By Quinn Riley
Ask Mia Risberg how her creative process has changed during a pandemic and she will welcome you into the world of the “Quarantine Chronicles,” a twenty-four piece series as part of a call and response project organized by Shoebox PR. Working out of Ann Arbor with acrylics, oils, and cold wax mediums, Mia was paired with Jessica Chappe, a photographer based in LA. Together, they created “Inside World,” a beautiful representation of life and emotion during social isolation. Mia’s work offers a soothing message of inner-peace: “although the figures appear introspective and isolated they also seem to merge with the natural world. Through their imagination, they expand away from their inside world and strive for connection with others and also with nature, which is something that is always constant.”
After growing up living in France, Sweden, and Belgium, Mia moved to the United States as a young adult to complete her Fine Arts degree at Pratt Institute (where Tami’s oldest is currently studying!) and Hunter College. While living in NYC, Mia enjoyed discovering secret gardens and outdoor spaces throughout the city which are highly emblematic of her deep love for the natural world. She began her career in the publishing industry, working at Random House as a book designer. Ultimately, however, Mia’s desire to have her own yard and greater access to the outdoors eventually led her to relocate to Ann Arbor, MI where she now lives with her husband, two children, and her dog, a rescue lab named Phil - and is just down the street from Krista.
Mia’s current morning routine involves a cup of coffee, a walk with Phil, and some yoga outside. Throughout quarantine, she has deeply appreciated the feeling of having more time: “being able to eat with my kids and my husband every night has been really nice… with a slower schedule, you have time to cook and just be present with your family.” As she navigates a tumultuous social climate, Mia has found hope through the Artist Support Pledge, a non-profit founded during the COVID-19 outbreak, dedicated to the lives of artists throughout the world. Rooted in generosity, equality, and community, their vision is described as “a sustainable economy and supportive community FOR ALL artists and makers, in all countries and all forms of media and traditions.” The Artist Support Pledge gives artists, creators, and art lovers the opportunity to uplift makers around the globe.
In addition to strengthening her community of peers, Mia has found more time to work on her “Glimpses” series —a gathering of fragmented figures that will eventually make up a display of 100 individual pieces. The idea behind this project is to create a community of people. Because they are fragmented, the viewer is unsure of the story behind them upon first glance: “when you look at them, it becomes a little bit about you, about what you’re taking in… they are alone, but find a sense of togetherness when they are aligned in a grid format.” The ambiguous narrative that is created by each of these fragmented portraits allows a unique viewer experience, giving more freedom to the imagination.
Mia’s involvement in the artist community has also led her to participate in various collaborative projects. In 2019, Mia and other artists gathered to listen and respond to Scene on the Radio’s “Seeing White” Podcast. Each artist responded with different mediums, perspectives, and experiences, culminating in a larger project, curated by artist Laura Earle and entitled “Unraveling Racism”. For Mia’s personal response pieces, she took a deep dive into the history of redlining in the United States: “growing up outside of the country, I feel that there are a lot of gaps for me in American history.” This research led Mia to revisit her original house deed, a copy that has been passed down from each owner of her 1930s home. Upon being given this deed, Mia and her husband were incredibly uncomfortable with its racist language: “no portion of the land herein described shall be occupied by persons not wholly of the Caucasian race, unless as servants or guests.” The “Unraveling Racism” project gave Mia the perfect opportunity to explore this document in a thoughtful space.
To create a dialogue between the history of redlining and its long-term effect and impact, Mia superimposed a copy of the deed with painted black bodies, creating a tension between the words and the figures. Through her work, Mia spoke out against a document that she vehemently opposed, while also remaining conscious of her own identity: “because I am white, I wanted my piece to be quiet and personal, rather than trying to take on something that I have not been experiencing… the pieces are small themselves and require reading to understand the story.” Mia’s work has been shown throughout Michigan, and it will be visiting Ann Arbor’s Barickuda Gallery in October.
The idea of tension between two entities—figures and writing, isolation and togetherness, humans and nature—is one of Mia’s greatest explorations: “I like thinking about nature as a big place that we are just a small part of.” While living in New York, Mia took a mono-printing class shortly after 9/11. Looking for serenity following a time of great chaos, Mia’s childhood memories on her father’s sailboat and her natural love for bodies of water helped her process a range of emotions. Her waterscapes confront nature’s properties—soothing, but also dangerous. As Mia describes these pieces, “I was toggling that tension… some of them feel serene, while others feel like a brewing storm.”
Mia’s range of work is truly breathtaking. Visit her website and Instagram to learn more about her history as an artist and the story behind each of her pieces. Mia—thank you for being such an incredible friend and lovely steward of humankind! We are absolutely delighted to have curated a selection of your original pieces in our shop!
AVAILABLE WORKS //
PS. Mia is totally down with commissions! Being a close neighbor and friend of Mia’s has led to some beautiful and highly personal commissions. The first is a small portrait that Mia painted of me. My husband had taken this lovely photo, unbeknownst to me, while at dinner one evening and he had always said it was one of his favorite pictures of me. I asked Mia to paint it and gifted it to him for Christmas. The second is of a vibrant photo that I took of my kids while on vacation this summer. Mia spotted it in my Instagram feed and was immediately drawn to it saying that the colors reminded her of her home country of Sweden. I just adore how it turned out! If you’re at all interested in commissioning a work of art - whether a portrait, still life or abstract - I highly recommend Mia Risberg. KRISTA
