ARTIST STATEMENT
With a background in sculpture, I use fiber and fiber construction techniques in my work. To me, this is a feminist approach to an area of art-making that has historically been masculine and in ‘permanent’ materials. Fiber work has historically been consumable (wearable, utilitarian, home decor). The raw materials in my fiber-based sculpture are all repurposed, saved and used for generations, given new meaning. Sometimes the materials aren’t fiber at all, but the construction techniques I use (weaving, sewing, crocheting) connect them in a way that takes the viewer somewhere totally unexpected.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Valerie Mann is a Michigan-based artist. Her 3D work explores reclaimed materials use, while her 2D work is observational painting and abstract mixed-media. She is interested in the intersections of 2D and 3D methods of making as they relate to broader ideas of human connections and resiliency. Her work often carries an idea from 3D to 2D and back again, much like translations between languages. Mann earned her MFA in sculpture from Michigan State University and her BFA from University of Illinois. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. Her work is in public and private collections around the world, including University of Michigan Museum of Art and Google, Ann Arbor.
© Valerie Mann