Ficus Interfaith

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Ficus Interfaith is an artistic duo based in New York City. Ficus Interfaith is a collaboration between Ryan Bush (b. 1990, Denver, CO) and Raphael Martinez Cohen (b. 1989, New York, NY). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Bush and Martinez Cohen have been working together since 2013. [7]

Contents

Education

Bush and Martinez Cohen met at the Rhode Island School of Design where they both received BAs in painting. [2]

Career

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

  • Chabudai, Chabudai, Numano Hashi, in Tokyo, Japan 2024 [8]
  • Grand Central Treehouse, at Deli Gallery, NY, 2023 [9]
  • Ficus Interfaith, Jack Chiles, New York, NY, 2019 [10] [11]
  • Frame House Whereabouts, Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, NY, 2018 [12]
  • Summer Terrazzos, Prairie, Chicago, IL, 2018 [13] [14]
  • Flower Bat Mullion, From The Desk of Lucy Bull, Los Angeles, CA, 2018 [15]
  • Ficus Interfaith, Gern En Regalia, Ridgewood, NY, 2017 [16]

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • "Objects for a Heavenly Cave"- Marta, Los Angeles, CA, 2024 [17] [18] [19]
  • "Residual Energies" - Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami, Fl 2024 [20] [21] [22]
  • "Los Angeles Bar" - "Second Pour," In Lieu, Los Angeles, 2024 [23]
  • Local Objects, International Objects, New York, NY, 2023 [24]
  • From Cellar to Garret, South Parade, London, 2020-2021 [25]
  • Theorem X, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, 2021 [26]
  • Red Root, Green Root, The Valley, Taos, New Mexico 2021 [27]
  • Dear John, Adams and Ollman, Portland, 2021 [28]
  • No Place, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, 2020 [29]
  • In Practice: Total Disbelief, SculptureCenter, NY, 2020 [30] [31] [32]
  • Rubus Armeniacus (Himalayan blackberry), Jessica’s Apartment, New York, NY, 2019 [33]
  • Downturn, Sibling, Toronto, Canada, 2019 [34]
  • The Nourishment, From The Desk of Lucy Bull, Los Angeles, CA, 2019 [6]
  • RESET, Kai Matsumiya, New York, NY, 2019 [35]
  • At the End of the Game You Will Be Forgotten, Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, NY, 2018 [36]
  • The Earth is a Trampled Garden, Brooklyn, NY, 2018 [37]
  • Dangerous Together, Prairie, Chicago, IL, 2018 [38]
  • Progress Beyond Reason, MX Gallery, New York, NY, 2017 [39]
  • dccon1: narrabantur, U.S. Blues, Brooklyn, NY, 2016 [40]

Residencies

Style and technique

In the mid-2010s, Ficus Interfaith began working with terrazzo, a cementitious composite material, usually used in flooring. Ficus Interfaith's sculptures explore the creative possibilities of the terrazzo technique which is more commonly found in public or municipal spaces. [15] [40] In addition to their free standing and wall-mounted terrazzo sculptures, Ficus Interfaith make site-specific terrazzo installations. [44] [45] Ficus Interfaith use typical and atypical materials in their terrazzo including but not limited to peach stones, oyster shells, the royal blue glass of Saratoga Water bottles, petrified wood, marbles, pits, deer bones, and walnuts. [46]

Since December 8, 2014, Ficus Interfaith has maintained a WordPress blog titled My Brothers Garden. [2]

The name Ficus Interfaith comes from the "fig tree genus and the allure of spirituality." [47]

Ficus Interfaith work out of a studio in Queens, NYC. [2] For Bush and Martinez Cohen, the Ficus Interfaith entity functions as a third distinct voice. [2] In a December 2023 interview with ARTnews, Ficus Interfaith stated "most of our pieces operate as paintings." [48]

Ficus Interfaith's art is informed by their formal training in painting. [2] Ficus Interfaith credit many inspirations including: craft objects, Rhizofiltration, Sponge Bob, The Timeless Way of Building, Rockwell Kent, homosocial behavior, and Pinocchio. [49]

