DREW CONRAD
DREW CONRAD'S
LEADING CULTURE DESTINATIONS:
Drew Conrad is known for his large scale sculpture of architectural ruins that are concerned with ideas of deterioration, history, and collective memory. He has been the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship, Ver-mont Studio Centre Fellowship, and a Clocktower Residency at Pioneer Works. Recent exhibitions include Fitzroy Gallery (New York), Get This Gallery (Atlanta), University Galleries of Illinois State University, and The Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts. His work has been featured in such publications as Sculp-ture Magazine, Art in America, Bad At Sports, Art Nerd New York, TimeOutNY, and Beautiful/Decay. Conrad lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
If there was one piece of art you could feature in, which one would it be?
There isn’t a work of art I would want to feature in. One of the greatest aspects of experiencing other artists’ creations are they’re completely devoid of me and artistic choices. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Who inspires you, and why?
Thanks must be given to the inspirational group of friends and family I am surrounded by. I will forever be creatively in debt to them, but my artistic path has been undeniably inspired by the work of Ed and Nancy Kienholz, Robert Rauschenberg, and Mike Nelson. All of their creative output, risks, and commitment to scale have raised the bar of what I believe art can be and accomplish.
What are your cultural aspirations?
I have too many aspirations to list. If life has taught has me one thing, you sort of end up where you need be, no matter what path you take. I prefer the scenic route these days.
What are your favourite cultural cities in the world?
I gravitate towards Southern cities and the American West. I love the rich history of places like Memphis, Charleston, Savannah and Taos, but it is the backroads, abandoned highways, and one stoplight towns where culture is its strangest and most beautiful.
What are you up to at the moment?
I am mainly working in the studio. After coming off a pretty hectic three years of exhibitions and residencies, I took the last six months to travel and spent great deal of time in New Mexico. Those experiences are justing beginning to be channeled into a new large-scale project.
Recently, I was able to partner with START on their World Refugee Day campaign on June 20, an NGO that helps orphans displaced by the war in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, India, Egypt and the UAE. I donated a work of art which was auctioned on Paddle8 where proceeds were raised, as well as awareness for the ref-ugee crisis. The campaign also helped to highlight START’s efforts to give children and young adults an opportunity to create a future as rich and free as their imaginations. There are a few other things brewing for this coming fall, but nothing is set in stone.