Art Spiel – Page 117 – Contemporary Art and Culture

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

David Samuel Stern’s Portraits: The Mechanics of Longing

For photographer David Samuel Stern’s photography typically serves as a departure point for crafting tangible objects. In his Woven Portraits series for instance, Stern physically assembles pieces of his photographic portraits into new forms, aiming to fuse the notion of photographic representation with its own material nature, making a new essence. The imagery in this series may bring to mind Cubists’ and Futurists’ paintings, or David Hockney’s Polaroids, but in Stern’s hybrid artworks, the imagery derives from a photographer’s imagination and can be distinctly traced to our digital age – the manual counterpoints the virtual. Here Stern shares with Art Spiel some of his ideas, process, and projects.

[caption id="attachment_1948" align="alignnone" width="377"] Aaron; 2015; Photographic prints on archival translucent vellum, physically cut and woven together; 40 x 31 x ¼ in, 101.5 x 78.75 x 1.25 cm; Courtesy David Samuel Stern[/caption]

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Andrea Burgay – Sorting Through Chaos

[caption id="attachment_1750" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Andrea Burgay, Nothing’s Ever Lost (Turn The Page), 2018, Mixed-media collage, acrylic, UV glaze, 30 x 44″, photo courtesy of the artist[/caption]

The combination of material and abstracted imagery in Andrea Burgay’s complex and richly layered collage work makes the passage of time tangible – traces of destruction along with a sense of potential renewal. She shares with Art Spiel some of her main art processes, core ideas, and current projects, including her recently launched art magazine “Cut Me Up,” a publication with a fresh twist.

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Debra Ramsay: Painting Time

Debra Ramsay embraces “beauty” as a core in her work. Throughout her installations and paintings she reflects on the relationship between color, light, time, and place with a minimalist’s impulse and a colorist’s flair. Mara Williams, the curator of “Painting Time”, her recent show at Brattleboro Museum, eloquently describes it as both “reductionist and exuberant.” In this interview for Art Spiel the artist elaborates on her background, ideas, and projects.

[caption id="attachment_1920" align="alignnone" width="375"] Debra Ramsay, Painting Time Exhibition, 2018, acrylic on museum board and polyester resin film, photo courtesy of the artist[/caption]

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Nancy Cohen – One Substance from the Start

Nancy Cohen‘s sensibility for the ephemeral is evident throughout her wide range of forms – from small sculptural pieces to large scale room installations. With fluid agility she utilizes diverse material such as glass, paper, rubber, and ceramics, to form a thematically rigorous body of work – both visceral and inquisitive. The artist shares with Art Spiel some of her ideas on process, use of material, themes, and projects.

[caption id="attachment_1738" align="aligncenter" width="360"] Nancy Cohen, Merge, 2018, Handmade paper, 81 x 68 inches, photo courtesy of Edward Fausty[/caption]

Exhibition Review by Lorrie Fredette

Remnants: Hour Upon Hour

By Lorrie Fredette

It is the nature of performance art that each iteration will be unique. Remnants: Hour Upon Hour by Rena Leinberger and Thomas Albrecht at Woodstock Artists Association & Museum on Sunday, 16 September 2018 was distinctive and captivating.

[caption id="attachment_1978" align="alignnone" width="500"] Remnants: Hour Upon Hour by Rena Leinberger and Thomas Albrecht at Woodstock Artists Association & Museum[/caption]

Exhibition Review by Nina Meledandri

Paint, Film, Thread: Three Current Shows

By Nina Meledandri

All Photos courtesy of Nina Meledandri

[caption id="attachment_1998" align="alignnone" width="450"] Louise Bourgeois, Sutures, 1993, Mixed Media[/caption]

When an exhibition feeds you, enlightens you, or centers you, it remains with you. Each of the three shows below resonate with me for very different reasons and collectively they create a rich and thought provoking reminder of why we look at art.

Sutures at Mark Straus Gallery presents works which rely in some way on fabric, thread, weaving and/or sewing. The title is shared with one of the show’s focal points: a Louise Bourgeois sculpture, that is itself worth the visit.

studio visit by Sharilyn Neidhardt

Cheat Sheet – BOS 2018

By Sharilyn Neidhardt

CLIP AND SAVE!

This is my cheat sheet for BOS 2018. It is by no means comprehensive but these are some of things I plan to check out over the weekend. I look forward to seeing many friends and colleagues out at the studios.

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Katya Grokhovsky’s Rigorous Play

Katya Grokhovsky‘s performances and sculptural works embody raw energy fueled by her rigorous and uncompromising process. Grokhovsky’s work is extreme, fearless, cohesive, and ambitious. With great agility she combines media like performance, video, drawing, and sculpture to create immersive environments that delve us deep into a chaotic unknown – the complexity of self, the duplicity of social norms, the twilight zones of life and art. In this interview for Art Spiel Grokhovsky elaborates on her impetus, ideas, and projects as a prolific artist and curator.

[caption id="attachment_2082" align="alignnone" width="500"] Katya Grokhovsky,Bad Woman, 2017, video still[/caption]

studio visit by Catherine Kirkpatrick

A Visit With Linda Schmidt

By Catherine Kirkpatrick

All Photos by Catherine Kirkpatrick

Just as it is hard to look at certain Matisse paintings and not feel the radiant sun of the Cote d’Azur, it is hard to see a piece by Linda Schmidt and not imagine a beautiful light-filled space. Recently she invited me to her studio that looks out over the low industrial rooftops of Bushwick, and seems, even on overcast days to be bright and filled with serenity.

[caption id="attachment_2055" align="alignnone" width="500"] Linda Schmidt working on a canvas[/caption]

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Melissa Stern – Walking the Line

Melissa Stern‘s artworks depict abstracted narratives with complex emotional layers, projecting altogether an urgent psychological presence. The figures in her drawings and sculptures inhabit an absurd universe which is darkly funny in a deeply felt way. Her imagery is precise, poetic, and overall underscores a close affinity with language – bringing to mind an artist who is both an acute observer and a witty commentator. That said, it is Stern’s sensibility of raw and expressive forms that makes her not only an observant narrator but also an empathetic participant in her own human comedy. The artist shares with Art Spiel her modes of thinking, process of making, and some plans, including her solo show opening on Oct 11 at Garvey Simon Gallery.

[caption id="attachment_1680" align="aligncenter" width="393"] Melissa Stern, Red Boots 30 x 8 x 10 inches, Clay, graphite, object, linoleum, 2016[/caption]