Monday, September 22, 2025

Behind Closed Doors

“However, as soon as Mrs. Hogg stepped into her room she disappeared, she simply disappeared. She had no private life whatsoever. God knows where she went in her privacy.”

-Muriel Spark, The Comforters

Sometimes people seem most alive when they’re busy in the world—chatting, working, making themselves visible. But what happens when the noise fades and the door closes? Some people vanish into quiet routines, while others find their truest selves. The space between what we show and what we keep hidden is often where the most intriguing stories live.

Robert Janitz joined us to talk about his recent show at CANADA Gallery in NYC, 1001 Nights [+1]. Each of the paintings in the show tells its own story, befitting a title that reflects a book in which the main character saves her life by telling a story every night to her husband, a king who routinely murders his wives after just one night of marriage. The +1 is for New York, a place where there is always a push to do more, more, more. To hear more about this show, listen to the complete interview.

Eva Lake spoke to us about Because She’s Worth It, her recent exhibition at Frosch & Co. The title comes from a very successful L’Oréal hair color campaign, relevant to Lake who worked for a long time as a makeup artist and to the work which examines the way women are valued. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in Your Pocket.

We are never quite the same people in private as we are in public.

Outings.

Join me at Hollis Taggart for works by Tim Kent and more

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces are here in a shareable format. The full archive of interviews is here.

More Books to Read.

Ours is a community of readers. Tell us what books you’re reading now by adding your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Mylen Tumaliuan-Huggins recommends anything written by David Sedaris.

Opportunities.

MacDowell is accepting applications for transformative residency experiences. Selection is highly competitive, based on achievements, work samples, and project proposals. Prepare carefully and visit the website for more information. Deadline to apply is September 10.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics and is currently faculty at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. He has written seven books for artists, including Making it in the Art World. His seventh book, The Problems in the Art World: An Artist’s A-Z Action Guide, is available now.
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