The Fluevog Artist Grant is a $10,000 award designed to support the creative growth and development of emerging talent within the Fluevog community. This year’s recipient, Christy Kunitzky, is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist splitting her time between Montréal and Toronto.
Dead Stock, 2023
Photo by Katya Konioukhova
Mask, 2023
B. Brookbank
For her proposed project, Christy will use sculpting and weaving techniques to create works exploring labour, family history, ambition, and failure.
“I am most interested in investigating power structures and the systems that uphold them. I create sculptures, installations and textiles as a way to bring new context to familiar objects and materials in order to question what their ubiquity says about us, and also about them.”
Pets, 2021
Photo by Jean-Michal Seminaro, courtsey of The Leonard& Bina Ellen Art
Inspired by the remnants of her father’s failed workwear shoe store including cowboy boots, welding gloves, work boots, and weathered shoe boxes that remained in her family basement for years, the project transforms these everyday objects into sculptural artifacts charged with personal and emotional history.
Using stone carving and weaving techniques, Christy plans to recreate these objects at their original scale, including carved stone tissue paper from boot boxes, a welding glove, and a worn cardboard shoe box. She also plans to recreate the patterned upholstery from a shoe store bench, eventually rebuilding the bench itself.
“Collectively, these objects share a whimsical version of the story of my father’s interactions with systems of capital and his attempt and failure at harnessing them. These objects ask us to consider the stories they hold, and what it means to transform or revere them.”
Pyramid, 2023
Photo by B. Brookbank
Part of the grant funding will support Christy in expanding her stone carving practice through specialized workshops, helping further develop the technical skills behind this deeply personal body of work.
Stack (squish) Who Cares, 2023
Photo by B. Brookbank
Congratulations Christy! We look forward to seeing the completed project!
For more of Christy Kunitzky work, visit her website and Instagram.
