Pia Ferm’s hand-tufted tapestries oscillate between sculpture and painting, combining the traditions of the tapestries with the genre of still life within painting.
While traditional carpet weaving is one of the oldest handicrafts of mankind, her use the of tufting is a relatively modern, often industrially used technology. Whereas she penetrates the field of sculpture through the relief created by this method, the gestural expression of the rugs and their presentation on the wall are reminiscent of paintings, but they are enhanced by a spatial and seductive haptic quality.
Following the tradition of tapestries, the basis of her motifs are paintings, whereby the idea of translating abstract motifs into textile fabric has been developed by the artists of the Bauhaus. Due to sketches, she creates abstracted watercolor still lifes which, in their lightness, contrast with the heaviness of the woolen object. This contrast is also found in her marble sculptures: despite the weight of the material, its’ expressions are light, pastel and playful, capturing like in a comic everyday objects of the carpet motifs and overriding the weighty heritage of the ancient sculpture.
Thus, the motifs of both the carpets and the sculptures originate from the same pictorial world - the motive of the comb, for example, is taken up in both media - exploring the image in two different sculptural practices.
Whether a black-and-white sketch creates a sculpture or a aquarelle, followed by a tapestry, is an intuitive decision by the artist. While translating the colors of the aquarelle into strong primary colors in the soft, fluffy carpets, the hard, smooth sculptures appear in the delicate natural colors of the marble.
The title of the show good breed refers to the creative process behind Pia Ferm’s work, which she compares to methods of plant or animal breeding. It is a long-term, controlled process that allows her, by repeating her themes and motives, to refine and develop further. The solo show brings together works from the past two years that can be read as the results of their own breeding work.
Pia Ferm (* 1986, Lysekil, SE) is studying in the class of Tobias Rehberger at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste - Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main since 2014, after completing her studies at Dômen Art School, Gothenburg. She already exhibited in Sweden, Austria and Germany. She lives and works in Frankfurt am Main.
