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About
Sam Grabowska is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Denver, Colorado, USA. They combine corporeal traces, such as human hair and animal sinew, with industrial building materials, like concrete and PVC conduit, into sculptural installations that reconstruct the self after trauma. The work inhabits the intersection of the human body and architectural language. Grabowska has exhibited their work in museums and galleries across Colorado as well as Minneapolis and in Sweden. They hold a PhD in architecture with a cognate in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan, an MH in interdisciplinary humanities from the University of Colorado Denver, as well as a BFA in film and a BA in architecture from the University of Colorado Boulder. Grabowska is the founder of Manifolding Labs, a research and consulting firm focusing on trauma-responsive spatial design with a range of clients including art museums, community organizations, architecture firms, and mental health practitioners. Their research methods include qualitative interviewing, phenomenological analysis, in situ observation, archaeology of the contemporary, and are now exploring biomarker feedback wearables.
Artist statement:
My art practice is a project in reconstructing the self after trauma. The body of work encompasses sculpture, new media, and performance, seeks to evoke a visceral response in viewers—providing both curious comfort and familiar discomfort within dysmorphic bodies and spaces.
The amalgamation of intimate human-like materials such as hair, bioplastic, and sinew with industrial elements like concrete board and conduit defines my aesthetic language. Using bastardized versions of architectural sections and topography, I design 3D spaces that beckon to be physically or imaginatively inhabited.
At the heart of my creative process is a one-on-one engagement with friends and colleagues from traditionally marginalized groups. After candid conversations about their psychological traumas, they assume postures that evoke surrender and protection. These postures, captured through photography or 3D scanning, form the basis of my sculptures. The collaborative process librates the work from the confines of my own viewpoint.
The foundational body form becomes a structure from which to build. Merging organic materials like human hair, bioplastics, and saliva with industrial elements such as PVC and concrete, I term this fusion of human essence and synthetic textures ‘somatic architecture.’ This amalgamation is further enriched with sound, gentle air currents, video, or performance culminating in a multisensory installation.
Short artist statement:
Sam Grabowska is a child of immigrants, a recovering academic, and a conjurer of spaces. In their current art practice, Grabowska combines corporeal traces such as human hair and animal sinew, with industrial building materials like concrete and PVC conduit to create sculptures where bodies, real or imagined, can seek refuge from emotional trauma. The work emerges from the intersection of the human body and architectural language.
Short artist bio:
Sam Grabowska is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Denver, Colorado, USA. Grabowska holds a PhD in architecture with a cognate in cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan, an MH in interdisciplinary humanities from the University of Colorado Denver, and both a BFA in film and a BA in architecture from the University of Colorado Boulder. They have exhibited their work in museums and galleries across Colorado as well as Minneapolis and in Sweden. Grabowska is the founder of Manifolding Labs, a research and consulting firm focusing on trauma-responsive spatial design.
Short research bio:
Dr. Sam Grabowska is the founder of Manifolding Labs, a research and consulting firm focusing on trauma-responsive design with a range of clients from architecture firms, to mental health practitioners, to art museums. Their research methods include qualitative interviewing, phenomenological analysis, in situ observation, archaeology of the contemporary, and are now exploring biomarker feedback wearables. Grabowska is currently Denver-based.
Press for “INTAKE” / Southwest Contemporary / 2023
Press for “Grossly Affectionate” / Denver Post / 2022
Studio visit / Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art / 2021
Studio feature / Hyperallergic / 2022
Interview / Voyage Denver / 2021
Interview / The Denver Art Museum / 2022