Camila Friedman-Gerlicz is an artist and educator currently living and working in Santa Fe, NM. She received an MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2018, and an MA in math from the University of Texas, Austin in 2012. She combines her love of math and ceramics by using 3-D modeling and digital fabrication tools to make sculptures and installations that visualize mathematical formulas and concepts.
My work is centered around making the theoretical physical by using mathematical ideas and forms explicitly. I am enthralled by the fact that if a few simple rules are established, I can describe any point definitively and uniquely using three variables. This opens me up to a different way of thinking about space. In my work, I am looking to not only think about space in this way but also to perceive and experience it with my whole body. I use formulas and algorithms to find beautiful forms or create interesting paths in space. These forms can be visualized using a computer, but I want a more direct bodily connection. By rendering them out of physical material, I can touch the math and make a direct connection between my brain and my body. I am excited by the possibilities of making work rooted in an abstract space, the push and pull of being able to understand explicitly how something exists, and the mysterious and wondrous power these forms hold.
In addition to my personal connection and exploration of these mathematical forms, I am interested in what information is lost, gained, or transferred in the process of making a theoretical form out of material. Many of my pieces are determined by formulas, and can be understood as flawless mathematical forms. By making them with physical materials, I ensure that they will never be perfect representations of the theoretical rendering. There are practical constraints such as materials and methods of fabrication that determine what can be made. Although the so-called perfection of these forms defined by functions is lost, I am exploring what is gained making them and placing them in an art context.
I love being presented with a problem and using the tools at my disposal to solve it. The work, concentration, and thought that goes into the problem solving is very important to me, and I want to provide an opportunity for my viewer to also solve a problem or come to a new understanding through my work. I want my work to demand the time and attention of the viewer and for there to be a payoff for that attention. The viewer gains a sense of ownership of their discovery and therefore the work itself.