From Artist to Entrepreneur
Thursday, February 16
United States: 10am PDT, 11am MDT, 12pm CDT, 1pm EDT
Europe: 18:00 GMT/WET
Philip Ross
In this Zoom we will hear from artist Philip Ross about his work with mycelium and how this path evolved from artist to eco-entrepreneur.
MycoWorks was co-founded by San Francisco artist Philip Ross, who has worked at the intersection of art, design and biotechnology for over three decades. Phil began cultivating mycelium as a material for art and design in the 1990s, inspired by the beauty and life cycles of mushrooms. A skilled chef and naturalist, his field work in mycology began in the woods of upstate New York, where he first learned to forage for wild mushrooms. His subsequent work as a hospice caregiver during the HIV crisis in San Francisco introduced him to the immune-supporting benefits of reishi mushrooms, which he began growing for medicinal use. He discovered a rich diversity in form, texture and color—expressions of reishi’s dynamic response to the everyday forces of light, air, gravity and temperature. Phil soon began working with reishi as a material for creating sculptures, bringing culinary precision and a naturalist’s keen eye to perfect his “biotechniques” for growing living works of art.
Presenter
Philip Ross pioneered materials research which launched the field of mycotecture, a term he coined in 2008 to describe the art of designing and building with mycelium. His mycelium artworks and installations have been exhibited internationally at MoMA, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, and his patents and publications are foundational to the field of mycelium material science. When worldwide interest in Phil’s material inventions brought opportunities to partner with brands seeking innovative, sustainable materials, Phil invited his long-time artistic collaborator, Sophia Wang, to start a company. mycoworks.com
THIS IS A FREE EVENT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. All participants MUST REGISTER.
ecoartspace™ (1997-2019), LLC (2020-2024)
