“Perfection is a stick with which to beat the possible.”
–Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: The Untold Story of People Power
There’s something to be said for letting possibility take the lead, even when everything feels uncertain and the future is anything but clear. In moments of change, it can be tempting to wait for the perfect moment, the perfect idea, or to try to line up the perfect outcome. But creativity has never depended on perfection. Quite the contrary, it thrives on experimentation and the willingness to imagine something different before knowing exactly how to get there. Perhaps that’s where art is most powerful – in its ability to remind us that progress isn’t usually tidy.
Rana Begum joined us recently to talk about her recent exhibition at Lehmann Maupin Gallery. This show gave her the opportunity to see how she could do an installation while also including smaller, more intimate works. This was the fifth time Begum has shown her Chainlink installation, inspired by Rothko, originally created for Whitechapel Gallery in the U.K. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.
Kirsten Batten-Leach spoke to us this week about Catalyst Carrier, her current exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery. Her work begins with a textile piece that she then dyes with rusted objects, submerging the fabric along with found rusted objects in a solution. She then cuts up the dyed fabric and pieces it together in different formations. The use of this method of adding color means that the fabric can break down and the colors can change, speaking to Batten-Leach’s interest in impermanence and slow time, stepping outside the capitalist rat-race. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in Your Pocket.
Possibility is worth pursuing, and there is always room to begin again.
Outings.
Join me at Perrotin for a show by the artist collaborative Gelitin
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 Elana Felice Stanger is reading Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport
Opportunities.
Sixi International Artist-in-Residence Project invites four artists for three-month residencies in Nanjing, China, in spring and fall 2027, supporting interdisciplinary exploration, cultural exchange, and research through two thematic open calls. Learn more at the website. Deadline is November 15.