An Interview With Artists Adam Umbach & Bjørn Skaarup
For Art Basel 2024, Artists Adam Umbach and Bjørn Skaarup had exhibitions. Specifically, their art was shown at Art Miami. To celebrate their work, The Garnette Report recently had an interview with each of them. With their expansive knowledge in art, and their craftsmanship, the two delved into their values and appreciation for culture.
Adam Umbach
What about the style of contemporary art speaks to you?
“The beauty of contemporary art lies in its immediacy—it is of the times, reflecting current events and the world we’re living in now. This immediacy keeps me grounded in the present and offers a dynamic way to process the here and now. As someone who values staying informed, contemporary art challenges me to engage with instability, both personal and global, while striving for stability. It pushes boundaries, urging me to remain adaptable and reflective in an ever-shifting landscape.”
How is humor an element of some of your pieces?
“Humor in my work is a playful counterbalance to sincerity. There’s a cheeky, childlike wonder that I aim to channel—a sense of carefreeness that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The art world can feel closed off at times, so humor becomes an entry point for viewers, inviting them to engage with something more lighthearted. Pieces like Little Yachty or Little Crabby play with pop culture and irony, offering a moment of levity and accessibility. Not every piece has to carry heavy, profound meanings; sometimes, a little humor can go a long way.”
What comes to mind when you think of art?
“For me, art represents freedom. It’s one of the purest forms of self-expression—a space where I can work for myself and create without censorship. Especially in a country like America, where there’s a level of freedom in language and expression, this feels monumental. With this freedom, however, comes responsibility: to extend generosity through my work and to connect with others. Relationships formed through art inspire me the most, especially when my work resonates deeply with someone in ways I
might not have expected.”
“Growth is inherent to art—you’re never truly done. While this growth excites me, it can also be intimidating. As an introverted person, finding my place in the art sector can be challenging. Building confidence—both in my art’s value and in myself—is an ongoing journey. It’s about understanding that the worth others assign to your work reflects the belief they have in it, even if you don’t always see it.”
Do you have any artists you draw inspiration from?
“I admire artists like Jonas Woods, whose botanical and illustrative works bring a peaceful familiarity. Hilary Pecis, too, has an incredible ability to reinterpret landscapes and still lifes in a contemporary way that resonates with me.”
“I’ve also drawn inspiration from Vietnamese artists, like Huê Thi Hoffmaster. His use of color influenced one of my pieces, Bee Scene No.2. After sharing it with him, I noticed his subsequent work became more colorful—it felt like a creative exchange. It’s moments like this that highlight the interconnectedness of art and inspiration.”
What is the process like when you create your art?
“My art is deeply biographical, built from found imagery that resonates with my life experiences. The process often starts with creating a collection of backgrounds—right now, I have over 30 in my studio. These serve as a foundation, a canvas waiting for a story. Sometimes, I know the composition or imagery in advance, but other times, a background might sit for months until the right idea surfaces.”
“Dating each piece is crucial; it allows me to document a specific moment in time. The colors and imagery reflect where I was emotionally or creatively when the piece was made, creating a timeline of my journey.”
What story do you want your art to tell its viewers?
“Ultimately, my art tells a story of perseverance and inspiration. Like many people, I’ve faced trauma, but creating allows me to keep moving forward. I hope my work can do the same for others, offering a spark of hope or encouragement to continue.”
“Beyond this, the human connection is what drives me to create. Seeing someone resonate with my art on a personal level is incredibly fulfilling. It’s not about delivering a grand, profound message—it’s about fostering connections and encouraging people to see themselves in the work.”
How does color play a role in your storytelling?
“Color is foundational to my work, starting with the backgrounds I mentioned earlier. It sets the emotional tone and helps tell the overall story. Over time, I’ve developed recurring characters and motifs—like the rubber duck—that carry a narrative across pieces, tying everything together like a visual storybook.”
“The colors I choose are deeply reflective of my internal state and external surroundings, whether inspired by the seasons, my mood, or events happening around me. In this way, color becomes a mirror, offering insight into the moment when each piece was created.”
Bjørn Skaarup
Many of your sculptures are animals. Does this have personal significance for you?
“I love stories about the animal kingdom – not only the way they are presented by brilliant minds like David Attenborough, but also some of the much older and fantastical tales about animal behavior found in fables and bestiaries. We still do this day use terms like “lion’s share,” “sour grapes” and “slow and steady wins the race,” probably without realizing that these expressions are rooted in Aesop’s 2500 year-old fables. Animals have always been great allegories for human vices and virtues.”
Where do you often find inspiration in mythology?
“I love the more esoteric (and almost steampunk) tradition of Greco-Roman antiquity, such as the detailed descriptions of Alexander the Great’s flying machine and his diving bell – or Lucian of Samasota’s 2000-year-old “True Story” – the world’s oldest known science-fiction tale in which the author (among many other things) travels to the moon and gets swallowed by an enormous whale.”
How do you craft each of the bronze sculptures?
“I make the small clay maquettes in my studio basically using many of the same materials and tools I already knew as a kid; I then create large-scale works at my bronze foundries in Florence and New York City.”
After audiences view your work, how do you want them to feel?
“I don’t really like to overexplain the pieces and prefer it when people create their own tales and imagery after having seen the sculptures, which are for the most part deliberately communicative and aimed at a broad audience.”
What are the majestic qualities of the animals you choose to create?
“I like animals (and people) with great individuality, virtues, and high entertainment value, and have always fascinated by animals as symbols of human types, nations and empires.”
How do you feel about the art of sculpture?
“I love sculpture more than any artistic genre other than music. Ironically, I agree wholeheartedly with Plato who put music far above sculpture in the hierarchy of the fine arts. One thing that particularly pleases me about the current art scene is the gradual return of figurative sculpture, which was almost absent over the last many decades.”
How do you create the names for your sculptures?
“My latest whale sculpture (in which a victorious sperm whale crushes a whaleboat) is called Victory Lap! and was inspired by the 1840 “Broken Mast Monument” in Sag Harbor’s Oakland Cemetery – commemorating numerous ships that were crushed by the so-called “monsters of the deep.” I like the idea that these proud creatures were occasionally able to fight back against their human opponents.”
The featured image for this article is credited to Web3 Creativ on Pexels.com.