We had the good fortune of connecting with Anat Fritz and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Anat, what are you inspired by?
This is my favorite question, because my inspiration does not come from the outside world as it may usually be the case. Most people are inspired by another artist, genre, era, even a hotel or lifestyle. I do not get inspiration by that. There are things that inspire me but that doesn’t give me the final kick to run home and start producing. The inspiration for my work or what kind of project I want to start has nothing to do with the outside. It comes solely from inside. And when it comes, it comes strong. It is as if suddenly God turns on a light switch within me and says: Now go! Create this! And usually I see the finished product, sculpture or recipe in front of me and have to drop everything else and go ahead and do it. That is how my things happen. Or in another case, what could very well inspire me is a lack of something. I want a thing – lets say a certain sweater shape or a perfume smell I envision to wear, or I have been searching for the perfect lighting object for my living room – and just can not find it. That is how my work is born: I will just do it myself ; and then usually create a whole collection around that topic, haha.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
All my life I used to call myself a designer. I felt that was more appropriate for the things I did. I created my own line of perfume, knitwear, accessories, interior design objects. Lifestyle goods that I did not think of as “art”. There was too much of the entrepreneur in it – so I thought. Even though people around me kept describing me as a “true artist”. I refused it, not knowing what that even meant.
Everything changed when during the pandemic a friend of mine insisted on me being an artist – In retrospective I see it as if it was a way to prove it to me – he gave me carte blanche for a whole year and let me focus on being creative. To create whatever I want. Suddenly all these sculptures came to life. I had no idea where the knowing of how to do it came from. It layed dormant all my life and yes, when I finished my first sculpture – a huge translucent kaleidoscopic resin tent that fitted 10 people for dinner inside, I cried for three days because it was so crazy and beautiful and unique and never seen before. It truly surprised me what came out of me. That was the moment when I realized that I AM a true artist and have always been. Ever since, I have been focusing on creating with “Hard Silk”. That is how I call my material innovation that came to me through working with resin for so many years. “Hard Silk” has practical features such as washability, near-indestructibility, and weightlessness, all while retaining the aesthetic and artistic charm of colored glass. It is so versatile that I could keep creating with it for the rest of my life (and probably will!) and never repeat myself.
I create with it sculptures, space accentuators, privacy screens
My work can be described as a bridge between art and interior design, and I like that it does not fit into a box.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a creature of habit and not very explorative or experimental in the places I visit and frequent. I greet the people I know from the same membership club I go to every day with “Happy Groundhog Day” And I mean it! I take pleasure in a simple lifestyle. I prefer little to no commute at all to do the things I need to do and travel as little as possible; and it is easy for me, because I always live in places where I am fully happy to be. So many people live 9 to 5 lives which makes it mandatory to escape and take a 2 week vacation from life. For me it is the other way around: Where I live is so pleasant that you have to literally drag me off the island (Belle Isle in Miami Beach) if you want to meet me somewhere else. Hence my visitors get a cup full of my lifestyle – I am not the person to take them to a show or opening or tour through town. They have to do that on their own. But I will cook for them, because I love to cook, or take them to my favorite local sushi place Bondi, which is a 10 minutes walk away.
I know, it sounds crazy but my family has shlepped me from continent to continent in the first years of my life, from Romania to Israel to Germany and finally to the US where I am happy and at home now, so I had my share of traveling and relocating and finally live the life I love the most. I minimized my maximum radius to a 10 minute walk and I am loving it. My friends come, see and leave, and I get to stay.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Who other than God and specifically Jesus deserves all the credit to my story? I am a Jewish Gal so it is controversial if not even weird to openly speak about my love for Jesus in my life story.
Most of the times I do, I receive a lifted eyebrow, sometimes worse – like utter disqualification – from my fellow Jews. Whoever is familiar with Judaism knows what I mean.
It is very difficult to stand my ground among my own people, but potential ridicule or exclusion does not keep me from being vocal about it anymore. My devotion to Jesus and His teachings used to sadly be my secret I did not know how to share, but as I grow older it feels more natural to me. I feel the calling to live in transparency about it.
Hence: All the credits go to Jesus Christ! If not through Him, I don’t know if I would have ever grasped the concept of true forgiveness and compassion.
Website: anatfritz.miami
Instagram: anatfritzdesign
Image Credits
Anat Fritz