The Suzy Greenberg MFA Exhibition 2022, Interview with Jocelyn Suzuka Figueroa
Updated: Dec 8, 2022
We only have a few weeks left for our annual Suzy Greenberg MFA Exhibition, which is up between now and March 26th, 2022. This year the exhibition is Juried by Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Coordinator of the Minnesota Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Nicole Soukup.
2022 marks our 20th year of exhibiting MFA candidates, and this the first year we have extended this opportunity to include both the MFA program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota.
Please enjoy this series of interviews with the selected artists for this exhibition! Today we're talking to artist, Jocelyn Suzuka Figueroa, who graduated in 2021 with an MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Rabbit in the Moon, installation detail, Jocelyn Suzuka Figueroa, 2020
Where do you hail from?
I was born in Kyoto, Japan and was raised in Stillwater, Minnesota. How do you find yourself and your work fitting into the Midwest? The region is a part of me just as much as Japan is, and I cannot deny its influence in the temperament of my work. It is quiet, reserved, and slow. It does not quickly give away its secrets. However, there is an inherent warmth—they are stuffed animals after all!
What kind of elements often show up in your work?
My work is inhabited by ghosts and creatures of play. Soft stuffed dolls are juxtaposed with figures that fade into the spaces they inhabit. I'm fascinated by how these seemingly disparate elements can be combined, and what kind of meaning their combination may derive for the viewer.
Crossing, detail image from the series Ghosts of the Negative, 2021, Jocelyn Suzuka Figueroa
How has the pandemic affected your studio practice? During the pandemic, it became even more important for me to root myself in a practice that was a part of my history. I found this in nami nui (wave stitch): a one-steady direction hand-stitch that was used by the women in my mother's family for generations. It was the foundational stitch for the only practice I could rely upon, regardless of whether I had access to studios or not. The methodical and repetitive beats of needle puncturing fabric created a repetitive rhythm that kept me anchored in a history older than myself during months of tumult.
I like that the exhibition gives MFA students from two different programs a chance to present their work and reach a wider audience. Celebrating 20 years also shows how much the event has grown. Crossy Road is a casual arcade game I enjoy for its variety of characters and visual styles, so the idea of seeing many different creative perspectives in one exhibition caught my attention.
Baseball Bros brings an exciting arcade twist to baseball with quick gameplay, simple controls, powerful swings, and competitive matches for every player.
Me parece muy útil contar con una herramienta de jwt decode cuando necesitamos revisar rápidamente la información contenida en un token. Además, entender cada parte ayuda a trabajar con autenticación de una forma más clara y ordenada.
The blend of classic puzzles and elegant vintage fashion in this exhibition is captivating. It's inspiring to see how creativity can bring together such diverse elements—check out more at xenofeels.
The way you presented complex information so simply is remarkable. Place dominoes on a grid, match numbers to clever constraints, and solve daily brain teasers that test your math and spatial skills. It’s like a mix of Sudoku and classic dominoes with a twist! pips nyt