Katya Grokhovsky has been climbing up the ladder of success within the art world for the past five years. Most recently the School of the Art Institute of Chicago MFA graduate’s work was featured in the Huffington Post in an article entitled “Ten Badass Emerging Female Artists You Should Know.” This coincides with Katya’s work in the show Immediate Female is on display through March 8^th at Judith Charles Gallery. It is Katya’s tremendous work effort and the bold subjet matter of her art that is helping her to make waves.

Currently Katya is the artist in residence and teaching assistant at the New York Studio Residency Program in DUMBO. She is also working with the Philadelphia based gallery and performance space Vox Populi as their curatorial fellow in addition to with her own online platform. I recently spoke with Grokhovsky about her work, feminism and where she thinks the role of interdisciplinary artists fits into today’s ever evolving world.

Anni Irish: What do you think it means to be an interdisciplinary artist in today’s art world?

Katya Grokhovsky: I am still grappling with the various labels attached to being an artist today. I see the term interdisciplinary even though I use it as a band aid–an explanatory metaphorical bridge for all the various mediums an artist utilizes in their practice. I am more inclined to think of disciplines as fluid, mediums as transitory, ideas as central and genres as limitless.

AI: So do you think that means that labeling oneself as a painter, filmmaker, performance artist etc is limiting and also speaks to a different kind of approach to art making that a lot of artists are turning away from?

KG: I think it really depends on the artist, what kind of dialogue you’d like to enter and what audiences you want to reach. I simply prefer to be called an artist but I also understand the demand to push the artist in to a certain stream of mediums and genres, especially when it comes to the commercial value of the work. A lot of art makers today are discarding the boundaries and I think that can both be exciting and quite challenging which is a positive aspect of the dilemma.

 Image courtesy of the artist 

AI: How did you end up being the current artist in residency at NYSRP? And what has your experience been like so far as the teaching assistant and artist in resident at the NYSRP?

KG: I answered an open call online, basically. I am interested in being part of educational programs and having an opportunity to both expose my process and get inspired by the energy of learning in return. I am really enjoying it! It is a great, supportive environment and I am finding myself exhilarated and nervous with a consistent “back to school feeling”.

AI: How did completing an MFA at SAIC prepare you for the next phase in your artistic development?And having gone through an MFA program and now working with undergraduates at NYSRP what benefits do you see in a fine arts based education?

KG: I came from Australia to pursue my MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a result, my graduate education was life changing and important. My practice then was cracked open, critiqued, questioned and rearranged. It eventually formed in new ways, which I am now continuously employing. I am a believer in education, however, I also understand the difficulties that an expensive fine arts degree poses in USA. I would also advocate for learning in the trenches, free education systems or DIY school post BFA. I think there is great value in both ways.

AI: You were recently named one of the top ten emerging female artists to watch by the Huffington Post. Has this attention changed the way you view work at all?

KG: I see it as just another hectic day at the art office. My work doesn’t change according to trends or attention I receive, I am more in tune with the issues I am researching and disturbed by, conceptual problems and ideas driving my practice forward regardless of various waves of success or failures.

Image courtesy of artist 

AI: What are some issues and topics you are currently exploring in your work?

KG: The theme of the body and alienation is consistent within my work, but I am currently exploring issues of female conditioning and ways of decoding it. It seems to be an intricate web of personal and family histories as well as societal pressures, so I am constantly uncovering new layers of behavioral patterns, passed down through generations, etc. There is a lot of research involved.

AI: How would you characterize the use of feminism in your work?

KG: Feminism to me is a way of thought and a staple belief. I would say these beliefs back up my work in general, as philosophy, as a platform, and a way of life. My work often deals with the issues of body image, deconstructing and questioning certain expectations of women’s lives, gender conditioning, issues which feminist theories explore.

AI: What are some projects you are working on at the moment? 

KG: I am currently working on a new performance House Play which will take place on February 22. It will be part part of my installation in a group exhibition, which recently opened, Domestic Ideals: Nostalgia and the Home at Lesley Heller Workspace. Other projects include a sculptural installation and performance that will be exhibited at the Spring Break Art Show during NYC Armory week in March. I am also the Media Arts Fellow at BRIC in Brooklyn where I am updating my media skills and working on a new larger scale video performance project throughout 2015.

AI: How has your work with Vox Populi AUX in Philadelphia, and your online based collective Feminist Urgent informed some of your current work?

KG: I get very enthusiastic about traveling to other places, meeting new artists and uncovering new practices, especially time based mixed media works which I am currently researching in Philadelphia. As artist and curator, I get to step to the other side of the coin and learn in leaps and bounds. I’m sure that this knowledge informs some of my work directly, especially with the fact of seeing it consistently though someone else’s eyes as a curator. My latest project the Feminist Urgent, has connected me to incredible communities, has allowed new collaborations, it is a way for me to keep learning and broaden my scope of inquiry within my own work and my organizational life, so it’s been an interesting journey.

Author’s note: The past nine months writing for AFP have been amazing! I want to thank Frank Jackson again for giving me the opportunity to cover many of the shows and artists that are doing so many wonderful things in New York City and being able to use the AFP Blog as a platform for that. Be on the lookout for my writing in other publications and be sure to checkout my website and Twitter for updates.