Baltimore resident Liz Ensz, along with New York-based artist Eun Woo Cho, was chosen out of 90 applicants from four countries to participate in the School 33 Art Center’s Two Person Juried Exhibition.
Originally from Minnesota, Ensz moved to Baltimore in 2002 to study at the Maryland Institute College of Art and earned her bachelor’s degree in fibers in 2005. The 25-year-old designs large-scale politically themed patterns inspired by the floral motifs and geometric structures typical of Islamic architecture and decorative art.
» Where: School 33 Art Center, 1427 Light St., Baltimore
» When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday
» Tickets: Free
» Info: school33.org
Ensz talked to The Examiner about one of her two display pieces:
What inspired you to create this?
At the end of the year, people think about and reflect on what has happened to them over the past year, how they’ve changed or how things have changed. A lot of people look to the new year as a time for renewal or starting over. This piece isn’t overtly political, as my other work is. There’s no weapon or war imagery, but there are symbolic flowers budding and dying. You can’t just think of New Year’s as a beginning, because it’s also an end, it’s both.
The piece is entirely white — any special reason for the lack of color?
It’s white because I’ve been thinking about peace a lot, both in a personal way and also in our country. Our country is going to be really different in a few days, and while no one can really say how, everyone knows it’s going to be different, so this is something to look forward to.
How long did it take to create?
I did it just in the last month, which is crazy. I haven’t slept in about three weeks [laughs]. For the last two weeks, I’ve basically taken time off from work and done nothing else but this. I finally have my own studio, an opportunity to make a big mess, so I was able to make sculpture again, which is really exciting. The fountain itself is 7 feet tall, 7 feet wide and 3 feet deep and is made out of fiberglass. It’s something I’ve always wanted to make, and now I can do it with the space I have.
