Ficus Interfaith Explained

Ficus Interfaith, also known as Ficus Interfaith Research & Properties, is an artistic duo based in New York City. Ficus Interfaith is a collaboration between artist-influencer Ryan Bush (b. 1990, Denver, CO) and artist Raphael Martinez Cohen (b. 1989, New York, NY).^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} Bush and Martinez Cohen have been working together since 2013.

Education

Bush and Martinez Cohen met at the Rhode Island School of Design where they both received BAs in painting.

Career

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

• “Grand Central Treehouse" at Deli Gallery, NY, 2023^[6]
• "Los Angeles Bar" - "Second Pour," In Lieu, Los Angeles, 2021^[7]
• Ficus Interfaith, Jack Chiles, New York, NY, 2019^{[8] [9]}
• Frame House Whereabouts, Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, NY, 2018^[10]
• Summer Terrazzos, Prairie, Chicago, IL, 2018^{[11] [12]}
• Flower Bat Mullion, From The Desk of Lucy Bull, Los Angeles, CA, 2018^[13]
• Ficus Interfaith, Gern En Regalia, Ridgewood, NY, 2017^[14]

Selected Group Exhibitions

• From Cellar to Garret, South Parade, London, 2020-2021^[15]
• Theorem X, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, 2021^[16]
• Red Root, Green Root, The Valley, Taos, New Mexico 2021^[17]
• Dear John, Adams and Ollman, Portland, 2021^[18]
• No Place, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, 2020^[19]
• In Practice: Total Disbelief, SculptureCenter, NY, 2020^{[20] [21] [22]}
• Rubus Armeniacus (Himalayan blackberry), Jessica’s Apartment, New York, NY, 2019^[23]
• Downturn, Sibling, Toronto, Canada, 2019^[24]
• The Nourishment, From The Desk of Lucy Bull, Los Angeles, CA, 2019^[25]
• RESET, Kai Matsumiya, New York, NY, 2019^[26]
• At the End of the Game You Will Be Forgotten, Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, NY, 2018^[27]
• The Earth is a Trampled Garden, Brooklyn, NY, 2018^[28]
• Dangerous Together, Prairie, Chicago, IL, 2018^[29]
• Progress Beyond Reason, MX Gallery, New York, NY, 2017^[30]
• dccon1: narrabantur, U.S. Blues, Brooklyn, NY, 2016^[31]

Residencies

• Shandaken: Storm King, New York
• Clay Club, Sculpture Center, Queens, NY, 2018^[32]
• Artists in Residence, Shadaken Projects: Storm King, New Windsor, NY, 2018^[33]
• Artists in Residence, 2727 California Street, Berkeley, CA, 2018^[34]

Style and technique

In the mid-2010s, Ficus Interfaith began working with terrazzo, a cementitious composite material, usually used in flooring. Ficus Interfaith's sculptures explore the creative possibilities of the terrazzo technique which is more commonly found in public or municipal spaces. In addition to their free standing and wall-mounted terrazzo sculptures, Ficus Interfaith make site-specific terrazzo installations.^{[35] [36]} Ficus Interfaith use typical and atypical materials in their terrazzo including but not limited to peach stones, oyster shells, the royal blue glass of Saratoga Water bottles, petrified wood, marbles, pits, deer bones, and walnuts.^[37]

Since December 8, 2014, Ficus Interfaith has maintained a WordPress blog titled My Brothers Garden.

The name Ficus Interfaith comes from the "fig tree genus and the allure of spirituality."^[38]

Ficus Interfaith work out of a studio in Queens, NYC. For Bush and Martinez Cohen, the Ficus Interfaith entity functions as a third distinct voice. In a December 2023 interview with ARTnews, Ficus Interfaith stated "most of our pieces operate as paintings."^[39]

Ficus Interfaith's art is informed by their formal training in painting. Ficus Interfaith credit many inspirations including: craft objects, Rhizofiltration, Sponge Bob, The Timeless Way of Building, Rockwell Kent, homosocial behavior, and Pinocchio.^[40]

