Born from a chance connection made on the Internet last spring while Boan researched translucent sculpting materials, the collaborative exhibit capped a yearlong alliance that included a productive artistic exchange and a two-week residency at Ivarsdotter's studio in the Swedish countryside.
“I'd been doing some research on different types of ceramic materials to work with and was researching translucent porcelain when I ran across an artist who was using it who lives and works in Sweden,” Boan said. “When I came across her web site, I was really excited to see her work, and I thought she could help me with some of my questions.”
Boan took a chance and e-mailed Ivarsdotter a synopsis of himself and his work, and less than two days later back came an e-mail that eventually led to the residency.
The friendship grew, and after Boan's two-week stay, he and Ivarsdotter decided to do a collaborative project and drafted a proposal they sent to several different galleries around Stockholm.
“It took off from there,” Boan said. He added that because the Svensk Form Gallery is directly across the street form the Modern Museum in Stockholm, the opportunity seemed especially propitious--particularly given the installation's experimental nature.
“We were very excited about the installation and the space,” Boan, who came back to Delaware to work independently on component pieces, said. The installation and space preparation required another trip back to Sweden, first to reconfigure the gallery, then to paint the walls black, then to rewire the lighting.
“We set up a track system in the ceiling that ran off a motor that carried a wire that hung down to the floor, and at the bottom of the wire hung a really small three-watt bulb,” Boan said, describing the space that was designed to give viewers the impression that the room was expanding.
“We coated the whole interior of the gallery with a mirrored black plastic floor, so the whole place was completely dark except for the tiny light,” Boan said. “Because the room was mirrored, it looked like indefinite space with a double-floating light passing one of the forms every once in a while.”
The forms, sculpted and installed by Boan and Ivarsdotter in their respective studios, were painted with a special “irradient” acrylic paint to further refract the light.
“It was definitely not work you could sell,” Boan, who also has had an installation at the Crane Arts Building in Philadelphia, said. “I've never sold a piece, and I usually try not to think about that, because that's not part of my practice or vision.”
Relocating to Oregon later this summer for a teaching position in the Department of Art at the University of Oregon, Boan said he hopes to pursue his own work through grants, fellowships and lucky partnerships like the one he established with Ivarsdotter.
“Part of being an working artist is taking chances and following where your interests lead,” he said.
Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Sarah Simon