Category: Female Artists

Opening | Natural Selections

5/11/2017

Brand Library & Art Center is pleased to present the artwork of Amabelle Aguiluz, Sarajo Frieden, Wakana Kimura, Karin Lanzoni and Hiroko Yoshimoto in an exhibition that embraces the fluid and instinctive nature of each artists’ practice while honoring the sophistication of their invention.

Natural Selections
Exhibition dates| May 13th - July 1st, 2017
Opening Reception | May 13th, 6pm

Brand Library & Art Center
1601 West Mountain Street
Glendale CA 91201
Event info

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Metafictions at State

2/16/2017

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“Metafiction” is form of writing in which the reader is made aware - either through the text or the character’s actions and interactions - that the text itself is the product of imagination. Lemony Snicket, the “narrator” in Daniel Handler’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” who comments on how the story develops or advances, exemplifies metafiction. Through this literary device, the author, and the audience by extension, questions the relationship of fiction and reality and requires readers to consider the nature of storytelling itself.

In the cerebral, multi-disciplinary work of San Francisco-based artist Jana Rumberger, the relationship of fiction and reality and notions of control are examined through two bodies of work not previously exhibited. Now on view at State, Metafictions is open until March 25th.

Review by Roula Seikaly

Walking into the gallery, the first piece I encountered is Home Sale Prices By Year 1971-2015, Median San Francisco, CA, Median California, Median United States (2017), which represents the series Data, Rumberger’s latest undertaking. Strung between a supporting column and the gallery’s eastern wall, the commissioned piece visualizes a data set using gray, gold, and yellow thread. Color choices are important to the artist, who noted in our email exchange that gold and yellow used in this piece reference popular and positive notions – “the golden state” and “gold rush” – commonly associated with California. Sourcing data points – average sale prices of homes in this instance – from various online sites as the raw material for her sculpture, Rumberger’s delicate creation portrays the indelicate reality that owning a home in the Bay Area is simply out of reach for all but the very rich. As an artist who was priced out of her studio space, the cool or impartial statistics with which she works are all too familiar. Further into the gallery, additional data visualizations such as Rape/Sexual Assault Against Intimate Female Partners in the US 1992-2013 publicly portray the personal horrors through which far too many women suffer privately.

Directly opposite Rumberger’s threaded creation are four wall-based sculptures which, at first glance, suggest dioramas or mock schemes for potential installations, but they are not. The fantastical views, all representing the artist’s long term series Metafictions, are discrete objects. Home Sale Prices… is mirrored in the tiny display, its physicality perfectly matching the gallery layout. The artist emphatically asserts that the miniatures – and this applies across the spectrum of her practice – are works unto themselves, and that the overarching “metafiction” assignation is realized when the miniature and full-scale versions of the work are completed. Using metafiction as a grounding point, our attention is drawn to the objects on view, how they relate to and depart from one another in form and content, and ultimately the impermanence or fiction of exhibitions.

Seeing Rumberger’s large and small pieces exhibited together satisfies a kind of desire, perhaps one akin to starting and completing a project. In this way, she neatly ties up what would otherwise be nagging experiential loose ends. But meeting desire’s needs is not guaranteed. After seeing small representations from her beautiful/chilling series The March Hare, I sought out – perhaps subconsciously – the piece’s larger pendant image. Hung at a distance from their tiny counterparts, these nearly life-sized paintings juxtapose popular notions of rabbits – fertility, sexuality, life – and death, here represented in eyes drawn from photographs of Civil War militia men. In this instance, my desire was satisfied. Conversely, what reads as incomplete, when either full-size or miniature versions of her data series installation or pieces from other painted series - Santa/President and Modernist Alchemy – are not accompanied by their complementary piece, a palpable cognitive lack is felt.

Metafictions reveals the breadth and depth of artist Jana Rumberger’s creative practice, as well as the layers of philosophical and critical theory that inform her work. Moreover, the installation of activates desire and notions of control; specifically, a viewer’s want to see all of what springs from the artist’s fecund mind, and Rumberger’s insistence in controlling which portions of her work are seen and in what arrangement. It’s not the easiest exhibition around which to wrap our minds, but when we do, the payoff is absolutely worth the effort.