External links

• My Brothers Garden - Ficus Interfaith blog

Notes and References

1. Web site: 8 Perfume Connoisseurs on the Smells of Spring . 2024-09-19 . www.culturedmag.com . en.
2. Web site: Ficus Text — super! . 2024-09-19 . super-nyc.com . en.
3. Web site: Ficus Interfaith and the Sticking Power of Terrazzo . 2024-09-19 . www.culturedmag.com . en.
4. Web site: The Make-Do Joys of Terrazzo . New York Times.com.
5. Web site: Sokol . David . 2023-12-13 . The Deep Dive: A Work of Art Underfoot . 2024-09-19 . Dwell.
6. Web site: 2023-04-13 . 5 Can't-Miss Art and Design Exhibitions to Catch in a City Near You This April . 2024-09-19 . ELLE Decor . en-US.
7. Web site: Ficus Interfaith - Exhibition at in lieu in Los Angeles . 2024-09-19 . ArtRabbit . en.
8. Web site: Ficus Interfaith - Jack Chiles . 2019-11-01 . jackchiles.com.
9. Web site: Ryan Bush and Raphael Martinez Cohen "Ficus Interfaith". www.nyartbeat.com. 2019-11-01.
10. Web site: Ficus Interfaith : INTERSTATE PROJECTS. www.interstateprojects.org. 2019-10-29.
11. Web site: 'Summer Terrazzos' by Ficus Interfaith at Prairie. 2018-08-13. OFluxo. en-US. 2019-10-29.
12. Web site: Ficus Interfaith. prairie.website. 2019-10-29.
13. Web site: FICUS INTERFAITH. LB. en-US. 2019-10-29.
14. Web site: Ficus Interfaith. gern en regalia.
15. Web site: 2021-02-05 . FROM CELLAR TO GARRET — Group show at South Parade, London . 2024-09-19 . OFLUXO . en-US.
16. Web site: Theorem X curated by Rebekah Chozick and Sara Salamone . 2024-09-19 . Rachel Uffner . en.
17. Web site: Red Root, Green Root . 2024-09-19 . The Valley . en-US.
18. Web site: 2021-04-03 . Dear John at Adams and Ollman – Art Viewer . 2024-09-19 . en-US.
19. Web site: Article . Artnet News ShareShare This . 2020-07-13 . Editors' Picks: 21 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From Aspen's Online Fair to a How-to for Remote Art-Job Hunters . 2024-09-19 . Artnet News . en-US.
20. Web site: In Practice: Total Disbelief. www.sculpture-center.org. en. 2020-02-07.
21. Web site: "In Practice: Total Disbelief" Exhibition. www.nyartbeat.com. 2020-02-07.
22. Web site: Ficus Interfaith. www.sculpture-center.org. en. 2020-02-07.
23. Web site: Rubus Armeniacus (Himalayan blackberry). ficusinterfaith. 2019-06-04. My Brother's Garden. en. 2019-10-29.
24. Web site: SIBLING. sibling.online. 2019-10-29.
25. Web site: THE NOURISHMENT. LB. en-US. 2019-10-29.
26. Web site: RESE. Kai Matsumiya. en-US. 2019-10-29.
27. Web site: At the End of the Game You Will Be Forgotten at Alyssa Davis Gallery – Art Viewer. 13 June 2018 . en-US. 2019-10-29.
28. Web site: Tapping into the third nature with The Earth is A Trampled Garden pop-up group show on an NYC rooftop. 2017-07-18. atractivoquenobello. en-US. 2019-10-29.
29. Web site: Dangerous Together at Prairie. 2017-07-19. OFluxo. en-US. 2019-10-29.
30. Web site: Progress Beyond Reason at Mx Gallery – Art Viewer. 23 July 2017 . en-US. 2019-10-29.
31. Web site: "dccon1: narrabantur" at U.S. Blues (Contemporary Art Daily). www.contemporaryartdaily.com. 2019-10-29.
32. Web site: Clay Club. www.sculpture-center.org. en. 2019-10-29.
33. Web site: Shandaken: Projects Alumni. www.shandakenprojects.org. 2019-10-29.
34. Web site: 2727.today Past Residents. 2727.today. 2019-10-29.
35. Web site: Voon . Claire . 2020-11-04 . How to Build Relationships with Artists in Your Collection . 2024-09-19 . Artsy . en.
36. Web site: Sokol . David . 2023-12-13 . The Deep Dive: A Work of Art Underfoot . 2024-10-08 . Dwell.
37. Web site: Huff . Andrew . 2024-05-11 . 6 Standout Presentations at Independent at Gavlak, Maureen Paley . 2024-09-19 . Whitewall . en-US.
38. Web site: Article . Osman Can Yerebakan ShareShare This . 2021-06-22 . 'I'm Building My Own Mythology': How a Generation of Artists Are Fusing Club Culture With Traditional Crafts for a New Queer Aesthetics . 2024-09-19 . Artnet News . en-US.
39. Web site: Watlington . Emily . 2023-12-14 . Eight Artists Who Blur the Line Between Furniture and Sculpture . 2024-09-19 . ARTnews.com . en-US.
40. Web site: Valentine . Jina . Breiding . Ohan . 2022-08-08 . Reading Material: Books Shaping Artists' Practices Now . 2024-09-19 . ARTnews.com . en-US.