Artist Feature: Bridget Harvey in her SoWa Boston Studio
Bridget Harvey is a painter, draftsman, collagist, burner of wood, and an aspiring skydiver! We had the pleasure of meeting Bridget when visiting Katie Southworth at SoWa earlier this year, and ever since then we’ve been collaborating and creating.
In this post, we’d like to introduce Bridget Harvey to the FilterGrade Community. Bridget is a talented artist who creates immersive pieces that leave your mind wandering. She brings together color, lines, and shapes to build whole worlds in her work. Check out her website to learn more and buy Bridget’s artworks. Follow @bridgetmakingart on Instagram.
These photos are from our last visit to Bridget’s studio space at SoWa before her lease ended. We wanted to take some special photos to remember all the awesome times we spent there with the whole crew. :)
See more in the photos and clips below. All photography provided by Moloney Creative Agency.
Super 8 Footage from SoWa
A YouTube short shot on Super 8 with footage from Bridget’s time at her SoWa Boston art studio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfWMZLalhf4
Full Bio
For as long as I remember I have been making art, and began to seriously study it I was fourteen, building up a strong foundation in the basics of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture. I attended Suffolk University for college where I earned my BFA in fine arts and minored in arts administration, graduating cum laude in 2019. While there, I spent two semesters at Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy where I studied Renaissance art history, painting conservation, metalworking/jewelry and batik.
In 2021 I moved to Leipzig, Germany for an artist residency at Pilotenkueche International Art Program and ended up participating in an additional residency in Leipzig at Undliche Weiten. Currently I am based in Boston, MA and work out of a studio at SOWA Boston. My practice consists primarily of drawing, painting, collage and wood burning.
Bridget Harvey Artist Statement
As a very process oriented artist, I like my materials and imagery to relate to one another. This desire for self-referential expression is why I create and work with translucent collage materials. Using layers of self-generated materials is a way of exposing parts of the pieces history which raises ideas about the creative process and questions about how the piece came into being. The layering of semitransparent colors allows me to simultaneously build up the flesh of a figure while also creating a pneumatic atmosphere reflective of skydiving.
Bringing a piece of art to life and diving into open sky evoke in me similar sensations of sublime oneness which produces an emotional ripple of profound fulfillment. They are beyond exhilarating, demanding of discipline- physical and mental- a willingness to take risks and desire to fly. Because of the ineffable quality of these experiences, it is a goal of mine to communicate those sensations through my work a constant process, much like the constant creation and recreation of materials used to evoke these sensations.
