Mass MoCA – Art Spiel

July 12, 2023October 6, 2024, by Eva Zanardi

Daniel Giordano’s Post-Apocalyptic Chimeras at MASS MoCA

Artist Profile

Daniel Giordano: Love from Vicki Island

Nonconformity comes as second nature to Daniel Giordano. Wearing an imaginative interpretation of a beekeeper’s outfit, complete with gloves, toe socks, and trekking sandals, he exudes unfailing politeness, erudition, and gravitas. Yet, behind a sly, sardonic smile, Giordano’s true prankster nature reveals itself. The Newburgh-based artist is a volcanic force in the contemporary art world; a genuine, generous, borderline-ascetic vegan, who carries his own homemade food and filtered water wherever he goes. Giordano’s first solo museum show, Love from Vicki Island, at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) perfectly captures his heterodox approach to art creation.

November 29, 2021October 29, 2021, by Etty Yaniv

Juan Hinojosa: Ensemble Iconographies

A person standing in front of a wall with art on it

Description automatically generated with medium confidence — Juan Hinojosa in studio during LMCC residency

New York based artist Juan Hinojosa collects found objects from everywhere he passes by. A toy snake, a wooden bird, a Good Luck charm, fragments from advertisements and billboards—find their way into his intricate compositions, creating altogether layered sculptural assemblages and intricate two dimensional collages. In both dimensional and flat formats, Hinojosa’s vocabulary is grounded in Pop aesthetics with a tint of Surrealism. Through super vivid colors and elaborate graphic shapes he depicts imaginary worlds where extravagant shrines and hybrid flowery creatures become a convincing presence. When you get closer, you can most likely trace where they came from.

April 12, 2020April 12, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Artists on Coping: Sonomi Kobayashi

During the Coronavirus pandemic, Art Spiel is reaching out to artists to learn how they are coping.

Beauty of Chaos #1, 2018, Alcohol ink on Synthetic vellum paper cutouts, and collaged, 14 1/4” x 11 1/2”, © Sonomi Kobayashi All rights reserved

Born and raised in Japan, Sonomi Kobayashi, is a New York based artist who is interested in science, physics, stars, nature, and spirituality. Most of her work is symbolic and abstract. They are based on images that she sees during her meditation. She also paints symbolic shapes that she finds attractive in nature.

April 7, 2020March 30, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Artists on Coping: Barak Chamo

During the coronavirus pandemic, Art Spiel is reaching out to artists to learn how they are coping.

Barak Chamo’s work explores the limits of perception, what is seen and unseen by the human system, and how its vulnerabilities are laid bare by interaction with technology in an accelerating feedback loop. His research-based practice employs light, video and kinetic sculptures to create intimate subjective spaces that recognize these limits inspire a shift in perspective.

July 15, 2019November 15, 2020, by Etty Yaniv

Margaret Ann Withers – In Her Own Skin

Margaret Ann Withers, Happy and Absurd were out roughhousing in the field before dinner; 2018, acrylic gouache, watercolor, ink on paper, 22″x30″, photo courtesy of Margaret Ann Withers.

Margaret Ann Withers‘ drawings and paintings burst with energetic gestures, exuberant colors, and bio-morphic shapes. Altogether these elements fuse into imaginative landscapes resembling a child’s play in Surreal terrains. The artist shares with Art Spiel her ideas, process, and current projects.