Introducing: Sculptor Cadi Froehlich explores interaction through salvaged copper

Artist Cadi Froehlich co-ordinates something very beautiful out of her own kind of chaos. She makes sculpture on large and small scales from salvaged copper and materials which have a Rauschenberg-esque “found object” quality to them, resulting in artwork which is both curiously inviting and strangely detached at the same time.

By drawing upon these ideas of tactile interaction with discarded materials, Cadi calls her viewer’s attention to the way people engage with their environment, whilst at the same time making reference to our place within the natural world. Suddenly the wires she manipulates become a reference to both electrical and social circuits, in a fascinating crossover between technology and human relationships.

Intrigued by the complexity of her practice and curious about where she makes such detailed work, we caught up with Cadi to find out about her daily routine and the importance of working in a studio littered with bits and pieces she finds around Brighton…

Where do you work?

I work in a studio in Brighton where I live. I share it with the very talented painter Lauren Alderslade, and the mix of mediums in the space is really important to me. I love the company and how that bounces ideas around, and also because both Radio 6 and the dog refuse to talk back to me when it’s just us.

How does your working day start?

With lots of noise and people. When half of them have been shipped off to school, I go off up the woods with the dog for some thinking space, before doing some emails and paperwork. Once the mess at home is rearranged and dinner sorted, I head down the hill to the studio.

How do you work and how has that changed?

I work messily, that hasn’t changed, but I have changed my appreciation for it. Silke Dettmers describes her studio as her palette; all the stuff that comes into it piles up a bit then starts talking to eachother and the work emerges. That helped me to understand that the stuff I select at the scrapyard or womble from the streets is informed by my ongoing interests, and once together they start to make sense.

Where would we find you when you’re not at work?

In my house, out walking or looking at new art with my friends. That is really important, both the art part and the friends part.

Would you intern for yourself?

Well, I’d have to listen to a LOT of talking, and I already have the dog for that.