Jessica Dalva // SECRET GARDEN // Artist Q + A
Arch Enemy Arts
25 days left
In SECRET GARDEN, Jessica Dalva sculpts healing magic in a sanctuary where the roots grow deeper than the ground. Below is a conversation with the artist for the release of her solo exhibition courtesy of Arch Enemy Arts.
This is a more introspective series for me. Creating it felt like tending to a secret garden in my own head.
What medium(s) did you use to create this body of work?
These pieces are mostly made with fabric, wire, and stuffing, in addition to a variety of mixed materials such as vintage millinery flowers and foliage and rhinestones. Also the large freestanding figure is made primarily with epoxy clay and resin.
What was your inspiration for SECRET GARDEN?
I wanted to create pieces using a bit different of a method and had made a sculpture awhile back using fabric to “sculpt” and wanted to follow that method again. The inspiration was pulled from a variety of sources and experiences, loss and grief, relics in echoey churches, and the comfort that comes with pulling thread through fabric.
Is there any specific message or meaning that you hope to convey with this series?
This felt like a more introspective series than some, I felt like I was tending a secret garden in my own head. Hopefully others find some comfort in grief as it was for myself, though I never really want to be prescriptive of how someone should feel about my work.
What brought you to the subject matter that you work with?
I’m a creepy lady who has liked animals since I was a creepy child! It’s mostly about how I exist and relate to the world. I do what I do because of an ever present desire to make something better than the last thing I’ve made. Compulsion to keep adding more tasks when I should go to bed.
Jessica Dalva lives and works in Oakland, California. She attended Otis College of Art and Design, graduating with Honors and a degree in Illustration. Dalva is one of the longest-exhibiting artists with Arch Enemy Arts, participating in more than thirty shows since the gallery’s inception. SECRET GARDEN is her fifth solo feature with the gallery.
