Kim Triedman: Artist Statement

When She Was Good

Collage is a kind of visual poetry. I am a published poet and novelist. I began working in collage to further indulge my fascination with story.

From the start I’ve found it incredible how two distinct images-placed in proximity-can create a totally new and unexpected energy. For me it’s exactly like writing poetry. It’s this energy that I seek to harness in my collages.

Much of my work focuses on issues of gender expectations and historical perceptions of femininity and sexuality. The series that I’ve been working on these past few years is entitled “When She Was Good” – a play off the old nursery rhyme. I’m particularly interested in the notion of nostalgia — how old perceptions collide with current societal realities — and the emotional wounds that women continue to carry as a result.

There is a lot of “fragmenting” in my collages: dissociated arms and legs; eyes peering or assessing or spying , mouth’s stuffed, agape, or blacked out. This is something that has just “happened” in my work: it seems to be where I land. No body is entirely intact. Figures are there and not there at the same time. My imagination tends toward the provocative – the visually arresting pairing or detail. A dapper business executive side-eyes a 16th-century Dutch girl, her left hand nested neatly over her belly. A deconstructed Eve in the garden brandishes a perfect, tiny, silver nipple ring.

My pieces have been shown widely in small and large group shows throughout the northeastern United States and earned numerous juror’s awards and mentions. In 2018 I curated and participated in the show “Waste Not,” which was featured as the cover story for Artscope Magazine (Nov. 2018). This current show has also been featured in this month’s issue of Artscope (Jan/Feb 2022). My work can be found at http://www.kimtriedman.com, on Instagram @kimtriedman, and in numerous private collections here and abroad. I am also the author of three poetry collections and a novel.