“Men Argue. Nature acts.” -Voltaire
We are witnessing a beginning. Whether it is the beginning of an end remains to be seen, but it is most certainly a historic shift in the way the human race interfaces with our home. And while the world burns and floods, leaders talk. They gather and discuss, dine together, depart. Nothing changes. Nothing moves. Nature continues to spiral and they plan their next luncheon.
Dana Sherwood spoke to us about her current show, The Cake Eaters, at Denny Dimin Gallery. The exhibition is her third with the gallery and features a new body of work in multi-media depicting animals with women inside their bodies. Over the last decade, Sherwood has gone through an evolution in her work, which began when she started filming animals eating in the dark using motion-detecting trail cameras. To hear more about these early days and how the work has changed over time, listen to the complete interview.
Emma Coyle joined us from London to discuss, among other things, her first solo exhibition at Helwaser Gallery. Although primarily a figurative fine-art painter, much of Coyle’s influence comes from pop art, which features heavily in her Helwaser show titled The Best Revenge. The work is bold in every sense, with bright colors, large size and maximum impact. When selecting the images she will paint – whether from advertisements or magazines and similar – Coyle focuses on line work. To hear more about the work in this show and other aspects of Coyle’s art career, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket
What will it take?
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews is here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Patricia Richards recommends Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy, while Kristine Stiles offers Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn.
Deadlines:
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art invites artists to apply for residency. Artists receive housing and a monthly stipend for this 4-6 month residency period. In their own words:
“The CMCA Artist Residency Program is open to artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latinx, or alternately identified persons of color who live year-round in Maine. Preference will be given to artists who have experience presenting public art, exhibition(s) or project(s) that directly engaged audiences.”
For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for ap.plications is August 15.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.