A Conversation with Eiden Spilker

The Brown Art Institute’s Annual Juried Exhibit recently wrapped up its showing throughout the Granoff Center. In order to promote some of the artists showcased in the incredible exhibit, I reached out to the awardees of this year’s show for interviews. 

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Hi Eiden (@eiden_spilker)! Congratulations on being awarded for your contributions to the Annual Juried Exhibition! To spread the word about the show and give students insight into your work, I wanted to ask you a few questions. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.

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Firstly, could you tell me a little bit about yourself? What can we find you doing on campus?

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I’m Eiden, I’m a junior concentrating in Architecture and VISA. I’m a monitor at the BDW and Sculpture studio, and when I’m not in the studio, I spend most of my time writing, recording, or performing music with several talented vocalists and musicians who I’m grateful to call my friends! 

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I’m currently in Foundation Media with Professor Ed Osborn, a sculpture studio with Professor Myoda and in Art/Work with Professor Bhandari. 

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Aperture. Wood, steel, paint.

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Could you tell me a bit about the work you’ve submitted to the show? 

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I made both of the pieces Aperture and Interference last semester using plywood and steel, and plywood, masonite, steel, bloodwood, walnut, and acrylic paint respectively. They each took between 25-35 hours. 

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Aperture drew a lot of inspiration from the formal exploration of constructivism and Interference built on a study of phenomenal transparency I did last year for a RISD course. My goal was to make the 2d and 3d nature of the work compete with each other. To make the viewer able to see the work as an almost painterly composition, but then the moire patterns caused by the rotating arm create a sense of depth that is greater than the actual space between them. For both pieces, I was exploring void/negative space and implied geometries. 

Aperture studies 2-4. Steel, wood, brass, metal mesh, copper wire.

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Tell me a bit about your art practice generally! What themes interest you, what mediums are you most confident in? Who inspires you?

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My sculptural work draws on my practices in architecture and music to examine material memory – the processes and interconnected relationships embedded within an object. I primarily use found/reclaimed wood scraps, and the shapes, grain patterns, and weathering offer something to respond to, forming the basis for most of my work. This echoes my experiences with sampling in music, where the source material is the jumping off point. 

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In February, I made a second iteration of Interference where the moire patterns emerged from the viewer's movement, rather than a physically moving part. I’m finding myself much more drawn to this phenomenal engagement of people within themselves and in space, and plan to continue exploring this at both the sculptural and architectural scale. 

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Some recent artists I’ve drawn inspiration from are Louise Nevelson, Chiharu Shiota, and Jesús Rafael Soto. 

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Gateway Center for Performing Arts. Designed for architecture studio spring 2022.

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Finally, what’s up next? Is there any work you’re excited to be developing now that we can look out for? Where do you see your artistic practice headed? 

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I'm working on an EP for my friend Domedekka (aka Rose) that should be out mid-May! It’s been over a year in the making, and I’m really excited to share it with people! We also recorded a live-session with WBRU that will be released in early May as well. 

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I’m grateful to have another year at Brown and to have some time to figure out what things will look like post-grad. I really want to have the freedom to dedicate time to both sculpture and music, and am figuring out how architecture fits into all of that. 

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On behalf of the Brown Art Review, I want to thank you Eiden for giving such rich insight into your work! To those reading, you can see more of Eiden’s work @eiden_spilker on Instagram and at eidenspilker.com.