Manon Steyaert
Manon Steyaert
Artist
In creating works of embodied silicone from scratch, Manon Steyaert’s abstract pieces speak in the languages of art and architecture. Steyaert is a French-British artist based in London who, with a background in fashion and art, creates multi-dimensional free-standing and wall-based artworks from silicone. Through the use of a wide palette of colors, she manipulates and hand-mixes her pigments within the silicone before pouring them onto acrylic sheets to dry. Steyaert then dresses the canvas with glossy, eye-catching silicone by draping, stretching, and folding the silicone sheets by hand over the canvas.
Uniquely positioned between traditionally accepted art forms—fashion and art, sculpture and painting—her pieces evoke a feeling of curiosity in the viewer. It is, in a sense, an act of rebellion (and genius) to separate layers of color and elevate them into the third dimension as drapes of silicone. In this way, Manon’s evocative pieces are utterly transgressive; we are obsessed. We were seduced by Manon’s work even before Plow started commissioning her for our projects. Naturally, we had to have a piece live in our own space.
In 2019, after studying at Central Saint Martins in London, Manon received her master’s in fine arts from the Chelsea College of Arts in London. In the last few years, Steyaert’s work has gained global renown. Her exhibitions have been featured in an array of prestigious galleries and publications. Manon’s work will be featured in her second solo exhibit, “Passing Colour” at Annika Nuttal Gallery in Denmark starting February 24, 2023.
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“As I get older, I feel evermore connected to my practice, curious towards what I’m making and the meaning and intention which leads the work.”
Why is design or creativity important to you?
Art is a way of me expressing what’s in my head, creating something tangible from just my thoughts/gaze. It allows me to explore my own curiosity towards certain things, like materials, to change viewers’ perceptions of painting and sculpture.
What was your turning point as a creative person?
I would say two moments/periods of time had a turning point effect on my practice and career. One, going on an artist residency for a month in Portugal, and two, unsurprisingly, covid. Both have one thing in common—apart from the artist residency taking place during the pandemic—both put me in a different and new environment than my studio. The shift in the environment allowed me to completely open my mind and make more spontaneous work purely from what I had around me.
I was with 5 other artists in a large warehouse during the residency. Being surrounded by creativity and other artists inspired me to expand on my use of materials and made me look inward toward my practice and my relationship with my art. The pandemic brought me back to my parent’s home, back to my room, and back to basics. This allowed me to reanalyze where my practice was after completing a Masters in Fine Art and what I wanted to communicate to the viewer. Both allowed me to connect with numerous artists, sharing knowledge and experiences. Whether in the studio or via social media, a real sense of community developed and taught me to reach out in moments of doubt or uncertainty.
Which values most inform your work?
Fulfilling curiosities, pushing and re-evaluation
As I get older, I feel evermore connected to my practice, curious towards what I’m making and the meaning and intention which leads the work. As soon as I am no longer intrigued or curious, then I know the intention for the work has gone. I sometimes have limited patience, this dictates a lot of what materials I use or how I use them in my work, so the sense of re-evaluation is important to my practice, as it allows various perspectives to come through, allowing me to problem-solve into making the work that speaks to me, whether it be of higher quality or it just “works.”
Pushing can seem a bit odd as a value, but with social media, we find ourselves in a society where we are visually exposed to so much. It’s essential to keep pushing in whatever it may be, either your work ethic or your personal message, or to just keep pushing in your authenticity.
“I feel like for artists, the mind never stops running or thinking of the next piece, but true moments of creativity are when you’re just aching to get into the studio and work through the ideas.”
Describe a space, artwork, or something relating to your practice that has had a profound impact on you.
I would say the influences that have or have had an impact on me are constantly changing, like my artwork and me. For example, I used to be influenced by gestural paintings—painters who investigated the deconstruction of painting, like Angela De la Cruz and Carol Bove.
I feel inspired in spaces that contain color, where my eye is constantly drawn to form, architecture, and materials.
I also feel like open outdoors/vast spaces allow me to envision my work better, allowing my brain to breath in a way.
Which artist, activist, or individual has been a source of inspiration to you?
Anne Truitt, Dan Graham, Justin Morin, and fashion designer Johannes Warnke have inspired me. Also, various works from large standing totem sculptures from Anne Truitt, and mirror-based outdoor and indoor installations from Dan Graham. I am inspired by the hanging dyed silks operating as wall and ceiling-based sculptures from Justin Morin and the beautifully constructed structural garments that evoke the movement in folds from Johannes Warnke. Even though all those artists are completely different and use various mediums to express themselves, I feel a sense of connectivity with each, finding inspiration in all the various communications of their art.
How do you nurture creativity?
I don’t know whether I would say the word “nurture” but more the becoming aware when creativity waves hit me. I tend to write keywords down in my notebook, words that tie my ideas down or allow me to expand upon them.
I am trying to get back into research, reading, and gallery visits—basically exposing myself to more art. I am also trying to allow myself more me time, whether it is going for walks, cooking, reading, etc.—just things that I like doing to get myself in a positive state of mind, allowing me to go to my studio excited to start working whether on new pieces or continue ongoing ones.
Creativity is different for everyone. I feel like for artists, the mind never stops running or thinking of the next piece, but true moments of creativity are when you’re just aching to get into the studio and work through the ideas.
What does being productive look like for you?
I am quite strict with myself about going to the studio. I feel a sense of accomplishment by going, even if it’s for half a day. As I said above, being an artist is working through many ideas in your head, so even making it into the studio is productive to me. Productivity is sometimes hard to see in art, purely as it might just be thinking about an idea and problem-solving in your mind. I try and make a to-do list, even if the tasks are small. It’s a good visual guide for me to see what I have done that day. Being productive for me is also failing. Just the action of experimenting allows me to progress, even if it’s to figure out what materials don’t work.
Who are your three favorite artists?
Currently, I would say Line Busch, Anton Alvarez, and Ruth Campau.
What’s your hidden superpower?
I am a pretty good cook and trying to publish my own cookbook, which has been in the making since the start of the global pandemic.
