The Argentine artist has lived in SF since 2021. Her childhood between Buenos Aires and Córdoba, the union between psychology and art, the trip to England – which changed her life – have been the factors to inject an innovative style into her art, and which allows you to develop contact with the City
by Jonathan Raed
Claire Dunn was born in Buenos Aires 28 years ago in Pilar, a town located in the urban cordon that surrounds the Federal Capital, although it is part of the urban area, it is characterized by being far from the noisy dynamics of the capital, without a doubt it is an ideal place for a sensitive person looking to connect with themselves; and that is where she -Claire- lived during her first years, accompanied by her parents and her brother.
Claire mentions that her and her family’s names are not common in an Argentine family and it is because her grandfather Denis was of English origin and also because her grandmother Margaret was an artist, with whom she has spent a lot of time making art in Cordoba Argentina. She adds “My parents gave us names that they liked how they sounded with the last name” and when she was little she didn’t like having a different name, but over time she knew that it could help her be identified as a unique rhythm artist.
Silvia Fiori was his art teacher at school and also his professional mentor. She indicates that in addition to teaching him all the drawing and painting techniques, “she was an angel for me,” because he was going through an identity crisis and she accompanied him to self-study. discover yourself through art.
Claire studied psychology at the University of Salvador (BA) and thanks to that she obtained an exchange scholarship to England where she stayed for almost a year; place where she found part of the inspiration for her artistic practice, since at only 22 years old she was able to hitchhike, walk and by bus until she knew each other “intimately.”
That contact with the world was essential for her artistic expressions. As happened with psychology, she considers that both disciplines are closely related and that fascinates her, since she can study this connection. She did so in her psychology thesis, where she delved into that link by working with many artists to conclude that “art can be a way to mental health.”
In 2021, she arrived in the United States, in order to pursue a master’s degree in art in San Francisco. “I wanted to understand and connect with the place, the trees and the people who live here, so I did it by walking many hours around the city. Talking to many strangers along the way and asking questions. To this end, there is a quote by Rebecca Solnit that says: ‘Walking is the only way to compare the rhythm of the body with the rhythm of the earth.’
In that sense, she considers that each place has a constellation of conditions, which create and affect the experience of life, with the codes of the place being those that remain imprinted on the human being. It is even said that “climatic conditions influenced the beginning of different religions in the world.”
Claire’s art is unique, it does not have much background and the streets of San Francisco were key to its development. She narrates that on each walk she picked up tree bark and fallen leaves on the sidewalk that caught her attention. And when she returned to her studio, without a final goal, she sewed, embroidered and joined the barks that she had collected, creating different shapes, and at the same time “processing everything she experienced during the day.” This process became a “meditative” practice.
Over time, the barks became sculptures, to show “a dialogue between me and my surroundings.” Then, she began picking up discarded human-made objects; trash. Objects that inspired her. And so, her practice completely transformed to: “exploring the world of sculpture with found objects,” she indicated. However, Claire’s work is interdisciplinary, ranging from sculpture and painting to experimental photography, immersive installations and invented tools. She adds that in everything she seeks to “connect my body to my location, focusing on the unique qualities of each place” and thanks to sensory research she manages to study the relationship between the body and the world.
Dunn has exhibited her work in Argentina and the US, in venues such as the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the Berkeley Art Center, the Minnesota Street Project, the Palo Alto Art Center and the Argentine Embassy in Washington DC . Likewise, she has been a resident artist at La Flecha del Arte in Argentina, and has managed to win the Monson Arts Abbott Watts Residency Award in Maine and the Recology AIR in San Francisco.
Claire puts everything of herself into her works, even her own DNA: “These days I am working a lot on my photograms,” “combining my analog macro-photographic documentation of objects found in the forest with my own DNA (extracted from my hair and saliva); in addition to other elements such as broken mirrors that have my fingerprints, to create abstract and dynamic drawings with different tools such as sandpaper, and nails,” she explained.
With the warmth that characterizes her, Claire indicates that her art is about “molded skins from different trees; I lift them from the ground and I find that each bark has memory, “because she considers that each tree is a being with personality and its skins fall off without being noticed, and for that reason she lifts them and gives them life again.”
Dunn not only has her own style, but also her own tools. “When I paint, I do it with hand-carved tools that I created from sticks that I also picked up from the floor; generally, from the tree called Redwood. Each piece has the latitude and longitude where it was found, and the year carved. It’s a feeling of mapping how I move in space. “I also explore other ways of moving my hand and using tools,” she described.
Finally, she talked about her future. “I learned how to curate exhibitions. I love asking questions, opening dialogue with other artists and having them respond in her own way, with her art or perhaps adding more questions. That’s what it’s about because collaborating with people is also something that fascinates me. My dream is to be able to continue traveling, see the world and continue making art, meeting incredible people along the way,” she concluded.
