BIO: Los Angeles based artist, Alicia Piller was born and raised in Chicago and received her Bachelors in both Fine Arts (Painting) & Anthropology from Rutgers University in 2004. While working in the fashion industry; living a decade in NYC and three and a half years in Santa Fe, NM, Piller cultivated her distinctive sculptural voice. Continuing to expand her artistic practice, Alicia completed her MFA focused on sculpture and installation from CalArts in May of 2019. Alicia is currently represented in Los Angeles by Track 16 Gallery. Her work is a part of the Hammer Permanent Collection 2020, Glendale College Collection, Forrest Kirk Collection, the Pam Royalle Collection, & Janine Barrois Collection. Her sculptural work was featured on the cover of Full Blede Magazine, Issue 10 (Fall 2019), the Lumina Journal (Sarah Lawrence College) (Jan 2020), and the LA Times (August 2022).
PRESS:
New York Times (October 2022) LA Times (August 2022) CARLA, ISSUE 28 (Review of Solo Show ‘Atmospheric Pressures’ 2022) Lumina Journal
Art and Cake
Creative Boom
Artillery
Culver City Crossroads
Full Blede
24700
Curate LA
Voyage LA
LA Magazine Artist Feature, Jan 2023
Sculpture cameo! Season 2 Episode 3
Click to LISTEN!
Click to LISTEN!
STATEMENT:
“Mimicking forms of cellular biology as a method to locate the root of human histories; my mixed media practice is as much about materiality as it is about content. Stemming from a craft background, mixed media works investigate the relationship between the macro and micro perspectives within systems of knowledge, meaning, and bodily form. Capturing the energy surrounding physical matter and/or a particular situation is key; presently attempting to reconcile questions about the current state of our times. Examining traumatic histories, both political and environmental, I have begun to use my own body (and others) to activate a sculptural work. I document these moments with digital photography and video, later utilizing the photos as objects within a sculptural piece.
Craft is deeply intertwined within my practice, utilizing materials and techniques that go back to childhood; sewing, weaving and problem solving creatively with my hands from my maternal African American side as well as an inheritance of objects rejuvenated from my paternal Jewish American side. Studying painting and anthropology in undergrad, much technical inspiration is derived from studying the functional works of the world cultures. Intuitively I mix techniques and skills, combining xeroxed imagery, dried plants, stones, found objects, resin, and latex, to create cosmic and biological landscapes that challenge the positionality of the object and the viewer.
Working on a macro/micro level, I breathe life into materials removed from their ‘natural’ environment. Through manipulation of unconventional and marginalized materials like latex balloons (stemming from my background as a clown); I create structures on a cellular level. Each component touched: wrapped in fibers, usually vinyl or leather. All encased objects, becoming membranes; each membrane pieced together to create a larger ‘organism’. These ‘organisms’ are often thoughts of the past manifested in the physical world, a moment in time usually encapsulated by the modern day materials like resin and gel medium. These enveloping sculptures and installations expand out, to actualize singular systems that feel equally familiar and foreign. The construction of each work becoming a biological unfolding of time, that begins to examine the energy around wounds left by historical traumas.”
