Mia Capodilupo (PB/MFA Sculpture, 2002), is a sculptor and installation artist originally from Boston, MA. She is currently living and running a contemporary art gallery, Ignition Project Space, on the west side of Humboldt Park, in Chicago, IL.

The gallery supports artists by providing a modest stipend and space for solo shows. Ignition encourages non-commercial project-based exhibitions, non-traditional media and general risk-taking. All media, artistic backgrounds and experience levels are welcome, as well as a variety of artists perspectives.

Mia has participated in solo and group shows and residencies in museums, galleries and alternative spaces around the country. She has received several grants from the City of Chicago, was a recipient of an individual arts grant from the City of Urbana, IL and received a grant from the Illinois Arts Council in 2011. In 2014, she completed a large public project for the City of Chicago, and was commissioned to create semi-permanent installations for the Indianapolis Art Center and the city of Atlanta in the Summer of 2015, as well as the City of Bellevue, WA in 2016.

We decided to get in touch and see what Mia has been up to recently.

SFAI: What projects have you been working on recently? Anything you’re particularly excited about?

Mia Capodilupo: I am currently working on a series of collaged works on old broken doors and windows that I found while working remodeling apartments here in Chicago. They incorporate salvaged items from home remodeling, trash and magazine clippings. I am also working on raising the visibility of my gallery space by curating more exhibitions and guest curating in other spaces around Chicago while trying to get into art fairs with the gallery.

SFAI: Where do you find inspiration for your work?

MC: The urban landscape, Chicago neighborhoods and people, cast-off industrial materials and discarded household items.

SFAI: What is your process for creating your work?

MC: I collect a large volume of materials that are both cast off and new, then pull from this stockpile and combine disparate materials to create collages, sculpture and installation. I also fuse materials and found objects together through casting.

SFAI: What are you working on now?

MC: I am working on an installation consisting of a series of large collage pieces. These incorporate old doors, drywall, vinyl flooring, trash including chip bags and drug bags and magazine imagery.

For more information about exhibition opportunities at Ignition Project Space, please visit: www.ignitionprojects.org.