“Let us be certain of who we want to be. Let us choose for ourselves our path in life, and let us try to strew that path with flowers.” -Émilie Du Châtelet
Life is filled with challenges. Each of us must face off against the tide from time to time, and there will be moments when it feels as though it could sweep us out to sea. But for every difficulty overcome, there is a strengthening, a building of resilience that occurs, however small and perhaps unnoticed at the time it may be. Following every obstacle, we shore up our courage once more and prepare for what lies ahead.
Marley Freeman spoke to us in mid-July 2022 when she had a solo exhibition of oil and acrylic paintings titled take care running at KARMA in New York City. The show spread across two medium-large rooms, a departure from her more recent exhibitions and the impetus for her to begin creating larger pieces. Freeman says it took about a year for her to be comfortable on a larger scale, something she hasn’t done in the past in her abstract works. These larger works surprised Freeman, who admits she has long preferred looking at smaller pieces. Although many of her titles suggest some sort of narrative, she explained that the titles come after the work is complete. She spends time with the finished work and discovers what various titles might give to each piece. To hear more about her process and work, listen to the complete interview.
Sabine Hornig joined us on July 21, 2022, during the run of her exhibition titled This is no Time at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. Light plays a strong role in Hornig’s work as do positive and negative shapes – shadow and light. Honig was called upon to create a public work of art in Laguardia’s Terminal B. For this, she wanted to create a piece about New York City. The light coming through this work creates a cathedral-like effect. To hear more about her fascinating manipulation of light and color, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket
You are stronger than you may know.
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. When we spoke to Marley Freeman, she had just begun reading The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz. Sabine Honig reads several books at the same time. One of them was a work by influential German philosopher Hannah Arendt.
Deadlines:
Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA) is accepting applications for residency at their Winnipeg location. This residency is open to women, non-binary, trans and 2-Spirit women-identifying visual artists. Residency period lasts from 2-4 weeks and includes free accommodation while offering residents the chance to research, reflect, network and/or produce. For more information, visit the website. Deadine for applications is August 5.
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.