Words with Friends | Beth Kamhi

Strength and Beauty: A Dynamic Conversation with artist Beth Kamhi

We recently commissioned Beth Kamhi to create a triptych for a residential project, and it has been a pleasure to get to know her a little. Her sculptural wall installations create an interesting balance between industrial and glam, hard and soft, masculine and feminine. Her use of metal ball chain conveys a tough yet delicate feeling throughout her work.

APP:  What is your inspiration for using industrial ball chains for your pieces?

BK:  My career began in fashion, then in interior design, incorporating faux finishing and textile design, designs for furniture,  and eventually I started making art with various materials, but the ball chain just resonated with me.  I got hold of a whole bin of it that was rusted out, and I just fell in love.  At the time I was also working with VHS tape, and trying other materials like twine and string, because the ball chain can get quite heavy, but it just wasn’t the same.

APP:  A lot of it looks like sculptural jewelry or draperies.

BK:  Yes!  It is a mash up of all the things I have made and designed in earlier days.  If you don’t know the scale, some pieces look like earrings.  Some are looped  through rings so it feels like fabric or hair, and I paint on some of them to create landscape images that have a beaded curtain feeling, and I have painted faces on some, and with the faces I did a kiss series.

APP:  How do you paint the ballchain?

BK:  Just freehand.  I tighten the chain, then paint it and seal it.  I don’t paint each individual ball or anything.


APP: You have some pieces with wooden vessels that look like tribal instruments that are really beautiful.

BK: Those are turned wood, that I embellished with the ball chain. I called that the antiquity series, and I really distressed the ball chain with caustic elements to make them have a weathered pearl like lustre. I don't do that anymore because of the chemicals. It was very messy!

APP: Tell us about the commission you are working on for APP.

BK:  It’s part of a series called Tension.  It’s ball chain woven through rings that creates a nice tug of power, and then it pools on the ground in puddles.  You don’t know what part is pulling, and what’s holding.  I like that it looks a bit like fiber art.  

APP: What is your dream project?

BK:  For years I’ve been thinking about making words with the ballchain, and I’ve finally figured it out.  I’d love to do a piece for a big public space with words that creates engagement and a sense of wonderment.  I recently bid on a project for an airport.  It could say WHERE ARE YOU GOING,...ENJOY THE JOURNEY…we will see…reach for the stars!

APP:  That would be a good phrase too! What is next on the horizon?

BK:  I’m currently offering large scale prints of my work, and working on prints for wallpaper and fabrics that can be printed on demand.  I’m pretty excited about it!

APP:  Why do you think the ball chain resonates with you as much as it does?

BK:  I like the way the balls are connected, and how it reflects that we are all connected.  They are strong, but they can also be really messy, just like life.

To learn more about Beth’s work, please visit her website