My relationship to consumerism and waste is something that really shifted for me when I became a mother. We all feel the pull to consume and to bring objects into our homes, yet the reality is that in creating space for ourselves, we impact our home in a larger-scale way as we damage the planet. I became more aware of this as I realized I had created more consumers and began purchasing things for them. In today’s podcast, I talk to artist Denise Triezman who has been thinking about consumerism, waste, and excess in her work since long before becoming a mother, and now responds to the materials her children use as a continuation of these thoughts.
Denise is a Chilean-Israeli artist, currently based in Miami, who creates colorful installations, sculpture, and work on paper. She earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and is currently a studio resident at Laundromat Art Space in Miami, Florida. She was a fellow at the Bronx’s Museum Artist in the Marketplace program, culminating with “The Bronx Calling”, a biennial exhibition at the museum. That same year, Treizman was awarded a studio residency at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program in New York City. In 2016, Treizman created an interactive public artwork at Randall’s Island Park in New York.
We start our conversation discussing how Denise went to business school in Chile, and much as I did after undergrad, recognized that she didn’t enjoy what she was doing and changed her focus to art. She moved to the US to participate in residencies and pursue an MFA. She describes experiencing a real shift in what type of materials were available in the States compared to Chile, as well as the excess of trash on the streets of New York and how she responded to trash as a material for creating. Having lived in many densely populated cities over the years, her work continues to stem from throwaway culture.
She recalls leaving Chile annually to visit her grandparents as a child, and how she would plan what to purchase during her visit all year long. Then, back in Chile, the materials would seem too precious to use. In her work, she is now using materials with abandon in response to the ubiquitous nature of objects in American culture. More recently, as a mother of two, she uses materials discarded by her children.
We discuss how her practice benefited from the community found in residency programs pre-children, and how now with children, she is seeking community in Miami. I hope you enjoy hearing how Denise has responded to her changing cultural contexts in a way that shines a lens on our behaviors and interaction with material objects.
Final Five:
Biggest Art Crush: Katerina Gross, Jessica Stockholder, and Judy Phaff
Dream Trip: NY by herself
Film or book: Off the Wall by Robert Rauschenberg
Favorite meal: Sushi
Shoutout: Parents, Husband, Enrico Gomez and Nick Shapiro
To see more of Denize’s work please visit her website and follow her on IG @denisetreizman
The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @kaylanbuteyn