Metafictions
State
1295 Alabama Street
San Francisco CA 94110
Exhibition dates | February 11 – March 25, 2017
Gallery hours | Tues - Sat 12 - 5pm

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Bestiario/Menagerie

1/16/2017

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San Francisco-based curator A.R. Vazquez-Concepcion untangles threads of history, knowledge production, and colonialism in Bestiario/Menagerie, a vibrant, 10-person group exhibition on view at Adobe Books Back Gallery through January 28.

Bestiario or “bestiary”, roughly translated, describes a compendium of animals – imaginary and real – that was bound in book or illuminated manuscript form. Dating to second century Greece, bestiaries reflected a desire to understand the natural and spiritual worlds through collecting, categorization, and comparison.

Review by Roula Seikaly

Abdiel Segarra Rios // No hay colonia como la mia (There is no colony like mine) Me equivoque pero lo hice con amor (I made a mistake but I did it with love) // 2016

Centuries on, cabinets of curiosities were amassed as Enlightenment thinking and imperialist expansion brought western Europeans into contact with worldwide civilizations. Through dedicated study of physical artifacts, it was believed, a civilization’s value could be assessed. The sinister footnote to that ambitious effort is, of course, that colonized societies were treated as foreign, as the other, and in need of “civilizing” through paternalistic intervention.

The artifacts that were assembled in personal and later, public curio collections, were regarded as representations of the unfamiliar, and knowledge derived from observation was passed generationally as authoritative. In Bestiario/Menagerie, the objects and the artistic practices that produce them reject containment and the purported “authority” of knowledge through provocative juxtaposition.

Vazquez-Concepcion makes the most of Adobe Books’ intimate gallery, spacing each object to hold its own and, when considered relationally, deliver a deeper and decidedly more troubling understanding when viewed together.

Lionel Cruet // Scatter Sky // 2013/17

Marcela Pardo Ariza’s “Dissident” (2016), in which a humorously unruly pencil line interrupts the banal familiarity of a Post-It note, is both funnier and more frightening next to Fernando Pintado’s “Non Nobis Domine Non Nobis” (Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us) (2016). Its title excerpted from a short Latin hymn that expresses humility and thanks for spiritual blessings, this four-panel charcoal and paint piece portrays crusading Knights Templar who waged multiple wars to reclaim Jerusalem from Muslim invaders. In this pairing, notions of rebellion expand and align an innocuous graphite mark and state-sanctioned terrorists bent on delivering apocalyptic violence in the name of Christianity.

Fernando Pintado // Non Nobis Domine Non Nobis // 2016

Marcela Pardo Ariza // Dissident // 2016

Stretching diagonally across the gallery, Santiago Insignares’ colorful biomorphic sculptures “Restriction”, “Implication”, and “Posthumous” (2016) address traumatic experiences and how memory enforces such events as mile markers in our lives. Without knowing that the meat of Insignares’ inspiration includes systematic massacre, displays of tortured bodies, and domestic violence, these sculptures might earn little more than a passing glance. Insignares interrogates authority’s unchecked abuses, and how knowledge is obscured to mask the gravest offenses.

Mya Pagan_ // Monstrixt // 2017

Maria Guzman-Capron’s “El Tigre y Yo” (The Tiger and I) (2017), and Mya Pagan’s “Monstrix” (2017) recall the first bestiaries and later cabinets of curiosities as embodied versions of fantastical hybrid beasts, but with a subversive twist. Working with discounted fabrics, Guzman-Capron fashions a half-tiger, half-human sculpture that lounges atop a low plinth as though enjoying celebrity status. Mya Pagan offers a playful Pan-like creature revealed by a drawn curtain – again half human and half animal – covered in luxurious fur and crowned with flowers and horns. Engaging objects both, especially because their inclusion within this exhibitionary context points to the wholescale degradation colonized people – women in particular – faced as they were enslaved, displayed like circus attractions for lurid consumer satisfaction, and civilized (read: stripped of their individuality and autonomy) for their own good.

Maria Guzman // Capron_El Tigre y Yo // 2017

The motley assemblage that is Bestiario/Menagerie demonstrates both the best and worst of human inclinations: curiosity is an evolutionary gift. Building knowledge through collecting, comparing, and analyzing has helped the human species amass a compendium more comprehensive than any bestiary or curio cabinet could contain. When knowledge, or presumed knowledge, is used to subjugate others, we lose our humanity. Through these objects and the juxtapositions they activate, the knots of history, knowledge production, and the ever-present danger of using it to exploit others begin to unravel.

