IN CONVERSATION:
ARTIST SERGEI ISUPOV ON IMMIGRATION, EDUCATION, AND THE SURREALITY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
Interview edited by Lauren Levato Coyne and Leslie Ferrin, co-curators of the exhibition “Our America/ Whose America?”
at Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, Massachusetts
Sergei Isupov graduated from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia with an M.F.A. in Ceramics in 1990. He immigrated to the United States in 1994, and has lived and worked at Project Art in Cummington, Massachusetts since 2006.
How has migration shaped your artistic education?
When I arrived in the U.S. from Estonia in 1994, I was young, newly married to an American artist, Dana Major and we started a studio, Nine Pines Art in Louisville, Kentucky. Selling work became my first American education. My work was highly detailed, figural and immediately appealed to collectors at the ACC [American Craft Council] and Smithsonian Craft Fair. With each series, I added more details and bold narratives, and I received more attention and support; my skills became more accomplished as I mastered the material….
Thanks to JRA CRAFT for this excellent interview with Sergei Isupov and the ongoing interest in Sergei’s captivating work for these many incredible years that he’s been working. And!, what perfect timing to coincide with the Figuring Space exhibition at The Clay Studio.
Sergei Isupov’s work is on view at The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, until 2 APRIL 16th 2023: