Carole d’Inverno: Down to its Barest

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

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

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

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

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.
Studio Immersion Project Annual Exhibitions

Studio Immersion Project Annual Exhibitions

[caption id="attachment_1376" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Installation view, (Christina Massey), courtesy of efa Project Space Program[/caption]

Studio Immersion Project (SIP) is an intensive 3 month studio fellowship designed to immerse artists in the world of printmaking. Throughout the fellowship period SIP Fellows build upon existing skills and acquire new techniques. Through a selective application process the SIP invites artists from all media who are interested in exploring printmaking as an integral part of their art making. 

Katerina Lanfranco- Resisting Binary Oppositions

Katerina Lanfranco- Resisting Binary Oppositions

[caption id="attachment_1245" align="aligncenter" width="333"] Katerina Lanfranco, photo by Edward Hutchinson[/caption]

Katerina Lanfranco explores through painterly means the intellectual and physical freedom of making art at different scales and in various mediums. In her multi-faceted installations, paintings and sculptures she re-imagines scientific possibilities of human interference, interaction, and creativity in nature. Lanfranco, who is also a curator, educator, and writer, shares some thoughts on her journey, ideas, and curatorial practice with Art Spiel.

Martynka Wawrzyniak – Ziemia: From Warsaw to Greenpoint

Martynka Wawrzyniak – Ziemia: From Warsaw to Greenpoint

[caption id="attachment_1288" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Ziemia unveiled at McGolrick Park, photo credit Wojtek Kubik[/caption]

Unveiled on June 9, 2018, the core object  in the multidisciplinary public art project Ziemia (“Earth” in Polish), takes the form of a ceramic orb. The orb was created by the Greenpoint based artist Martynka Wawrzyniak in collaboration with The Polish Cultural Institute of New York, NYC Parks, and  most importantly – Greenpoint residents.

Surrounded by the  rolling meadow in McGolrick Park, the orb represents the collective portrait of the diverse Greenpoint community, with an emphasis on participation of the many Poles who have lived in the neighborhood for generations.  Martynka Wawrzyniak shares with Art Spiel the ideas behind her intriguing public art project, as well as some thoughts regarding her overall art practice.

Elisa Soliven – Genesis of making in Clay

Elisa Soliven – Genesis of making in Clay

[caption id="attachment_1220" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Elisa Soliven, Studio Portrait, Courtesy Maxim Ryazansky[/caption]

Elisa Soliven is a sculptor, curator, and co-founder of the artist collective Underdonk.  In her recent body of work, exhibited at the last SPRING/BREAK art show, Soliven experienced a turning point in her art.  In our interview for ArtSpiel she elaborated on her process and shared some of the thought process behind her work.