Paula Morales // Arqueologia Digital // 2017

Maria Guzman-Capron // Black Sandals // 2015

Adobe Books
Back Gallery

3130 24th Street
San Francisco CA 94110

Exhibition dates | Jan 7th - 28th 2017
Closing Reception | Jan 28th 6 - 9pm

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Meager Form, work by Camilla Taylor

1/4/2017

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Meager Form
Work by Camilla Taylor
@camillataylor

Reception | January 13th, 2017 | 5:30 pm

Penny Contemporary
187 Liverpool Street
Hobart Tasmania, Australia
pennycontemporary.com.au
@pennycontemporary

Photos by Mike Reynolds

I won't tell you // unglazed stoneware, linseed oil, graphite // 7" x 9" x 6" // 2016

How often do we get out work done a week or so early? Not often, in my experience. Luckily Camilla completed her works for Meager Form early, and we got to reap the benefits. Here's a look into my studio visit with her!

Meager Form is comprised of sculptures and collographs that depict the relationship between strength and vulnerability. Camilla, who has been greatly influenced by TS Eliot for this series, spoke with me for about an hour and we discussed everything from art, to neighbors, family and social trends.

Preview by Nazish Chunara

You will always hesitate // stoneware, graphite, linseed oil, synthetic hair, wrought iron, stainless steel // 34" x 43" x 4" // 2016

Camilla used her own hands as a guide for these sculptures and was able to vary them in size and gesture. They're beautfully depicted, all the way down to the lines in the palms which are curiously detailed. The weight of hands versus the weight of hair provide a little fight. You only have parts of a body to create an identity, if that's even what you want to do. Camilla's works are intentionally left unidentified which leaves ample room for wonder. Whose body could be attached to these hands or feet or braid of hair? It could be yours, mine, your professor's, maybe your mom from a few years ago or the hand of someone you have yet to meet. It's pretty magical to think about.

You will always hesitate (detail)

Though these limbs leave room for you to elaborate on, they are also representative of the things we potentially have in common. We're all ideally born with ten fingers and a set of life lines to get our palms read. The exploration of identity is high right now, which makes Camilla's works stand out even more. There is no eye color, shape, finger nail, or skin color to point out and run with.

Grasp // lost wax cast pewter // 6.5" x 3.5" x 3" // 2016

Alternatively, there's is much security to be found in There is space all around you. Wrapped in itself, these feet are kept warm, cozy and safe. It's like creating a personal bubble; there's space for yourself provided by yourself, which immeditely led me to the idea of the imporance of self care.

We can have our heads in the clouds, just as long as our feet are on the ground - isn't that how it goes? Camilla's works trigger a number of varying thoughts to tinker with.

There is space all around you // lost wax cast pewter, synthetic hair // 25" x 14" x 4.5" // 2016

Reminicent of etchings, the prints below were made through the process of collography. The images are carved onto board, covered in ink and transfered onto paper. This was my first experience with it. Of course, I asked her if she ever considered incorporating color (I bet she's gotten that one too many times.) I realized that it's unnecessary because the texture created with this technique is so deep, that they are extremely vibrant as is.

Hang limp // collograph on cotton rag paper // 42" x 30" // edition of 2 // 2016

Look away 2 // collograph on cotton rag paper // 42" x 30" // edition of 2 // 2016

Gathered hair // relief print on kozo paper // ed. of 3 // 50" x 11" // 2016

Hair in a braid // relief print on kozo paper // ed. of 3 // 50" x 11" // 2016

Loosening braid // relief print on kozo paper // ed. of 3 // 50" x 11" // 2016

Meager Form ships off to Penny Contemporary this week. If you have the chance, I recommend saying hello to Camilla and checking out the work personally!

PS, Camilla has a new system of screen printing and it's with watercolor. Check out the following piece, along with many others in With Liberty and Justice for Some at Walter Maciel Gallery Los Angeles, starting January 7th, 2017.

Thank you for having me over Camilla!

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Up Close and Wearable: Tides

9/28/2016

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Preview by Nazish Chunara

Tides is a series of wearable garments by Amabelle Aguiluz, whose work we've been following since the beginning of the year. Her influences very much derive from bodies of water and the organisms that live in them. From the first time I saw her work at Art Share LA to her collaborative residency with Szalt Dance Co and their production of Water Stories, we've seen so much growth and transformation in the making and function of her hand spun, machine knit, designs. Materials include found, donated yarns, and 100% fair trade cotton, allowing the artist to keeping the project eco-friendly.

