Minneapolis artist Alexa Horochowski worked with the Highpoint printing staff during the summer of 2016 to create her first Highpoint Editions body of work. The artist is known for her sculpture and installation art which ‘address the interrelatedness of natural forces (e.g., weather, erosion, plant life), globalization, culture, and matter.’
Fans and packing peanuts graphite drawing.
When Highpoint approached Horochowski, she was in the process of working on an installation of a manufactured wind vortex at the Soap Factory's* third floor space. She was responding and studying the natural vortices such as dust devils that occur in the desert and prairie, wind eddies that form between skyscrapers in city centers. These vortices bring together matter of various sorts, without differentiating trash from mineral, toxic from organic and this concept intrigued Horochowski. The artist decided to use the vortex to create a series of mechanical drawings formed by the wind interacting with anthropogenic, industrial waste (man-made pollutants). Horochowski is using eight barrel fans imitating natural wind vortices bringing together natural and anthropogenic materials. These materials are coated in substances such as graphite, ink, and oils to create a series of monumental works on paper. View a video of a Vortex Drawing being created below: Manufactured Vortex from Alexa Horochowski on Vimeo. *The Soap Factory is a laboratory for artistic experimentation and innovation, dedicated to supporting artists and engaging audiences through the production and presentation of contemporary art in a unique and historic environment. Based in the historic National Purity Soap Factory in downtown Minneapolis, The Soap Factory is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Additional Reading:And Watching Them, So Were We – Critic and curator Johanna Burton on Alexa Horochowski's Vortex DrawingsArt awhirl – Dylan Thomas on Vortex Drawings via Southwest Journal