IVY KOST-VANHOOSE IS A SET DESIGNER, PROP STYLIST, AND PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. A 2022 GRADUATE OF THE SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN WITH A BFA IN PRODUCTION DESIGN, KOST-VANHOOSE’S WORK EXPLORES THE TENSION BETWEEN THE FAMILIAR AND THE ABSURD THROUGH CAREFULLY STAGED COMPOSITIONS AND CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENTS.

HER PRACTICE FOCUSES ON RECONTEXTUALIZING EVERYDAY OBJECTS TO CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF FUNCTION, SPACE, AND VISUAL LOGIC. DRAWING FROM SURREALIST INFLUENCES AND ROOTED IN A FASCINATION WITH MATERIALITY, HER WORK OFTEN FEATURES UNNATURALLY SATURATED COLOR, UNCANNY PAIRINGS, AND DISJOINTED SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS. THESE CHOICES CREATE SCENES THAT FEEL BOTH METICULOUSLY ARTIFICIAL AND EMOTIONALLY RESONANT — PLAYFUL YET DISORIENTING.

WHETHER DESIGNING SETS, STYLING EDITORIAL PROPS, OR BUILDING PHOTOGRAPHIC WORLDS, KOST-VANHOOSE USES VISUAL STORYTELLING TO HEIGHTEN THE VIEWER’S AWARENESS OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND ASSUMPTIONS. HER ONGOING BODY OF WORK SPANS FROM 2015 TO THE PRESENT AND INCLUDES BOTH PERSONAL EXPLORATIONS AND COMMISSIONED PIECES THAT REFLECT A DEEP COMMITMENT TO CRAFT, CONCEPT, AND CURIOSITY.