David Vosburg is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '22

David Vosburg is a conceptual artist living and working on Chicago's south side, exploring intersections of place, power, and meaning-making. He expresses wonder as an antidote to power: a subversive force of heightened awareness and curiosity. Wonder embraces ambiguity and imagination in order to re-narrate what is possible, building meaning deeply rooted in people and place. This orientation leads him to things otherwise overlooked, elevating and recontextualizing cast-offs in order to examine what we value and why. Neglected spaces, broken furniture, roadside trash, weeds, all bring profound potential for aesthetic insight into ourselves and the world. He has exhibited work across the United States, including Chicago, Grand Rapids, and Kansas City, as well as in London, UK.

ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.

How did you get started as an artist?

I've been making art my entire life, so in some ways I don't know anything else. I studied film in undergrad and then worked as a creative professional for about ten years. Even so, it has only been in the last two years that my practice and artistic voice has really come into its own. Some of that was the focus coming out of graduate school, and some was the change of pace and perspective that came with the pandemic.

How would you describe your artistic approach?

Starting out I tend to to have two separate processes happening concurrently. One is conceptual. I am constantly exploring ideas and looking for open spaces—the gaps and ambiguities between understandings. The other is a material process. I walk quite a lot and my eyes are always hunting texture, color, and composition. Wherever those two meet is where a body of work emerges. As pieces take shape my background in film, photography, and design feed into that process..

And how about what inspires you?

I'm inspired by the places I'm from. I largely grew up and was educated in post-industrial America, places that are often derided or left aside. But I've chosen to continue living and creating in these communities because they are what make me myself, and because they are rich and profound spaces. There is a paradox of possibility within precarity. I'm convinced certainty is the enemy of creativity, and while there is great (and often unnecessary) pain in the histories of these places, there is also an openness and potential that drives me.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

For me, and I think for nearly every creative person I've known, I am often my own biggest challenge. I can get lost in my own head or self doubt and imposter syndrome. I've found that it is crucial to have a community of people around me who can speak both hard truth and encouragement back to me in those moments. Artistic work can be isolating at times, but it does not have to be, and at its best creates a kind of communal centrifugal force that draws others in.

Describe a typical day in the studio/wherever you make your work.

My work often begins with a walk. I live just a short distance from the studio, but the work often begins in that space between, opening my eyes and becoming attentive. I typically have four or more projects happening concurrently and I like to be able to move between them depending on my energy or whether something needs to dry or print or I need to go to the wood shop and just make a bunch of cuts. I also block out time for midday walks. Moving through the world at the pace of my own body is crucial to my practice, and walking grounds me in that.

Is there a medium, a process, or a technique that you haven't used in your work yet but would like to try out?

I'm currently exploring 3D printing. It's a lot of fun. I haven't made anything worth keeping yet, but it has a kind of slow deliberate pace and sits at this curious edge between the digital and physical that very much intrigues me.

What are you currently working on? Or an upcoming project you want to mention?

I've spent much of the last six months tearing apart piles of institutional furniture and creating all kinds of pieces from it. I'm exploring the ways power is bound into the world around us and wondering about subversive ways we might be able to rethink our relationships to, and within those structures. I'm looking forward to having a chance to put all of those works together in a show sometime soon.

How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?

I'm glad and honored to be a part of it!

See more of David’s work

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