Kim Triedman
About | Kim Triedman is an award-winning poet and novelist. She began working in collage as a way to further indulge her fascination with story.
Most of Triedman’s work involves old, discarded or destroyed items, which are used in the service of artistic narrative. These may include old ledgers, receipts, and certificates; graphs and architectural plans; newsprint and chicken-wire and laundry line—even antique wooden windows, which serve as frame and template but also conceptual springboard. She almost always includes photography in her pieces—sometimes digitally manipulated, often her own but also black-and-white images from the early- and mid-20th century. Compositions are drawn from places she has known, sometimes through memory but also through her own photography. Her palette is often muted, though—like life—shot through with small urgencies of color.
Much of Triedman’s work focuses on issues of gender expectations and historical and evolving perceptions of femininity and sexuality. She is especially interested in the how these perceptions/expectations intersect with and undermine current societal realities.
Triedman’s pieces have been shown widely in small and large group shows throughout the northeastern United States and earned her numerous juror’s awards and mentions. In 2018, she curated and participated in the show “Waste Not,” which was featured as the cover story for ArtScope Magazine (Nov. 2018). Her work can be found in numerous private collections here and abroad. She is also the author of three poetry collections and a novel.
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? I came to art making very late, so I don’t really have early memories per se. My mother is a trained visual artists, though — still painting at 86 — so I was surrounded by art as a practice. I was a poet and a novelist first, and I began working in collage as a way to further explore my fascination with narrative.
When did art become a pursuit? I only started making art about five years ago. I’d come off the tail of 2 poetry collections and a novel and was really creatively blocked. I hardly wrote for over a year. But I loved using my hands and I was always a maker—quilting, decoupage, etc—and was always very sensitive to color and texture and light. And then in the summer of 2016, I picked up an old window off the side of the road and started playing around with it. I had lots of great old papers around from my decoupage days…I just started playing.
Waiting, collage on board
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? I am self-taught.
How did you first become involved with CAA? Some dear friends told me about it. They’ve been members for years and years.
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I’m also a member of Concord Art Association. I curated a large show with three local artists—Lorraine Sullivan, Anne Plaisance, and Stephen Martin—a few years ago called “Waste Not,” which focused on working with old and recycled materials. It got a wonderful cover story in ArtScope. My work has been shown widely in the Northeast and is currently in numerous private collections, here and abroad.
What role do you think the artist plays in society? I guess the artist provides a kind of prism to the world—a unique way of looking at what is already there, whether it be an internal truth or an external reality.
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? Mixed Media/Collage/Assemblage. The medium chose me.
Eye of the Beholder, collage on board
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? I generally don’t have a clue what each piece will be or why or what it means until I finish it. It’s an exceedingly organic experience. I use a combination of found papers, bits of detritus, my own photography, vintage photographs, fine handmade papers, and random found objects in my work. I have a natural design sense, and that informs my compositions. My palette is muted, though – like life – shot through with small urgencies of color.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? My work has a strong narrative element. Much of it (though not all) focuses on issues of gender expectations and historical and evolving perceptions of femininity and sexuality. I am especially interested in the how these perceptions/expectations intersect and collide with current societal realities. My imagination tends toward the provocative—the visually arresting pairing or detail. A dapper business executive side-eyes a 16th-century Dutch girl, her left hand nested neatly over her belly. A deconstructed Eve in the garden brandishes a perfect, tiny, silver nipple ring.
But at the end of the day, I don’t really “choose” my subject matter; it chooses me. A specific image or pattern or paper or color will catch my eye, and I’m off and running with it. It is very much like writing poetry, where I start with a word or a phrase and allow the rest to trip along until I find myself at the end. And only then do I understand why I had to write it.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? I tend to always love the work I’m currently involved in. One of my favorites right now is a small piece I did called “Eye Of The Beholder.”
What is one of your artistic goals? Just to keep having fun and making a mess. That’s how I started. The thrill for me is figuring out each piece like a puzzle.
Look at Me Now, collage on board
What’s your favorite place to see art, and why? Mass MOCA.
What living artists are you inspired by? Marlene Dumas, Gerhard Richter, and Lucien Freud are a few favorites.
Do you own any art by other artists? Is so, what artists? Yes, many pieces. I’m an especially grateful owner of two of Lorraine Sullivan’s assemblage works. I also own a couple of Stephen Martin’s amazing pieces. And I have several works from collage artists Matthew Rose, Laurence Briat, and two from Valerie (Prosper) Imparato. Plus lots of work of my mother’s (Cynthia Triedman) and my daughter’s (Sophie Oldsman, a RISD-trained printmaker and painter).
Do you have any shows coming up? Yes, several! Right now I have a large piece in the Double Visions show at Bromfield Gallery in SOWA. I’m also part of the small group curatorial show Give and Take, opening at Kathryn Schultz next week with four amazing women artists. I have something going up at Denise Bibro Gallery in Manhattan this week. And I’m a finalist for the 8 Visions show at Attleboro Museum, so I should hear about that any day now.
See more from Kim
Website: kimtriedman.com
Instagram: @kimtriedman
Facebook: Kim Triedman Artist
Kim is featured in our exhibition Give and Take, which highlights five CAA members that engage with collage thinking in their work. The show runs from April 1–April 30, 2021.