Meet Ali Prosch: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ali Prosch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ali, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I would describe the balance between work and life as tricky. Since my daughter was born two years ago, the reality is I cannot dedicate as much time as I’d like to my studio practice. Add to that the limitations of a pandemic, my teaching job, freelance projects, and my 80-year-old mother who recently moved in with me; making art sometimes feels nearly impossible! I cobble together slivers of time, maybe an hour between meetings, a stint after the baby’s bedtime, or hiring someone to babysit when I need longer stretches. The structure is different, but I am adapting. In a way, it’s helped me sift through the mundane and prioritize what’s important. My house is definitely not as clean as it used to be. And I know my time in the studio accumulates and helps me build momentum. For me, it’s all about sustaining that momentum, however that looks. On some level, my work always connects to personal experience. So this “balancing act” and new closeness with my mom is becoming a source of inspiration/material for my work. Who knows—maybe somehow this scene from the other morning, when I was trying to soothe a crying baby, help my mom cleanup broken glass, deal with the dog throwing up on the bed, and make it to my class on time—will find its way into an artwork. There are a lot of layers here. And now, I find myself thinking about things like, selective deafness, or how accidentally breaking a glass is considered good luck by some people. Perhaps it’ll be a video with some glass, bile, sections of a stomach, and a garbled audio track?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My sculptures, videos and performances seek to build a framework for destabilizing conventions of femininity and the stigmatizations related to trauma and grief. Mainly I play with tropes of motherhood and domesticity, ideas of the body in flux, and historical archetypes. Within this terrain, I try to highlight shared traumatic experience and emphasize the nuances and subtleties in our reactions to loss. Currently, I have work in progress that centers on methods of healing. I’m drawing inspiration from ancient goddess artifacts to create sculptures that I refer to as “comfort objects.” Things like personal totems, heated sculptural cushions, and self-petting gloves to represent empowerment and the beauty of disorder. The objects will be activated through a series of for-camera performances with choreographed dance and movement. This work sits at the intersection of art and design, which is a new trajectory for me. I’m excited about how it might advance and complicate the ways I weave together my interests in the utilitarian and the uncanny. Being an artist has never been an easy career path. I have learned that every artist has a unique path to forge and it’s not useful to compare to other artist’s careers. There is always someone with something bigger. However, there are certain artists I admire and model aspects of my own practice based on what I’ve gleaned through my observations of them. My process is very intuitive so it’s critical that I trust that intuition, especially when it comes to taking risks. I always try to push myself through the anxiety of doing new things (techniques, ideas, etc.), as this is how I really grow as an artist and as a human. Sharing the work is also essential, ideally at nurturing spaces that provide a generative context. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dear friend and artist Hernan Bas has been a constant force of love and support in my life and work. I have this one memory (among many) that is very special to me. It was during my first solo show in Miami. He said, “You’re the only artist I know that insists on there being a video of a butt farting glitter in their first show. I love that about you. You have this natural willingness to take risks and just put it all out there. Please never stop doing this.” I still carry these words with me. Hernan’s ongoing support has been immeasurable. He helped me get into good shows early in my career, he’s pushed me to include elements in my work that others have labeled as too emotional or “feely feely,” and he urged me to go grad school, even though it meant we would live across the country from each other. I honestly don’t think I would be where I am today without him. My partner Dave has also been indispensable. He is a brilliant engineer and carpenter. Dave has helped me bring my ideas to life, in a way I never thought possible. I feel so very lucky to have him in my world.

Website: aliprosch.com

Instagram: ali_prosch

Facebook: /ali.prosch