Amabelle has worked with fashion in the past, so when I visited her studio her for an interview for our Spring issue, I asked if she'd do it again. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited about this!

I wanted to work with light and shadow to see the knitted textures in motion. The goal was to see how each of the pieces transform through layering by building texture upon texture.

Tides is a project inspired by sea foam and water created without set patterns. Each piece is unique and would be difficult to replicate. I started with experimenting with small shapes relying on intuitive knitting to guide me. Then I molded and hand stitched each knit swatch to build each garment. The process became a puzzle and each shape became part of a collage. The layers show stages of growth and my interest in texture and volume. The knitting approach happens very organically; it is how I relate to the way patterns form in nature and in the ocean - free flowing, never creating the same shape twice.

Amabelle Aguiluz is an artist living and working in downtown Los Angeles. Her practice incorporates clothing, textile, fiber sculpture and installation processes that study rhythm, nature, poetic expression and human experience captured through the repetitive motions of crafting. She studied at Politecnico di Milano, Italy and graduated in 2011 at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York BFA in Fashion Design with an emphasis in Knitwear Design and Textiles. Her installation and wearable artwork has been exhibited at Art Share LA, MorYork Gallery, The Last Bookstore for Maiden LA 2016, Women's Center for Creative Work as part of LA's Public Art Biennial Current LA: Water in Los Angeles and The Triennale Internationale des arts textiles en Outaouais, Canada.

Designer // Amabelle Aguiluz // @amabelleaguiluz

Photographer // Mike Carreiro // @mikecarreiro

Model // Ashley Chung // @chungashley

Hair // Sydney Costley // @sydney_costley

Stylist // Natalie Hemmati

MUA // Aaron Paul // @aaronpaulbeauty

These Days LA // @thesedays.la (for those of you who have your eye on the new organic cotton bulky knit sweater)

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Tokens, Gold, and Glory - Q&A with Wendy Red Star

7/27/2016

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Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

Tokens, Gold, & Glory

Hap Gallery -Portland, OR
July 14–August 28, 2016
Artist’s Talk: July 30, 2:00pm

Interview by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner

Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

Walking into Hap Gallery in Portland I was immediately confronted with several golden and headless deer forms on a field of perfect astroturf. The deer reflected the gallery lights and glowed like some strange iconic figures from a byzantine painting. Despite the glitziness of the golden forms, everything in the room felt sinister in its simplicity. Golden plastic streamers mimicked how blood would have spilled from the open wound of the headless decoys and was dramatically draped in contrast to the Astroturf covered floor. I found myself drawn into strange details of the installation like the bar running through the deer’s’ hind legs, and the little golden bows that tied the plastic streamers in place.

Climate change and human led extinction has been on my mind lately, which is perhaps why Red Star’s show spoke to me in such powerful and sinister ways. I have been seeing more and more work by young and emerging artist (myself included) that heavily references hunting trophies. Tokens, Gold and Glory spoke to me in contrast to this trend, about what is left behind and what is wasted. As in her earlier works that I admire, in her new installation at Hap Gallery she brings up how plastic our vision of the world is. Red Star brings to light our wasteful inclinations by literally sensationalizing what is left behind in our relationship with nature and within our own cultures.

Red Star took the time last week to speak to me about her installation at Hap Gallery and about her art practice.

I’ve been thinking a lot about themes of exploration and exploitation and how they’re wrapped up into the same ball. Your installation at Hap has got me thinking more about gold as part of the root of both. Gold is the predominate color in your installation, but in its simplicity it holds so much historical connotation. You have worked with decoys in your past work, but I am curious how you came to the decision to use Gold?

Gold is so loaded. It comes with all this baggage. When you see it, automatically you think of rich, money, prestige, or it can also come off as being tacky. So for me it was really about indulgence and going over the top in showing off your resources. The best way to do that would be gold. It covers up all the ugly things too. I mean, headless deer with streamers coming out that very much look like guts and blood… but as long as it’s gold it really covers up all of that up. I also feel that gold represents greed.

This installation is one of my most emotional pieces. Not that I get emotional over it, but I notice when people view it gives them an emotion right off the bat, a kind of visceral reaction to it which is a lot of fun to see because I’ve never made anything that I know that’s done that so directly. I think it’s a combination of all of those loaded things that are within the installation.

