Artist collaborations show us the multidimensionality of art where interpretations of a body of work share a mutual obsession but differing interpretations. We loved that our meeting Kaja Skytte in Copenhagen (the artist of our new Galaxy Globe and Halo mobiles) led us to architect and artist Kirsty Badenoch. Kirsty created fantastical illustration dreamworlds of Kaja's Planteplaneter work. Because bringing plants from overseas is restricted, we love that we can share Kirsty's art cards and posters with our community.
8 QUESTIONS
Describe the moment you realized art fed your soul.
The pulse of my mother's heart beats in the womb.
What themes do you pursue in your art?
Themes are often based around time, movement and memory, and the interplay between man and nature. My work is driven by narratives and storytelling, which emerge and grow themselves within the drawings. I am interested in the small complex stories that exist within a larger composition.
Tell us about what influenced your direction for the art you create.
My background is in architecture and landscape architecture, and so some of my strongest influences come from these fields, and from observing the world around me through my sketchbook. Equally, I draw inspiration from literature—the fantastical worlds of the likes of Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges. For this drawing series, the inspiration was the wonderful world of Planteplaneter of course—the meeting of nature, gravity and the universe!
How has your work developed over time?
I have recently been working on much larger scale abstract works, up to 2m (+2 yards) in size. This engages the whole body and viewpoint in a completely different way, which is a challenge for someone extremely perfectionist and obsessed with tiny minute details!
What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
My imagination.
Do you collect anything?
Wine corks, old fashioned light bulbs, conkers, rocks, pressed leaves and flowers, stamps, origami papers, tiny elephants, collective nouns and vinyl.
What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve seen, read, watched or listened to recently?
A YouTube video about a man who poured concrete into an ants nest and discovered an underground city.
What advice would you give to your younger self about your artistic journey
Please don't throw away that picture you drew of a squirrel at grandma's house when you were 6—apparently it was the best thing you've ever done and she'll bring it up every Christmas. You'll never live it down. And you'll never surpass it.
First row from the Planteplaneter series. Second row from Drawn by Numbers.
Check out the selection of Danish architect and artist Kirsty Badenoch's Planteplaneter art cards and posters in the shop and read about the artist collaboration with Kirsty and designer Kaja Skytte in our Conversations with an Artist: Kaja Skytte.
If you'd like more information, please do get in touch, hello@poetandthebench.com or 415-569-4383.
See you soon,
Bonnie & Jeffrey
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hello@poetandthebench.com | 415.569.4383 | 10E Locust Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941