictures and videos of rocks, tidepools, and the ocean.
Sources of creative envy: Louise Bourgeois, Rosemarie Trockel, Noah Purifoy, Nancy Graves, Huma Bhabha.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Online shoe shopping.
Concrete or marble? Terrazzo.
High-rise or townhouse? Cabin.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Both.
Dark or light? Sunset.
