Daniela Grabosch Interview

How do you find inspiration?
I mostly draw my inspiration from all kinds of text based media — analogue and digital. During the initial work phase of reading, connections and images usually slowly start popping up and if from there I find something interesting enough to dig deeper, I start with the next step: excessive googling — which opens this gigantic archive with literally endless possibilities to me. I love that part the most: being led by an algorithm, getting lost on the way and finding the right information after hours of trying to write the “perfect” prompt.

How do you decide/know if a topic is interesting to make an art piece out of?
When my curiosity is big enough to dig deeper into a subject matter — that’s the point when I decide to proceed with the developing process of a potential new body of work. But as most of my works are interconnected with each other, the end of one project often turns into the beginning of a new research path or they progress parallel to each other.

What made you become an artist?
When I first went to university in Düsseldorf in 2005, I started with fashion design and from there moved on to graphic design studies. But very quickly I understood that these were not the media I wanted to work with, therefore during those studies I took all the art classes I could get.

And it was because of my professors in Düsseldorf Celia Caturelli, Wilfried Korfmacher and Harald Fuchs — who always supported me — that I was able to build up enough skills and confidence to apply to the Academy of Fine Arts here in Vienna in 2011 where I finished my diploma in 2016 with Carola Dertnig.

Looking back now I see how all those micro-steps and decisions I took in the past are still very important for my artistic practice and influence the way I work.

So — there wasn’t “one” moment that triggered my decision, there were many little steps that led me to become an artist.

What is good and unique about the Art scene in Vienna?
In Vienna you find a lot of different types of spaces — commercial galleries (of/for all generations), non-profit / off-spaces, artist-run spaces and artists associations. On one hand the scene is quite “solid” but on the other it is in constant flux — it feels very vibrant. A lot of times the spaces share an interest in similar (research) topics and I like to see how their programs interface and overlap. Most of the galleries/spaces here are very approachable, easy to talk to and to start a conversation with, and it is amazing how many fantastic artists are living and working in this city.

Another great thing about Vienna/Austria is that there are quite good opportunities to apply for funding here. And you can (if lucky) also still find affordable studios in the city, like the one I share with my colleague and friend Dorothea Zeyringer. So for me it became, at this point, manageable to build up a studio routine, where I can leave my work lying around and don’t have to clean up the space for dinner — as I always had to when I was still working from home. Moving into a studio was a huge step for me. Also inviting curators and other art professionals turned out to be much easier — as I don’t have to invite them to my living room anymore.

Please tell us what you have been working on lately, what is to come and about other projects you are involved in!
I recently showed two of my latest works in group exhibitions at MUSA in Vienna (AT) curated by Nika Kupyrova and at Galerie 35m2 in Prague (CZ) curated by Tea Záchová.

This June I had my first solo exhibition WE ARE ALL ENTANGLED HYBRID ORGANISMS HERE at new jörg here in Vienna (AT) invited by Stefan Reiterer and Axel Koschier, where I showed a completely new body of work dealing with Eileen Gray, her house E-1027 and her complex relationship with Le Corbusier.

In addition to my artistic practice I founded and run the (social media) platform YYYYMMDD www.instagram.com/yyyymmdd_contemporary + www.yyyymmdd.de, and I occasionally write for www.gallerytalk.net. Besides that, this year is the second time that I am part of the curatorial advisory board of The Others Art Fair in Turin (IT).

Daniela Grabosch – www.danielagrabosch.com, www.instagram.com/danielagrabosch