References

  1. ↑ "8 Perfume Connoisseurs on the Smells of Spring". www.culturedmag.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ficus Text — super!". super-nyc.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith and the Sticking Power of Terrazzo". www.culturedmag.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  4. ↑ Poll, Zoey (September 15, 2023). "The Make-Do Joys of Terrazzo". New York Times.com.
  5. ↑ Sokol, David (December 13, 2023). "The Deep Dive: A Work of Art Underfoot". Dwell. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "THE NOURISHMENT". LB. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Clay Club". www.sculpture-center.org. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "numanohashi 2024 artists". numanohashi. December 14, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  9. ↑ "5 Can't-Miss Art and Design Exhibitions to Catch in a City Near You This April 👀". ELLE Decor. April 13, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith - Jack Chiles". jackchiles.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Ryan Bush and Raphael Martinez Cohen "Ficus Interfaith"". www.nyartbeat.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith : INTERSTATE PROJECTS". www.interstateprojects.org. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  13. ↑ "'Summer Terrazzos' by Ficus Interfaith at Prairie". OFluxo. August 13, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith". prairie.website. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "FICUS INTERFAITH". LB. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith". gern en regalia.
  17. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith - Exhibition at Marta". Marta Gallery. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Los Angeles gallery Marta explores the enduring inspiration of grottos with an ethereal, multi-sensory group show". www.wallpaper.com. September 7, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  19. ↑ "The Marta art gallery LA displays various fantastical 'Objects for a Heavenly Cave'". www.stirpad.com.
  20. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith - Exhibition at Nina Johnson". NinaJohnson Gallery. September 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  21. ↑ "ENERGY FIELD An Interview with Camille Okhio on Her Curatorial Début at Nina Johnson Gallery". www.pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith Holy Bible, 2024 Cementitious terrazzo 10 × 7 × 1 3/4 in | 25.4 × 17.8 × 4.4 cm". www.artsy.net/artist/ficus-interfaith.
  23. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith - Exhibition at in lieu in Los Angeles". ArtRabbit. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Local Objects 3.18.2023–5.28.2023". objects.international. May 28, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  25. ↑ "FROM CELLAR TO GARRET — Group show at South Parade, London". OFLUXO. February 5, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Theorem X curated by Rebekah Chozick and Sara Salamone". Rachel Uffner. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Red Root, Green Root". The Valley. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Dear John at Adams and Ollman – Art Viewer". April 3, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  29. ↑ Article, Artnet News ShareShare This (July 13, 2020). "Editors' Picks: 21 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From Aspen's Online Fair to a How-to for Remote Art-Job Hunters". Artnet News. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  30. ↑ "In Practice: Total Disbelief". www.sculpture-center.org. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  31. ↑ ""In Practice: Total Disbelief" Exhibition". www.nyartbeat.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Ficus Interfaith". www.sculpture-center.org. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  33. ↑ ficusinterfaith (June 4, 2019). "Rubus Armeniacus (Himalayan blackberry)". My Brother's Garden. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  34. ↑ "SIBLING". sibling.online. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  35. ↑ "RESE". Kai Matsumiya. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  36. ↑ "At the End of the Game You Will Be Forgotten at Alyssa Davis Gallery – Art Viewer". June 13, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Tapping into the third nature with The Earth is A Trampled Garden pop-up group show on an NYC rooftop". atractivoquenobello. July 18, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  38. ↑ "Dangerous Together at Prairie". OFluxo. July 19, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Progress Beyond Reason at Mx Gallery – Art Viewer". July 23, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  40. 1 2 ""dccon1: narrabantur" at U.S. Blues (Contemporary Art Daily)". www.contemporaryartdaily.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  41. ↑ "Numanohashi Residency". numanohashi. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Shandaken: Projects | Alumni". www.shandakenprojects.org. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  43. ↑ "2727.today | Past Residents". 2727.today. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  44. ↑ Voon, Claire (November 4, 2020). "How to Build Relationships with Artists in Your Collection". Artsy. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  45. ↑ Sokol, David (December 13, 2023). "The Deep Dive: A Work of Art Underfoot". Dwell. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  46. ↑ Huff, Andrew (May 11, 2024). "6 Standout Presentations at Independent at Gavlak, Maureen Paley". Whitewall. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  47. ↑ Article, Osman Can Yerebakan ShareShare This (June 22, 2021). "'I'm Building My Own Mythology': How a Generation of Artists Are Fusing Club Culture With Traditional Crafts for a New Queer Aesthetics". Artnet News. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  48. ↑ Watlington, Emily (December 14, 2023). "Eight Artists Who Blur the Line Between Furniture and Sculpture". ARTnews.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  49. ↑ Valentine, Jina; Breiding, Ohan (August 8, 2022). "Reading Material: Books Shaping Artists' Practices Now". ARTnews.com. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
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