During this Miami Art Week, Argentine artist Jessica Trosman debuted her first solo exhibit at the Tomas Redrado Gallery, curated by Carlos Huffmann. After a very successful 30-year career in fashion design, as the co-creator of the luxury brand Trosman-Churba, Jessica is currently showcasing her unique sculptures that feature vibrant colors and intriguing textures. 

The solo show titled “Sense of Self,” which explores the intersections of fashion, design, and contemporary art, will be on view until the end of the year. A few days before our Meet The Artist event, hosted alongside the Argentine Consulate on December 5th, we had the chance to chat with the artists to dig a little deeper into the nature of her work. 

In what ways does the use of light play a significant role in shaping the visual experience and conceptual depth of your artwork?

The light is always important when I draw a sculpture. It plays an important part when I pick the colors cause light and colors go together, to me. 

Please tell us about some of the most unconventional materials you have used in your designs and the inspiration behind incorporating them.

I make sculptures using fabric. The fabric I use is usually fleece, a fabric that is used for baby wear. I have always been dedicated to textile art so that is where my new inspiration comes from. I process the fabric, from both sides, inflate, and sew them by subjecting them to a process where I leave them rigid. Sometimes I mix them with steel sheets that also suffer a type of crushing that I do to them.

You’re a sculptor, but you’ve also quite a career in fashion design; beyond the use of textiles, where do these two areas meet?

I always sculpted my designs when I was making clothes. I always work in 3D and difficult patterns. The idea of working on the human body and a body of work has a lot in common. While today by making sculptures, I talk more about the human condition, in all my work you can see humans. It is impossible to separate Jessica the artist from the designer, an identity that persists in the memory of my audience and the language of my sculptural work. 

In a practical sense, which materials have been the most kind to you, and which ones have been more problematic when shaping them?

I like working with fabrics. I feel very comfortable and I handle them very well. I developed textiles for CHANEL and Rick Owen’s and that’s my strength. Maybe the aluminum is the most challenging to work with, but I am very perseverent and tenacious and try so hard to achieve my goals. Also, I like to leave my comfort zone and try new materials! I am an alchemist. 

Can you share a memorable moment or experience in your career that has impacted your artistic journey?

A key moment in my career as an artist was when I was asked to do an exterior sculpture of 3,5 m x 2,5 m (huge) for a house in Patagonia. It was during the pandemic. This challenge gave me a lot of confidence in my journey as an artist.

“Sense Of Self” is an intriguing title for the exhibition. Why was it chosen?

The title “Sense Of Self” has to do with a personal search of mine, making sense of everything I did, I was, and am today. It has to do with my experience of my career in the industry of design and production of clothing and now choosing to make sculptures as a vehicle to explore my way of doing.

Can you discuss the role of self-reflection and introspection in the creation of the artworks?

I am very interested in the reflection between the process and the impulse that leads me to create, achieving a balance afterward. I always say that any creative person has to express multifaceted possibilities and that is why I am here to do. To challenge myself.

Has your understanding of “self” changed during the process of creating “Sense Of Self,” and if so, how?

I can see a passage to a spatial grammar of sculpture. I work with bigger pieces in which the continuity lines become entangled with breaking points. Remaining in the textile language, I emancipate from the tyranny of the normative and conjectural body in order to jump to three-dimensionality.

How has your 30-year career in fashion design influenced your approach to sculpture and the exploration of materials in this exhibition?

My sculptures step from a big understanding of what it means to push boundaries until they are broken. My 30 years as a fashion designer are seen in every piece I make. Driven by a strong impulse towards newness, the invention, and innovation of fabrics or the creation of textures are part of my mental repertoire that is not content with accessing a finished product but concentrates its energy on the service of an almost alchemical job.

Join us on December 5th for a Guided Tour of “Sense of Self” Free with RSVP 

CONNECT WITH JESSICA TROSMAN 

INSTAGRAM | WEB 

CONNECT WITH TOMAS REDRADO GALLERY 

INSTAGRAM | WEB

Photo courtesy of the artist