Immersed in New York: Hans Rosenström’s Residency Experience at ISCP 

1.10.2024 0 Tykkää 0 kommenttia

It’s been a while since I returned to Stockholm, after spending the first half of the year in New York City. As you might imagine, a lot happened in those months, and I want to share some of my experiences with you. 

We all have an idea of New York City – its vastness, its busy streets – but I doubt anyone can fully grasp the city its entirety. While it is not the world’s largest metropolis, I believe it’s the most culturally diverse and vibrant. At any moment, there are countless activities, making it impossible to keep track of everything. There is always another scene, another culture, that one has no idea about. Even within my narrow focus of contemporary art, events happen daily, scattered across the city, and I quickly understood that balancing my attention between the city’s allure and my own focus and practice would be an ongoing challenge. 

The First Months 

The International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a residency center hosting international artists for periods ranging from 2 to 12 months. A few studios are reserved for local New York-based artists, who can stay for up to 2 years. What unites the residents is the high level of professionalism in their fields. The studio spaces at ISCP vary in size, and I was very lucky to get a large one, allowing me to experiment on a scale I couldn’t in my much smaller space Stockholm. 

January was cold, and much of my time was spent in the studio, getting to know the other residents. The ISCP staff organized weekly programs and studio visits, which helped us bond quickly. When not in the studio, I explored the city, attended exhibitions, and went to openings.  

At the afterparty of an opening at Canal Projects, I was introduced to two curators, Anna Jensen and Eliisa Suvanto, whom I didn’t know from before though they were Finnish. It turned out they were planning a trip to Marfa, Texas, with a fellow Finnish artist Felicia Honkasalo. Since Marfa was one of the places I’d planned to visit but had yet to figure out how, I expressed my interest in joining them, which they ever so kindly accepted and invited me along. Not only were they welcoming countrymen but turned out to be hilarious travel companions. The landscapes of southern New Mexico and western Texas were captivating, but the real revelation was the Chinati Foundation in Marfa and the 8-hour tour was truly a cathartic experience that left a deep impression on me.  

On the drive back to Albuquerque, we encountered a modest sandstorm. While gravel was hailing on our windshield I was still on a Marfa high, wondering how I could ever create something that evokes the same sense of presence and belonging as some of the pieces I’d just experienced. 

Back in Brooklyn, February brought more cold and wet weather. My days were a mix of studio practice, exploring the city, meeting people, and planning for the future.  

The Spring 

The much-awaited spring did not really appear, and the flair of March was the same grey coat as February had worn before. One rare sunny morning I found myself on my way to Chelsea for a field trip organized by ISCP to the Louise Bourgeois house on W20th Street. Louise Bourgeois and her husband bought the townhouse in 1962, and after his death, she lived there alone, transforming it into a shrine of grief and the madness of creation. Louise stayed in this quirky home until her passing in 2010, and the house is kept pretty much the way Louise left it, a truly fascinating glimpse into the private life of a great artist. 

At ISCP, our group of residents grew closer. We regularly had lunch, discussions, and dinners together. It is difficult to know how a six-month residency is best spent. There is, of course, no right way to go about it, and it is ultimately a personal question of what one wishes to achieve. The duration allows for opportunities to meet new people in the city and to actually see them again to establish relationships, but it also requires deciding how much to invest in being social. While I focused on my work, I reminded myself that everything else was a bonus. In March, I still felt I had all the time in the world. 

One highlight of March was the Whitney Biennial opening, which I managed to attend through a London gallery. Even if ISCP is well-respected, securing invitations to major events required some personal initiative.  As April approached, much of our focus shifted to preparing for the ISCP Open Studios event. Over the past months, I had been experimenting with transducer speakers, acrylic sheets, and metal constructions, something related to the research I was doing but also inspired by the raw industrial landscape outside my studio window. These pieces were still sketches rather than finished works, but I decided to present them as a coherent installation. Over the two-day event, we had about 1,000 visitors – a mix of art professionals and curious onlookers. The directness of the conversations I had during those days was valuable, and I kept the pieces installed for future studio visits. 

Another memorable event was the Guggenheim Young Collectors fundraising gala, which was certainly a fun night and also an interesting insight into a very different crowd. 

Summer in the End 

May arrived suddenly, and with it, a sense of urgency. As the end of the residency period was in sight I realized there were still people I hadn’t met and institutions I hadn’t visited. The balance between my studio time and experiencing the city began to shift, with the latter taking priority. May was also the time for the Frieze and Independent Art Fairs, which meant a lot of people were passing through New York. The days were packed with activities and collateral programs. 

As quickly as May arrived, it slipped into June – my final month. After a rainy winter, summer finally appeared. In early June, I managed to squeeze in a filming session in the Far Rockaways for a video piece I had been working on. I also organized a recording session with New York-based vocalist Sophia Brous for another piece, which I will show in Berlin in October. The recording took place in a fantastic sound studio located in the same building as the ISCP studios, a resource I hadn’t known about until the end of my stay. 

My time as a resident at ISCP was, in a word, remarkable. It was an incredible opportunity to experience New York’s culture up close. What sets the city apart is its intellectual discourse and diversity. I truly hope I made the most of this rare opportunity. 

I had many meaningful encounters both in my studio and across the city, laying foundations for new projects while continuing to work on my upcoming exhibitions. I visited countless shows, from tiny, run-down galleries in Chinatown to large-scale museums. I attended lectures, poetry readings, concerts, and performances. I strolled in beautiful parks, drank overpriced coffee and wandered along dusty streets. I inhaled the polluted air and sat in subway cars drenched in grime – and I cherished every moment of it.