Do you think the cultural weight of gold has changed through history? Do you consider gold as a color to be a kind of cheap form cultural escapism or more of a constant and powerful symbol?

You know what, I think it is a constant. I think it’s a place that people are trying to attain. Coming from a very poverty stricken community, or even coming from Black culture you see gold chains and things like that… It may have lost power in the white manifold but I think for minorities it’s still something that hasn’t been attained. It’s GOLD! You see it in things like jewelry and if you have it, it means you’re rich! So, it’s definitely a comment on capitalism. It’s about how far removed we are in trading off resources for something else, or being in a power position where it means nothing to you to have gold all the time. Looking at it in all directions, that’s how I’m thinking about gold. It represents all those things.

Astroturf is the other big component of your installation. Everything in your installation is fake. Are you making a comment on human’s perceptions of nature as a commodity, or are you trying to simulate the feeling of being in a natural space?

I’d go with the first statement. I think this is what’s nice about this installation. I wanted people to be accountable to go in there and be one step away from being on a pedestal themselves with those deer. People will do their entire yards in Astroturf, or you’ll see their porches with Astroturf and it represents having a green lawn. If you have a green lawn that means you’re doing well in society. It represents the American dream. Astroturf is like gold, it has a lot of ties to it, but it also can be very tacky.

Someone can walk away from that installation saying it’s really kitschy and funny and tacky, or they can dive into it deeper and really think about how we’re trading natural resources for fake resources. We’re trying to attain something but maybe were going about it using fake things to make it seem like we’ve reached that certain status. We’re off base. Were so far removed from nature that we kind of get some satisfaction being around fake nature.

Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

"We're so far removed from nature that we kind of get some satisfaction being around fake nature."

Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

From something simple like maintaining a garden, to the more absurd like manufacturing fake grasses and animals, humans constantly try to simulate and control nature. How does your traditional Crow background and historical research inform your work about our relationship with nature as well as the false nature we manufacture? How has growing up on the reservation affected the way you are watching this manufacturing process happen?

I think there are things that are placed on us, like the grouping of all native people and that we’re all the same, which isn’t true. I’m very specific about wanting to be known as Crow because that’s what Native American means to me. I don’t know what it’s like to be a Lakota person for instance, and then there’s the whole “one with nature” thing. I guess what I’m getting at is cultural assimilation.

Cultural assimilation is something that has happened to any person of color in this country. They’ve always been forced into being assimilated in attaining these certain things to make you mainstream. I talked about having that perfect yard with the perfect grass cut a certain way earlier, and that does not exist on the reservation. The whole idea of yard is really nonexistent. The concept of a yard as a status symbol is one of the things that I noticed when I left the reservation. Obviously I had a white mother and she had a yard, but living here in Portland I notice more of the obsessive nature of people in their yard. There is no concept of having a yard on the reservation as being a measure of success, but I feel it’s definitely a measure here in Portland in some way. It’s a statement. Those are the sorts of things I’m pulling in.

I’m also talking about poverty too. This sculpture installation looks fancy, and the reason it looks fancy is because of gold. I’m always using really cheap materials, but it’s a fantasyland that people find themselves just going down in. Then they realize “This is totally fake! But wait a minute, I’m enjoying going into this sort of fantasy land”. I think that happens a lot in our society with us trying to have different statuses. I’m thinking of people of color trying to reach a certain status that is placed upon them. It’s capitalism basically.

Are there any particular points or specific people in history that inform your work?

You know, for me, it really is my childhood and my experiences growing up on the Crow reservation in Montana. I end up remembering experiences that I had which totally seemed normal and just the way things were done there. But now that I am living off the reservation I’ll reflect on some thing and wonder, “What does that actually mean?” I never questioned it then because there was no need to when I was living it. Now I need to know, and often when I have that question, it leads me to very interesting places and research.

So for instance with a new exhibition I'm working on, I’m going to title it “No Water District”. When I was 16 I was the tribe's No Water District Princess, and I didn’t question it until now. I wanted to know what that meant. There are different districts on the reservation, and one of them is No Water District. I represented that area and the people that lived there, and my grandma lived there. My tribe is matrilineal so everybody followed the mother’s side, so I followed my grandmother’s side. To me it was in honor of her that I represented that district, but now I have more questions. My childhood is attached to this very rich and interesting history which is Crow, but also this overarching umbrella of native American history which rarely gets talked about and isn’t taught in public schools and only in special classes in college. That’s why I’m so interested in it.

