A Visit With Jaynie Crimmins

All photos by Catherine Kirkpatrick
Jaynie Gillman Crimmins in her studio

Just inside Jaynie Gillman Crimmins studio is a small table with a mirror, a piece of coral, and jar of shells. By the time you leave, you understand what they say about her inspiration and concerns. But they’re quickly forgotten as you go further, encounter the artist’s work and fall under its spell. Continue reading “A Visit With Jaynie Crimmins”

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.

Debra Ramsay, Painting Time Exhibition, 2018, acrylic on museum board and polyester resin film, photo courtesy of the artist

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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.

Melissa Stern, Red Boots 30 x 8 x 10 inches, Clay, graphite, object, linoleum, 2016

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Alienation and Elation at Art During the Occupation

FIRST LOOK  at Sharilyn Neidhardt’s solo exhibition

Opening later this week

Sharilyn Neidhardt , If I Can’t Find You There, I Don’t Care, 2017
oil on unframed canvas, approx 54 x 70 in, photo courtesy of the artist

Sharilyn Neidhardt’s vivid paintings in SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE, at Art During the Occupation Gallery resonate with the zeitgeist of late-stage capitalism, when human connections are strained by a barrage of information and convenience. The fractured urban landscapes she portrays bring to mind reflective surfaces and fragmentation, altogether projecting a simultaneous sense of alienation and elation that are associated with any big city life. Continue reading “Alienation and Elation at Art During the Occupation”

Keren Anavy and Tal Frank – Collaborative Breeding Grounds

Ever since  the Israeli born artists Keren Anavy and Tal Frank  started working in their nearby studios in Tel Aviv, they have developed a unique artistic collaborative process in addition to their individual thriving art practices. Their collaboration has resulted in multiple imaginative and rigorous installations that have been exhibited internationally.  For Art Spiel, each of the duo sheds light on their collaboration, individual art, and upcoming plans. They also share their recent formative experience at the  Everglades National Park residency in Florida (AIRIE), where they have  further perfected their work process dynamics.

Keren Anavy & Tal Frank, Compositions for Stones of Gold, 2018, Installation view, site-specific installation, wood, The Gallery of the Cultural Institute Mexico-Israel, Mexico City, oil on linen, each painting 76.7X37.4″, wood, Pyrite stones, video animation screening. Photo credit: Zony Maya.

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Carol Salmanson: Two Sides to a Coin

Carol Salmanson, Lightshift 1 with the artist, LEDs, reflective sheeting, plexi, beads, 50.5″ H x 69″W x 5.5″D, 2018

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. Continue reading “Carol Salmanson: Two Sides to a Coin”

Viviane Rombaldi Seppey – Mapping her Road

Viviane Rombaldi Seppey, “Fragile”, hand cut atlas page (The World), wire, glass dome, plastic base, diameter 6 inches, 2017. Photo credit Etienne Frossard

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. Continue reading “Viviane Rombaldi Seppey – Mapping her Road”