Work in Progress: Rose Salane—“A love poem to the city of New York”

This series goes behind the scenes with artists who are bringing new work to Frieze fairs. US artist Rose Salane explains how a shower of confetti inspired her most recent photographs

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BY Livia Russell AND Rose Salane in Frieze New York , Interviews | 11 APR 24

We check in with artists bringing new work to Frieze fairs to get a behind-the-scenes look at their process and progress. US artist Rose Salane talks about her ritual of collecting confetti from the steps of New York City Hall as she prepares to exhibit her new photographic series "Eight Vows" (2024) with Carlos/Ishikawa at Frieze New York.

Rose Salane on the steps of New York City Hall. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London
Rose Salane on the steps of New York City Hall. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London

Livia Russell How is your practice currently evolving?   

Rose Salane My practice revolves around the city and the contact it hosts; the orchestra of its movements; its perpetually replenishing desires and losses. I identify accumulations of items recovered from individuals and institutions in the city and term them “dynamic sets of objects.” I analyze the forces that have granted their preservation, interpreting these object accumulations as critical focal points recalling complex relationships between an individual, a site and a collectively lived experience.

LR Where does the work you will be presenting at Frieze New York fit within this evolution?  

RS At Frieze New York, I am showing a series of photographs documenting confetti thrown at Marriage Bureau wedding ceremonies at City Hall in New York City. Each week, hundreds of couples enter and exit the government building to be married by the state of New York. At the end of each day, after the ceremonies are over, the steps of the building are covered in confetti. I visit the steps daily and collect the remaining confetti and organize them according to the date they were collected.

Rose Salane's Studio. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London
Rose Salane’s studio. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London

The confetti piles are sets of dynamic object accumulations that collectively express the ritual’s promise of hope for the future. Each photograph’s title is the date the confetti was collected. There is an energy inherent in the confetti that documents and celebrates the exact instant in time and space that a couple in the city transformed.

LR Which part of your process are you devoting your time to in the studio right now?   

RS I began this object collection in May of 2023 and I plan to continue it in photography and sculpture, both as ritual and as a love poem to the city of New York. 

Rose Salane, City Hall, Marriages, January 30, 2024 (detail), 2024. C-Print mounted on aluminium, 70 × 105 × 5 cm framed. © Rose Salane 2024. Courtesy the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London
Rose Salane, City Hall, Marriages, January 30, 2024 (detail), 2024. C-Print mounted on aluminium, 70 × 105 × 5 cm framed. © Rose Salane 2024. Courtesy the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London

Further Information

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Main Image: Rose Salane's Studio. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London

Livia Russell is a writer based in London, UK.

Rose Salane is an artist based in New York, US.

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