Do you ever find surprises in your research that drive your work in a different direction?

Yeah, it’s almost like a domino effect, one thing just kind of leads to another. I did this exhibition on Medicine Crow who is one of our chiefs. Growing up on the reservation I know Medicine Crow descendants, there’s a street there named after him and all this stuff. After leaving the reservation I kept running into all these photos of him, actually the same two photos. They were put on books and used commercially, and other artist who were not crow were making portraits using that image. It was this weird thing where I had left the reservation, but somehow medicine crow was always around, which was comforting because he was from my tribe. I mean, I could just could go to Whole Foods and get Honest Tea, because he was on Honest Tea.

But who was this company? I mean they don’t know anything about Medicine Crow. They’re just using him because he’s a very classic looking native chief, but that’s as far as it goes. They’re just using him as this brand to represent something to get people to buy their tea. I kept running across him on native spirit books and all this kind of crazy stuff so then I just decided well, lets ask the bigger question and lets shine some light on it. What happened that day in 1880 when he sat down and someone took that photo?

This led me into this really rich research project where I learned all sorts of things. The reason why that photo was taken is because he went to Washington D.C. in 1880 with 5 other chiefs when the government was trying to take a large chunk of our territory. That image was a delegation photo that the Bureau of Indian Affairs chief photographer took of Medicine Crow wearing his finest outfit, stating what kind of war deeds he did. He’s wearing these cute little things in his hair that are called hair bows and in order for him to wear those he had to slice peoples throats. He has fur ermine strips on his shirt and leggings that meant he had to capture horses and steal guns, and these are things that no one knows because that’s all been lost in history. I ended up going all over the whole photograph in red pen and writing in what each of those things mean. I wanted to have that picture speak back to you instead of it just being this image that you could fantasize and place it where ever you wanted, like on native spirit books.

To me that was a really fun project and a way for me to actually learn things I didn't even know. I ended up being able to go through the collections at the Portland art museum and see all sorts of beautiful crow beadwork and that lead me to be to able to talk to historians and become interested in other things. To me that’s what makes my art fulfilling and engaging. It’s making me grow and learn and takes me to unexpected places.

Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

"I decided I was no longer going to say no to art.
I’m always going to say yes to art. "

Wendy Red Star with her Installation of Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

Many of our readers, like myself, are emerging artist who make art and still work one or two jobs. Do you still have a day job? If not, how did you transition to art full time?

This is the first year I’ve been sustaining myself on just my practice, which is really intense and scary, and also forces me to think a lot differently about the work that I’m making. There’s a lot more vulnerability to it because I don’t have anything to fall back on. Previously, and for the longest time, I’ve always had a job. Initially I was teaching, and a then there was a stint for about year where I was the manager at a state park in Montana. I worked for about 3 years at a non-profit arts organization that gave grants to artists. That was really nice to see the back end of how that works, and to demystify that whole process.

What happened with my transition? Well, over the last 3 years I had a lot of big life events that happened, and so I just decided “I’m going to go full force into Art now”.

While I was working at the nonprofit I would take all my vacation and sick time and use that toward doing art, giving lectures and any travel that I had to do. Then I ran out of sick time. I remember I had this moment in my cubicle where I did a very silent cry. There were going so many things going on but ultimatley I was offered to go to Russia and work wouldn’t let me go. I was like “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” You know, did a little cry in my cubicle that no one heard. No one even knew it happened. From there, I decided I was no longer going to say no to art. I’m always going to say yes to art. My second year at the job I started taking unpaid time off. I was getting paid more to do Lectures than missing those few days from work… And then in my third year I got laid off.

Well that’s a force of change....

Yeah... The third year just wasn’t working for me anyway. It was really difficult to come back from visiting institutions and being treated like a professional and being paid really well to speak or put on an exhibition and then come to my little cubicle and do admin work. I was working up the courage to ask to go part time, because my job was just starting to affect my career negatively. Luckily when the company decided to go virtual they removed my position.

That was so scary. I didn’t think I was at a point where I could just sustain myself, but it was exactly what I needed. I needed to be pushed off a cliff and I think it would have been bad to have just gone part time. The way my life is working, there’s just no room for a job. I fill my days up and my schedule is totally booked. I can’t even envision how it would even be possible to work a job now.

