Adrienne Antonson
Bio
Adrienne Antonson was born in 1982, in Gainesville, FL. Her mother collected hair in a small velvet box, which had a lasting impact on the artist. Her tactile curiosities led her to the College of Charleston, where she majored in Studio Art. Throughout college Antonson was influenced by apprenticeships with talented fiber artists. By the time of her graduation, Antonson had decided to create the design company, Spinster, which she has owned and operated since 2005. Through Spinster, she creates inspired products from salvaged materials. Owning a company introduced Antonson to business matters, and she soon sought projects that fused art with leadership roles. She was curator of Accessibility 2007 in Sumter, SC, where she arranged for 10 artists from across the country to work together for three weeks. Numerous other shows have followed, with themes of community, responsibility, and design. She currently resides in Charleston, but is secretly plotting her escape.
Artist Statement
I reclaim overlooked materials and transform them into non-traditional pieces of art. I use basic and salvaged materials. My hands constantly renew their relationship with objects, which allows my tactile sensibilities to develop a product that is fresh and purposeful.
Human hair fuels my desire to give old things new life; with it, I have found a material that is beautiful and historic, stimulating and self-sufficient. The meticulous nature of my work, and the repetitive processes needed to complete it, cultivates a meditative state that grants me the time to absorb and understand individual pieces. It encourages patience, and allows me to discover small victories within my process. The intricacies of my work evolve as my hands familiarize themselves with a new material. Techniques and directions are revealed as the nature of the media I am working in becomes readily accessible and controlled.
To breathe life into a material and further its course, to transform my preconceptions and endlessly reinvent my approach, these are my chief ambitions.
