Contemporary artist Frederike von Cranach worked in the fashion industry for a couple of years, before pursuing art, as a reflection of the creative environment she grew up in.
The beauty of being an artist is that artists can simply create something beautiful and aesthetic reflecting the amazing world we live in, using craftsmanship and skills.
Contemporary artist Frederike von Cranach
At work, London.
What would you call your style? Let’s talk about the evolution of your practice over the years. Tell us about your commitment to your current medium.
To me that’s one of the best things. It leaves everything open. I start with an idea or with something I would like to create and the result sometimes looks very different to what I had imagined in the first place. Some paths lead to an error, others open up and lead towards new directions. It can be frustrating at times but mostly it is a positive experience. Uncertainty is a big part of the process in printmaking, which I also do. The outcome is nearly never what you intended to make especially with etchings. There is mostly a moment of surprise involved which I enjoy.
My style is simple, still, quiet, floating, monochrome, reduced and ignoring proportions. Looking at my first sculptures and drawings with Egagropili (fibrous round structures solely formed by nature and occurring from a seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea, called Posidonia Oceanica or Neptune Grass) I was more exploring the objects themselves. Over the past years I have taken their environment into consideration and created another layer around them, mainly experimenting with other materials like glass and metals. The drawings have become finer and even more obsessed. I did not consciously intend to be where I am now. It was a very natural organic journey. I am curious to see how my working process will evolve in the future. In the past years my practice has mostly circled around Egagropili and I’ve been strongly commitment to this material. Lately I have started exploring other subjects too but I’m not quite there yet.
Metamorphosis to…? IV. 2017. White Namibian marble base 18cm x 18cm x 30cm, with approx.50cm Egagropili structure.
What inspires you? Let’s talk about your frameworks, references and process.
Nature inspires me. All the spectacular events constantly taking place on this planet while we are consuming or being busy and sadly often destroying so much of it. Egagropili and their metamorphosis from being a living plant under water then shaped to these weird round dense pellets at the beach and finally becoming an artwork is the frame I work in. Egaropili stand for countless organic procedures endlessly happening around us. I can’t influence the journey they undertake until being washed up at the shores of the Mediterranean coast lines, but I can transform and pick up any momentum after that and mirror what I see at that time. Everything is connected with each other and I find that fascinating.
Let’s talk about your career, or if you prefer artistic journey. What were your biggest learning and hiccups along the way?
There have been ups and downs; days when I really questioned what I was doing. It also took me some time to say ‘I am an artist’ when being asked what my profession was. I didn’t feel good enough to be a real artist. I still don’t know what a real artist is but I’m ok with being one now. Always make, create, stay in motion and believe in what you do. It’s hard because there are a lot of closed doors but it’s absolutely great when one suddenly opens. There will always be people who like what you do and others who don’t and that’s ok even if it sometimes painful. I had people telling me that my work is not political so I won’t get anywhere with it or just recently someone said I should get a narrator to write me a good story for my work. These things happen but it also taught me to stay critical towards my work as well as standing up for what I do.
Detail: Drop by Drop I .2016/17. H156cm x W89xm. Mixed media, embossing, thread, ink on paper.
Tell us about your studio, what kind of place is it? Could you describe your usual work-day in the studio?
My studio is pretty small but sometimes it is good to be restricted. I think I would be hoarding even more stuff if I had a bigger one. I keep a lot of things, papers, found objects anything I get my hands on, thinking of using it in my work at some point. I hope I will, otherwise this might become a storage problem! Usually I go early in the mornings and spend the day there as long as my kids are at school. In the evenings I enjoy the peace and quiet, so I go whenever I can really. It’s my space, my secret paradise I can hide in and I simply feel happy in there. Once gotten into a work flow it’s sometimes hard to leave and go back to reality.
What was your first sale? Do you handle the commercials yourself or is it outsourced to a gallery/agent?
My first sale was a paperwork, it felt great as a proof that people appreciate my work. It’s a different level of how your work is seen and accepted which gave me a boost. I sell a lot through my studio but also have galleries I show with and sell through. It is nice to be free in a way but having a gallery who you’re solely represented by also has its upsides and can have a big impact. I haven’t really figured that one out yet but am open to anything coming towards me.
Idyl or illusion? 2018. H 52cm x W 68cm. Ink drawing on Somerset paper.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
I am still working on my ‘Liquid silence’ series, making additional pieces as well as works on paper and prints. I have also created works for the #artistsupportpledge on Instagram. Beginning of next year I am collaborating with the THK Gallery, Cape Town where I will have a show in January 2021 as well as showing at the Investic Cape Town Art fair from the 19th-21st of February. I am very much looking forward to this show and hope I will be able to attend in person. In June 2021 I will travel to and in the Arctic with ‘The Arctic Circle’, a very special artist residency I have been accepted to. I am excited to have the opportunity to be part of this expedition and am curious about how it will influence my practice. Apart from that I just want to work, work ,work.
What were you working on when the lockdown was announced?
I was slightly distracted and a bit all over the place shortly before the lockdown was announced. Too many ideas and too much going on, which lead to not much at the time. Shortly after the lockdown, I was approached by Barbara Green a curator from Berlin who was planning a virtual exhibition ‘Contemplatio‘ which will be showing until the 31st of July. I have never been part of a virtual exhibition and it is an interesting experience. We even had an opening with a chatroom which all felt very surreal, but a lot of people attended and it was a great success.
Highrise Series. 2018. The height varies between 14cm and 33cm. Egagropili structure on white marble blocks.
How has this affected your practice and plans?
The circumstances of Covid19 has forced me to tidy up in my head and use the time, which has significantly shrunken as my kids won’t go back to school until September, to work with a strong focus and on what is important. What is important? It can be positive to comprehend and give that some thought. My work has always circled around simplicity and stillness, a sort of liquid silence, yet I often lost myself in the busy world we live in. I hope I can keep this momentum going and turn it into a creative flow and something good. I have also founded a small label ‘The MASKeteers‘ with a friend who is a designer.
It just came about unplanned, suddenly we were in the middle of it. We make all the masks ourselves, this is where my fashion detour comes in handy. We also support other women as 20% of the sales go to ‘Terre de Femmes‘ and ‘The Girls Network‘. We have just started but hope that a lot of MASKeteers will join us and make a little change.
Before you go – you might like to browse our Artist Interviews. Interviews of artists and outliers on how to be an artist. Contemporary artists on the source of their creative inspiration.
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