New York based artist Tauba Auerbach is fascinated by patterns, from the swirling swirls of handmade marbled paper to the natural symmetry of sea sponges. A polymath, Auerbach’s practice is not limited to one medium, spanning painting, weaving, sculpture and music , and draws on a wide range of influences outside of the realm of fine art.
In this exclusive interview filmed as part of the brand new season of Art21’s flagship series Art in the 21st century, Auerbach is shown at work in their Brooklyn studio. There they investigate how ancient craft practices could be put to work to create wholly unique and contemporary works.
“I educated myself on a number of scientific or mathematical principles through craftsmanship,” says the artist. “I find it appropriate to work with many different materials, media and processes…because I focus on the connectivity and the relationship between many different things.”
The walls of Auerbach’s studio are lined with shelves containing an assortment of objects and detritus: the ashes of a burnt work of art; lattice-like skeletons; a complex design puzzle that, while frustrating, proved eye-opening for the artist as it “taught me a lot about the assumptions you make about progress along the way”.
Tauba Auerbach, Flow separation (2018), on the fireboat John J. Harvey, courtesy of Paula Cooper. Photo by Nicholas Knight, courtesy of Public Art Fund, New York.
Over the course of their career, Auerbach has probed the confines of the traditional art world: creating a 21st century”dazzling camouflage boat in the manner of warships of the First World War; as an apprentice at New Bohemia Signs, making hand-painted signs for three years; and even create a two-person instrument called Auerglass, which relies on an absurd notion of playing in total unison.
“I’m constrained by things that barely work”, Auerbach explains. “Near impossibility is the key.”
Watch the video, which originally appeared as part of Art21’s series Art in the 21st century, below.
This is an episode of “Art on Video”, a collaboration between Artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips from artists who are making the news. A new season of the flagship series of the Art21 association Art in the 21st century is now available on PBS. Watch all episodes of other series, like New York close up And Extended gameand learn about the organization’s educational programs at Art21.org.
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