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Now + Never – Marcus Aitken

In Dialogue with Jacob Barnes, Editor in chief, Soft Punk Magazine

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Marcus Aitken, Now + Never print, Limited edition of 50 on 300gsm Hanehmuhle German etching paper,42×29.7cm

Now + Never, a virtual solo exhibition of new works by London-based gestural artist Marcus Aitken, is released in tandem with Soft Punk’s latest publication. The exhibition will be made available online from November 16th, 2020 via Soft Punk’s web platform. In this interview for Art Spiel, Jacob Barnes, the London and New York based co-founder and editor of this literary arts and culture quarterly, shares some of the background for his publication and for Marcus Aitken’s virtual art exhibit.

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Padma Rajendran – On Cultural Tenderness


Padma Rajendran, Along the way, 2019, Dye on silk with stitching, dimensions varied, photo courtesy of the artist

Malaysian born and New York based artist Padma Rajendran works in diverse media yet currently views paper and fabric as her primary materials. She highlights the portable nature of paper and fabric, along with their significance as “keepers of culture, comfort, and call upon the function of the decorative”. Padma Rajendran shares here some insight on her work, what brought her there and where she is heading from here.

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Center for Creative Works – Human Development

In Dialogue with Lori Bartol and Samantha Mitchell

Untitled (Herbies), by Doug Tan. Image credit: CCW/Virginia Fleming

Center for Creative Works (CCW) is a PA based unique professional art studio where artists with intellectual disabilities can access not only equipment and supplies but also dedicated mentorship, including help in promoting their work. Furthermore, it offers a
permeable space which prompts collaboration and idea sharing between CCW artists, artists outside of the studio, and community members at large. Lori Bartol, director, and Samantah Mitchell, exhibition coordinator, share with Art Spiel their vision for the organization and an insight into some of CCW artists’ work. Lori Bartol has recently revisited our discussion on how her team and artists have coped with the pandemic.

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Artists on Coping: Zoran Crnkovic

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

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Zoran Crnkovic

Zoran Crnkovic was born and raised in Croatia where his early focus centered on drawing, painting, carving and sculpting. He has been a resident of New York City for last 24 years, with a multi-disciplinary practice based in Long Island City. He has had 20 solo shows, and teaches life drawing at the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan.

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Artists on Coping: John Mitchell

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

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John Mitchell at work on “Twinkle”, oil on linen, 37×80”. Photo by Twinkle Ghangas, Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

John Mitchell, born 1971 in Southern Illinois, is an American artist. As a draftsman, printmaker, and painter, Mitchell works from direct observation of people, places, and things. He was educated at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Yale University. Mitchell lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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Artists on Coping: Simona Prives

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


Working on Governors Island during a residency with 4heads, 2019. Photo by Ed Grant

Simona Prives is a Brooklyn-based visual artist. She creates collages, both still and moving, that focus on the process of decomposition and reconstruction and that examine our complex relationship between the organic and the man-made. Each work combines multiple forms of printmaking, using drawing, monotype, found material and hand-shot video to assemble the composition. Her artwork has been exhibited in New York City, Chicago, Miami, Italy, Greece, Japan and China, including at the Shanghai International Print Biennale.

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Artists on Coping: Cathy Diamond

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


Studio Portrait, photo by Elizabeth Reagh, 2019

Cathy Diamond is a New York City-based painter. For decades, her imagery has fused elements of nature and figuration into a kind of narrative abstraction. Residency fellowships in Wyoming, Virginia, Maine and elsewhere form the building blocks of works developed in her Queens studio. Diamond spent two decades in Williamsburg, exhibiting there at Farrell-Pollock Fine Art, Sideshow Gallery, Gallery Boreas and Janet Kurnatowksi Gallery. She has shown extensively in New York City. Diamond’s paper works travelled to national print fairs with Oehme Graphics. She recently exhibited at 490 Atlantic Gallery and at SRO Gallery in Brooklyn. Diamond is Adjunct Lecturer of Painting and Drawing at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

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Artists on Coping: Maria de Los Angeles

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

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Madonna of the Roses, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches, 2020

Maria de Los Angeles is a multidisciplinary artist who addresses issues of migration, displacement, identity, and otherness through her drawing, painting, printmaking, and fashion. She holds an MFA in Painting & Printmaking from Yale School of Art (2015), a BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute (2013), and an Associate Degree in Fine Arts from Santa Rosa Junior College (2010). In 2015, she was awarded the Blair Dickinson Memorial Prize by Yale University for her art and role in the community. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at the Museum of Sonoma County, and group shows at Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland, Oregon, and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, New York Magazine, and Hellowgiggles.

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Intermediate Geochromatic Studies at Nars

In dialogue with Jason Urban & Leslie Mutchler on their collaborative project at Nars Foundation

Jason Urban & Leslie Mutchler, Intermediate Geochromatic Studies at NARS Foundation, installation view, 2020. Photo courtesy of the artists.

Artists Jason Urban and Leslie Muchler who have been collaborating on art projects since 2012, share with Art Spiel their ideas, process, and ways of collaborating on their current exhibition, Geochromatic Studies, at NARS.

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Stay High – Leah Tacha at Gold/scopophilia

In Dialogue with Jennifer Wroblewski Founder of Gold/scopophilia

Leah Tacha, Notice Me. 2019. 20 x 11 x 3 inches. Ceramic with digital decals. Photo by Maeve Fitzhoward.
Leah Tacha, Notice Me. 2019. 20 x 11 x 3 inches. Ceramic with digital decals. Photo by Maeve Fitzhoward.

Gold/scopophilia is a rigorous artist run art venue in Upper Montclair NJ, founded in 2017 by Jennifer Wroblewski. The founder shares with Art Spiel the story behind her gallery, programming, and current exhibition featuring the work of Leah Tacha.

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