“Autobiography begins with a sense of being alone. It is an orphan form.” –John Berger
Like late summer, telling your story is a quiet reckoning. As the days thin and the light begins to slant, we turn inward—not to recount, but to remember. There’s a particular solitude to writing one’s own story, a feeling of standing slightly apart, sifting through memory for meaning.
Tony Huynh joined us to talk about Magical Thinking, his show at Pablo’s Birthday Gallery that closed on June 13. We get into the details of this show, including the high level view of the show, in which the works are all quite random and unrelated. This is a hallmark of Huynh’s work, which generally depicts whatever he’s going through at the time. To learn more, including how the band The Police have influenced him, listen to the complete interview.
Abby Lloyd sat down to discuss her recent show, On Display, which ran until June 15 at Ptolemy Gallery. Following the passing of her mother in 2020, and with her father needing to vacate the family home, Lloyd found herself facing the daunting task of cleaning out generations of accumulated belongings. It was in this headspace that she began conceiving the work in this show. To hear more about this dramatic time in the artist’s life and the work that emerged, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in Your Pocket.
Take time to explore solitary beginnings, personal narratives, and the quiet power of telling your own story.
Outings.
Join me at Hale Gallery for works by Emma Stern
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 June Yokell is reading The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World 1788-1800 by Jay Winik.
Opportunities.
The Keyholder Residency offers NYC-area emerging artists free 24/7 printmaking access, shared studio space, and community support to develop new work; basic instruction provided, all disciplines welcome, printmaking experience recommended. Visit the website for more information. Application deadline is August 15.