Independent Arts News Reporting 
Pictured Above: Artist Ivia Yavelow. Photo Credit: Contributed.
A Conversation with Artist Ivia Yavelow
Story by Artist Contributor, Gary Giordano
Bucks County Painter Gary Giordano, shares his conversation with fellow artist, Ivia Yavelow
What are you currently working on?
I’ve been working a lot in ceramics – enjoying the transformation of dust and dirt, small particles, into large durable forms. Most of these are coil-based sculptures. I mix soil from locations around NJ into clay to give a visual effect and tie the pieces to the part of the world where they are made.
I’m also working with language, using the shapes of letters and words as starting points for abstraction in both drawings and sculpture.
What was the broken ceramic pottery that you presented at Hobart?
Most of the sculptures I showed at HOBART were about how ideas hold together, using vessel as concept and as containing form. Some of those pieces (such as Burnout, image attached) were made with wheel thrown or hand built cups split in half, then combined to make new forms. Splitting a vessel vertically is done in a studio when practicing making functional work, to check the structure of vessel walls. In my work, the split drafts become “final” pieces. Splitting allows them to open into new forms. I say “final” in quotes because I often use older pieces as components in new sculptures.
Pictured Above: Ceramic On Pedestal by Ivia Yavelow. Photo Credit: Contributed.
What had a brief conversation on Yoko Ono, what piece of hers hits you?
The book Grapefruit. I remember it being around the house when I was growing up (daughter of an artist and a Beatles fan) and I love the coexisting specificity and ambiguity in her work.
Let’s talk about your work and environment. How important is this when you present?
Very! To me, the environment that a work is presented in becomes part of the piece. This can be physically, such as how the piece touches the space it inhabits, as well as conceptually, how a viewer’s perspective and surroundings impact the impression of a piece. Right now, I’m working on pieces that are made up of multiple small components. Their final form really depends on the exhibition space and how that space holds them.
It seems your work engages the viewer in some way other than and more than just looking, am I correct?
I aim for my work to engage the viewer in visual, conceptual, emotional, and sometimes physical ways.
Firmly Grasp It, is a piece about interpersonal connection made from community hand imprints, it invited viewers to touch and pick up sections of the piece, continuing the human touch that began the work. I have also made installations in collaboration with choreographer Lyons & Tigers in which my drawings and sculpture were activated by dancers and their movements. In these pieces, the viewers and dancers become part of the work too.
Pictured Above: Merge Reduction Fired Ceramic by Ivia Yavelow. Photo Credit: Contributed.
What are you reading?
I’m currently reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger.
Artist Statement
My practice is an exploration of how the known world interacts with the unknown. How do we approach change? What does not knowing look like? How do ideas hold together in an uncertain world?
I build up and erode layers of material using found and fine art materials that combine, take form, and break apart repeatedly. Editing and destruction are part of my creative process. Blank paper is as meaningful as the smudge and as the densely colored drawing. In a way it is an ode to the studio: a place of potential and overlapping ideas.
Ivia Sky Yavelow earned a BA from Bard College in 2014 and studied at the New York Studio School. In 2015 she was awarded a visual artist fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation and completed a residency at their William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center in Montauk, NY. Ivia’s process and concept based multi-media works include installation, sculpture, and work on paper. She has exhibited in the tri-state area since 2010 including Ellarslie Museum, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, ArtWorks Trenton, and New Hope Arts. Her work has won awards from The New York Studio School and the Ellarslie Museum, Trenton, NJ.
Pictured Above: “Burnout” Ceramic with graphite & charcoal by Ivia Yavelow. Photo Credit: Contributed.
For more information on Ivia Yavelow & to view more of her work, visit: iviaskyyavelow.com
