Shana Nys DambrotSula Bermudez-Silverman pursues projects in an array of mediums and materials, finding innovative ways to reference craft, painting, sculpture and textile in work that intersects the personal with the conceptual, historical and sociological. Her current exhibition “Neither Fish, Nor Flesh, Nor Fowl” at the California African American Museum highlights several threads of her recent practice and debuts a new sculptural project. Series exhibited include embroidered linens, quilts made from neighborhood litter, demographic diagrams channeling modern abstraction, and a new series of cast-sugar dollhouses which reference both her own childhood and the socio-economic forces that shaped salient aspects of her family’s lineage.
Sula Bermudez-Silverman, installation view at CAAM (Photo by Elon Schoenhotz)
L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?
SULA BERMUDEZ-SILVERMAN: I never thought I wasn’t one.
What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?
Ask my agent.
What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
I would be a detective or a psychoanalyst.
Why do you live and work in L.A., and not elsewhere?
I love my family and the sun.
Sula Bermudez-Silverman, installation view at CAAM (Photo by Elon Schoenhotz)
When is/was your current/most recent/next show?
My current show is up at the California African American Museum until August 26th.*
What artist living or dead would you most like to show with?
Adrian Piper, Ana Mendieta and Mike Kelley.
Do you listen to music while you work? If so what?
No, music is usually not in the studio because I would be dancing. I listen to true crime podcasts while I work. In the car I listen to reggaeton and Tierra Whack.
Website and social media handles, please!
*CAAM, like most of our cultural institutions, is currently closed through March 28, but as of now they still plan their April 7 all-museum reception, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.
Sula Bermudez-Silverman, installation view at CAAM (Photo by Elon Schoenhotz)
Sula Bermudez-Silverman
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.