Issue 03
CAROLINE HWANG
By Caleb NeelonPortrait By Caleb Neelon
Plenty of young artists on the come-up will move to New York and immediately proclaim themselves NYC lifers. Caroline Hwang isn’t falling into that trap. Born, raised, and schooled in Los Angeles, the 25-year-old Hwang moved to Brooklyn just under a year ago, treating it as an experiment. “The adjustment was hard, and New York feels very temporary to me - I don’t see myself here for long.”
Nor does she see New York affecting the art she makes. “A lot of people say to me that they wonder how New York will change my work, but for me, what I make has less to do with my aesthetic surroundings than it does with my personal relationships and what is in my life emotionally.” With a full dance card of upcoming shows on both coasts, she’s had to keep a close eye on her process as well. “One of my big things is not to mass-produce,
but to slow down and make each piece meaningful.”
To turn emotions and experiences into objects, Caroline takes a distinctive approach, one that she began to develop as a student at the Art Center in Los Angeles. “All my pieces begin as fabric, which I paint on, and then collage other fabric on top of, then embroider over with my sewing machine, and then add some final drawing and painting. They end up very layered.”
The process requires some careful digging for fabrics. “Recently, I’ve wanted to work in quilting as a starting point while looking to where fashion is going, and to bring the two together. I like to use homespun fabrics, and here in New York I have to shop at the same stores that the fashion designers use, basically. Often when I go back to L.A., I shop at my old spots and bring back a huge stash of stuff I can’t find here in New York.”
Not only a source for fabrics, the west coast is the source for most of Caroline’s inspirations as well. “The painting and drawing that I do comes from comics, and also from what people like Margaret Kilgallen and Clare Rojas have done.” She’s quick to clarify, though, on the ever-touchy line between inspiration and mimicry. “People are starting to rip them off, seeing that what they did worked well and was received well, and trying to get the same result for themselves. I’ve had my share of wanting to change my whole style of work because I didn’t think people would like it, but I think if you make art that comes from the heart and you stand by it, it’ll be good to one person or another. I know that sounds cheesy, but it is something I believe.”
It does sound cheesy. But we couldn’t agree more.