#StudioVisit Braxton Congrove
Every 90’s kid would definitely have a déjà vu when entering Braxton Congrove’s studio in Brooklyn. Her colorful pieces made of resin and ceramic make the artist’s studio feel like a secret creative playground hidden in the middle of the Hasidic Jewish neighborhood of Williamsburg.
I stopped by for some minutes to meet Braxton (whose work I had been following for a while on Instagram) and talk about her projects, fashion inspirations, and her love for chandeliers.
Georgina: How did it all begin? Do you remember the exact moment when you decided to become an artist?
Braxton Congrove: I don't know if there was really an exact moment. I feel like I've always been heading in this direction my whole life but it wasn't after much later that it became something. I was always doing creative stuff as a kid. I studied art in college, but it was until I graduated that I really thought it was the moment to just do it. Because I guess that having your own studio outside the school and having your first solo show, or just figuring out how to exist in the world and being an artist is a whole different thing than being in school and not thinking about it.
G: So at what moment did it start feeling real for you?
B: Maybe once I finished school. I moved back to Michigan and I had my own first real studio outside school. I was working there and then I had an opportunity to have a solo show. From there I guess it was like those opportunities that feel a little more legitimate.
G: Sounds like one thing led to another! Can you tell us more about the things that inspire your work?
B: Fashion is a huge inspiration! I guess theater, Baroque interiors, and even Renaissance paintings…I don't know, there are so many! But I would say fashion is my main.
G: Any designer that has been sneaking into your wardrobe lately?
B: Collina Strada is huge!
G: She is from NY right? I can tell you are wearing one of her pieces…
B: Yeah. They are so good!
G: So, just like your Collina Strada jeans, your work is predominated by playful and colorful shapes in a very special color palette. Which materials and techniques are essential during your creative process?
B: Most recently I've been doing all mold-making and casting and using primarily resin and ceramics.
G: Would you consider that your work lives in the functional art and sculpture categories or more like in the design field?
B: I would say it can exist in both. For example, chandeliers are a kind of sculpture that can exist in the design world because it has a very obvious function within the domestic space or any other commercial space. The same happens with the accessories.
G: Yeah! I would say that hair accessories are wearable art and the chandeliers are functional art. What type of subjects do you usually explore when creating your pieces?
B: A lot of it comes from the aesthetic of my childhood and then making things look super ornate as if they are made out of something else. For example, the resin looks like glass and emulates luxury materials. But in the end, it is all like fake plastic and chains and charms…
G: Tell us more about your hair accessories, and the clips. How was this idea born?
B: Well, honestly it started because I had just finished a huge year of shows with big projects with the chandeliers and all and I really wanted to make something smaller and wearable and more accessible to the people I know or the people who wanted to buy my work but maybe not in the form a super chandelier. So I think that at first, I started making them just for fun, and then I got really excited about them and so did my friends.
G: And coming back to my favorites: the chandeliers. How was this idea born?
B: I really love all the chandelier stores that are around New York. The chandeliers happened because I used to go to all those stores that were in the valley, especially to one that is really close to my apartment now, and I just got really obsessed with the immersive nature of those spaces. So when I started being interested in lighting and a lot of those stores started to close, I thought that maybe I should create the chandelier that had been in my mind for so long, with these chains and charms that I had been building severely.
G: So the chandeliers really work?
B: Yeah they are fully functional, yeah!
G: What’s the part that you enjoy the most during your creative process?
B: I love when I get to work with my friends. For example, when I did the clips, one of my good friends took the photos, and then our other friend, Alice, was the hair model. Moments like that are really fun!
G: What role does your studio in Brooklyn play in your work? Why did you choose this space?
B: Originally I moved into a studio downstairs because my friend rents the space and it was a good way to get into the building. It's pretty central and about two years ago someone moved out of this studio and so my friends and I decided to take it.
G: How has living in NYC and the vibe of the city influenced you?
B: By being here you have access to so much more art, artists and materials, so I feel that my work has really evolved a lot in a positive way, just by being exposed to so many things and people. And you just see way more stuff and you are constantly having people visiting your studio. So yeah! New York has been a big influence!
G: Are there any upcoming projects or shows that you want to talk about?
B: Well, the piece that I just finished is currently on its way to Milan for a show that opens during Design Week with Superhouse gallery, and then we're doing a pop-up with The Attico.
G: Sounds exciting! Can’t wait…
Follow Braxton Congrove on Instagram: @braxtoncongrove