The art world may be on lockdown, but it certainly does not stop. During this unprecedented time, we’re checking in with art-world professionals, collectors, and artists to get a glimpse into how they are working from home.
The Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury turns high heels, designer handbags, golden shopping carts, and other symbols of gender-based consumerism into highly stylized sculptures and installations.
“When I was younger, I remember people asking me, ‘So do you paint?’” Fleury once told Vogue. “And I would say, ‘Yeah. Sometimes I paint my eyeliner.’”
We checked in with Fleury to see how she’s handling life in lockdown and what she’s most looking forward to when normalcy returns.
Sylvie Fleury’s cat in her home office. Courtesy of the artist.
Where is your new “office” or “studio”?
At home, where I spend my confinement.
What are you working on right now?
Dusting off, house, ideas, artworks, and soul.
How has your work changed now that you are doing it from home?
Recently, I started to think more about the concept of dust.
What are you reading, both online and off?
Hara, The Vital Center of Man by Karlfried Graf Dürckheim and Art, Sex, Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti.
Have you visited any good virtual exhibitions recently?
No.
Have you taken up any new hobbies?
Playing badminton.
What is the first place you want to travel to once this is over?
Any sandy beach providing good swimming.
If you are feeling stuck while self-isolating, what’s your best method for getting un-stuck?
Letting myself be stuck.
Sylvie Fleury, Eternity Now (2015). Courtesy of The Bass Museum of Art. Image ©Silvia Ros.
What was the last TV show, movie, or YouTube video you watched?
Opening Night by John Cassavetes.
If you could have one famous work of art with you, what would it be?
Ant Farm’s Cadillac Ranch.
Favorite recipe to cook at home?
Fennel carpaccio (thinly sliced fennel, peeled pink grapefruit, dill, walnut oil, and some ground pepper).
What are you most looking forward to doing once social distancing has been lifted?
Hugging trees.
Sylvie Fleury will appear in conversation with Bass Museum director Silvia Cubina on May 21 at 11 a.m. EST, viewable live on the Bass museum’s Facebook page and on the museum’s YouTube channel.