This Los Angeles artist uses a medley of materials in her statement-making designs
Sahara NovotnaCharles Novotny
While some artists draw inspiration from the landscape or the bodily entire world encompassing them, Sahara Novotna finds determination in the zeitgeist. “One of the beauties of getting an artist is obtaining the means to create social commentary in equally appealing and subversive methods,” she tells Company of Home. “I want to make objects that permit men and women to believe a lot more critically, although also offering them aesthetic enjoyment.”
Growing up in Sydney, Novotna was released to classical artwork at a youthful age. “I was raised by extremely creative Middle-Jap and European mother and father,” she claims. “By the time I was a teen, I was a working artist—a children’s guide illustrator—and went on to review art, law and psychology in university, where by I discovered techniques ranging from portray to glassblowing to mildew-earning.”
After graduating from Australian National University, she embarked on a career as a training attorney ahead of reverting to her artistic roots in tandem with a transfer to Los Angeles. In 2013, she opened her wonderful artwork studio in Hollywood—with a concentrate on sculpture and multimedia works—and now boasts a slew of hip celeb lovers such as A$AP Rocky. “My do the job includes a multitude of products, but some of my go-tos contain solid resin, historic paper objects, neons, metals and paint,” she states.
The Inexperienced Pill Gummy Bear by Sahara NovotnaCourtesy of Sahara Novotna
Novotna describes her artwork as “thematic”—referencing everything from the point out of the world wide community to the economy and well-known tradition. “I am influenced in the instant by a flash of an thought, a quip some thing I see or feel that triggers an primary strategy,” she states. “Then I come across the correct elements to ideal produce the strategy. I am bound to no singular course of action, rather to the finest course of action for manifesting my present-day idea.”
In addition to an array of blended-media will work, Novotna also patterns sculptural objects—including massive-scale resin gummy bears stuffed with cash, capsules and crypto coins—that moonlight as characterful house decor accents. “The gummy bear sequence began as a social commentary on the prescription drug epidemic and has given that turn out to be a way to deal with all forms of controversial or socially relevant issues in just a sweet and relatable sort,” she states. “Their familiarity and website link to childhood nostalgia have led them to develop into a collector’s item—they’ve been featured in a volume of television shows [including The Consultant on Amazon Prime] and videos as a tabletop art.”
The ÆTHR Crypto Graffiti chair by Sahara Novotna and Tina Nicole for Nathan AnthonyCourtesy of Nathan Anthony
In April, Novotna was tapped by Nathan Anthony Furniture to make a cryptocurrency-motivated capsule collection called ÆTHR. Built in collaboration with the brand’s creative director, Tina Nicole, the line contains hand-manufactured eating chairs clad in 24 karat gold bitcoins, shredded $100 charges, gold lead and graffiti paint—with the buy of every single actual physical piece linked to an NFT sold by means of the OpenSea marketplace. “We wished to integrate original hand-manufactured artwork into large-finish furnishings and engage in with themes that currently existed in my aesthetic, these types of as resin-casting and crypto-based [concepts], and come up with one thing truly exceptional,” she suggests. “My art model translated much extra easily to home furnishings design than I had at any time imagined.”
Searching ahead, Novotna hopes to open a community artwork center to present young aspiring artists with a artistic outlet. “I commenced informally pursuing that avenue at my studio in Hollywood, where we would host teens who preferred to try painting, pictures, graffiti, and many others.,” she claims. “My mission is to provide natural beauty into our normally much too-darkish world, all the while possessing enjoyable and main an eventful lifestyle.”
If you want to discover more about Sahara Novotna, pay a visit to her internet site or comply with her on Instagram.
Homepage photo: Sahara Novotna with the ÆTHR Crypto Graffiti chair she developed in collaboration with Tina Nicole for Nathan Anthony | Devin Stinson
