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Mary DeVincentis – Conscious Rituals
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Mary DeVincentis – Conscious Rituals

Mary DeVincentis paintings conjure worlds that are simultaneously inner and cosmic, personal and universal, unexpected yet strangely familiar. Some of the core concepts of Buddhism, such as impermanence, emptiness, interdependence and the origins of suffering, aversion and ignorance, often surface in her work in allegorical forms. Her imagery, conveyed with a remarkable fluidity of color and form, takes the viewer deep into their own inner worlds.  The artist shared with Art Spiel some of the experiences that led her to art, some of the ideas behind her work, and her overall process.

[caption id="attachment_1556" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Mary DeVincentis, Heaven Can’t Wait, 23” x 35”, acrylic on yupo on panel, 2017, photo courtesy of the artist[/caption]
Carol Salmanson: Two Sides to a Coin
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Carol Salmanson: Two Sides to a Coin

[caption id="attachment_1515" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Carol Salmanson, Lightshift 1 with the artist, LEDs, reflective sheeting, plexi, beads, 50.5″ H x 69″W x 5.5″D, 2018[/caption]

Carol Salmanson began as a painter and then gradually started embracing the use of LED lights in her work. In “Two Sides to a Coin,”  Salmanson’s recent solo show at SL Gallery, she shows her paintings and light work side by side. This results in a dynamic conversation between the two forms. Salmanson shared with Art Spiel the genesis of her work, thought process, and projects.

Laurie O’Brien – Peephole Cinema in Brooklyn, a Path towards Generosity
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Laurie O’Brien – Peephole Cinema in Brooklyn, a Path towards Generosity

[caption id="attachment_1522" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Martina Menegon, Splits Are Parted, Film Still, 2016, photo courtesy of the artist[/caption]

Laurie O’Brien is a visual artist, teacher, and culture maker. She has just launched in Bushwick her Peephole cinema project , a free public cinema showing short, experimental silent films 24/7, through a dime-sized peephole.  In this interview with Art Spiel O’Brien talks about her experience as an artist and educator, her love of animation, and the story behind her project.

Leslie Kerby: At a Moment of Change
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Leslie Kerby: At a Moment of Change

[caption id="attachment_1367" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Leslie Kerby,Shots and Ills, 2015, mixed media collage, oil, paper, litho transfer ink, 18-x-20 inches. Photo credit Bill Orcutt[/caption]

Leslie Kerby creates mixed media collages, installations, and diverse collaborative work with nuanced commentary on current social and cultural climate. In her interview with Art Spiel she sheds some light on her diverse professional background, art-making process, ideas, and plans.

Carole d’Inverno: Down to its Barest
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Carole d’Inverno: Down to its Barest

[caption id="attachment_1441" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Carole d’Inverno, “Where Are You From”, 3.5-x-12 ft, vinyl paint on paper, 2018, courtesy of the artist[/caption]

Carole d’Inverno’s paintings can read as a coded language – idiosyncratic and universal at the same time. Her preparatory work involves meticulous research, specifically on historical aspects of a place and its inhabitants; yet her paintings seem to come together in a highly intuitive and fluid process. Throughout our conversations over recent years we have exchanged ideas about art and life.  In this interview with Art Spiel, she shares some notions on the impetus of her work, process, and plans.

Viviane Rombaldi Seppey – Mapping her Road
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Viviane Rombaldi Seppey – Mapping her Road

[caption id="attachment_1425" align="aligncenter" width="413"] Viviane Rombaldi Seppey, “Fragile”, hand cut atlas page (The World), wire, glass dome, plastic base, diameter 6 inches, 2017. Photo credit Etienne Frossard[/caption]

In her poetic and playful installations Viviane Rombaldi Seppey coalesces everyday objects and materials, altogether bringing to mind  contemporary issues of identity, culture and environment. Maps, phonebooks, and books become directly embedded in her work as drawings, collages or sculptural objects. She has recently shared in an interview with Art Spiel some of her ideas and experiences.

Kelsey Shwetz – Other than Linear Reality
Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Kelsey Shwetz – Other than Linear Reality

 

[caption id="attachment_1390" align="aligncenter" width="346"] Kelsey Shwetz, Rec Room, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 62”x32”, 2018, photo credit Lloyd Mulvey[/caption]

Kelsey Shwetz’s paintings  bring to mind fantastic landscapes and ornamented interior spaces at the same time. Her imagery depicts artificial environments saturated with unexpected color combinations, altogether conjuring intense psychological urgency- unsettling yet playful. In this interview with Art Spiel Shwetz shared some of her thoughts, specifically about color, narrative and style.

Get Loose at Rick Wester Fine Art
Exhibition Review by Etty Yaniv

Get Loose at Rick Wester Fine Art

[caption id="attachment_1304" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Get Loose, installation view, photo courtesy Rick Wester Fine Art[/caption]

Get Loose, the three person show Curated by Tracy McKenna at Rick Wester Fine Art, features work by Cat Balco, Ben Godward, and Jason Rohlf, who all show a knack for unexpected twists of material resulting in exuberant abstracted forms and unorthodox color across the board. The  abstract paintings and sculptures in the show prompt loose  interpretations of Geometric Abstraction, where the hand is rigorously present.

Visual Arts Center of New Jersey – Global Angst
Exhibition Review by Etty Yaniv

Visual Arts Center of New Jersey – Global Angst

[caption id="attachment_1340" align="aligncenter" width="500"] “Containment”, partial Installation view at Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, (right wall: Erin Diebboll,  center front: Linda Ganjian,  left: david Packer), photo by Etienne Frossard[/caption]
The  group of international artists throughout the two exhibitions at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey – “Containment” and “Oh what a world! What a world!” are altogether reflecting on social, political, and cultural changes in recent history.  “Oh what a world! What a world!”,  located in the Main Gallery, addresses a wide array of issues related to immigration, gender equality, civil rights, policing, protest, and the state of our Democracy. “Containment”, at the Eisenberg and Strolling Gallery, addresses specifically  hot trade issues –  how the use of shipping containers affects our ability to trade and ship goods globally, coming to the forefront with Trump’s attempts to remove the country from existing trade deals. Both shows were curated by  Mary Birmingham. The following preview on the two shows is largely based on text provided by the NJ Visual Arts Center.