I think a lot of artists just need a push too. I created that sort of safety net of a job where I knew I could make rent every month without realizing it was holding me back from really investing in my career. Now that I don’t have that safety net there are things I’m doing things to make it sustainable for myself.

I have my own corporation now, and pay myself and my health insurance through the corporation. I’ve got a tax preparator and an accountant and I sit down with them and make sure all my ducks are in a row. I also try to be really being smart about the work, like who buys it and how it’s editioned. With the day job I just wasn’t taking it all as seriously as I am now that I’m running a functional, sustaining business. I’m just in the very beginning stages of learning all this stuff and it’s great. This is my favorite thing to talk to other artists about. Not really the artwork, but the business side of stuff. It’s new to me but I’m really into it.

Installation view of Wendy Red Star’s Tokens, Gold and Glory // Photo by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner.

Tokens, Gold and Glory
July 14th - August 28 2016
Artist’s Talk: July 30, 2:00pm

Wendy Red Star
Instagram @Wendyredstar

Hap Gallery opened November, 2013 to show contemporary artists, explore curatorial issues, and experiment with gallery practices. Hap works to build bridges between artists and their audiences, and to engage new and experienced collectors.

916 NW Flanders Street
Portland, Oregon 97209
503.444.7101
hapgallery.com
Instagram @hapgallery
Tuesday through Saturday,
11:00 to 6:00pm

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Weekly Listens

12/26/2015

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Listen Type: Podcast
Episode: Year End Round Up
Show: Congratulations Pine Tree

Listen

We've got a new blog topic: what to listen to while you work in the studio. We've got some suggestions if you're looking and we welcome you, our loyal reader, to offer up suggestions of your own in the comments. Be it music, podcasts, or even a good Netflix series in the background, we want some good ear-worms to keep our brains creating.

I want to share with you a blog of podcasts out of our very own 'Bay Area' by Kate Rhoades and Maysoun Wazwaz. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of them until now and I'm overwhelmed with the excitement to share their podcast. If you like to investigate art and culture with a light hearted and humorous nature and you have ears/speak English, I recommend giving this station a listen. They just won a grant from Southern Exposures and was voted the #1 arts and culture podcast in the Bay Area; feel like you've been missing out yet? Well you should!

Enjoy and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Holiday Spotlight: Jennifer Huang and Danielle Schlunegger

12/17/2015

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This weeks Holiday Spotlight is to introduce to you two of our Freelance Journalists
who are artists, relighting history in this modern day with their art.
Jennifer Chen-Su Huang, @hepoosclouds
and
Danielle Schlunegger, @naturalistandco

Jennifer Chen-Su Huang

As many of you may know, Venison Magazine was established by an art collective known as Weeknight Rodeo, which was comprised of UC Berkeley graduates which Jennifer was invited to be part of. The collective evolved into Venison Magazine, allowing her to continue contributing to conversations on contemporary art, but this time as a Freelance Journalist.

She received her BA in Practice of Art with Honors from University of California, Berkeley and is currently an MFA student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, studying Fiber and Materials. Jennifer creates installations using various materials that discuss the role of art and how it is perceived differently, depending on whether it has been created by a man or a woman.

Here's a look into her work:

Has writing for Venison influenced your art in any way?
I'm not sure that it has especially influenced my art making, but being a part of Venison has shown me the importance of staying connected with other artists and encouraging one another to further their practice -- because it's easy to be disheartened in this field.

Jennifer with a work in progress.

"...Venison has shown me the importance of staying connected with other artists and encouraging one another..."

Your focus is primarily on the process and why women's works are considered craft and men's, art. What have you discovered along the way?
My interest in dismantling the hierarchy between craft and art are connected to conversations in feminism. I'm currently studying both Western and Eastern cultural definitions of "feminine" and how contemporary literary and visual artists have reclaimed these terms. I've been referring to cultural theorists and feminists, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva. I'm discovering that my art making is motivated by lived experience and is autobiographical in the sense that I am reconsidering the heavily patriarchal Christian and Confucian values I was raised in.

When you take a look at her work, you can't help but notice the color palette immediately, which I asked her about.
"I often gravitate towards muted pastel colors because I find them to be non-threatening, humble, childish, and playful. I also tend to use flesh tones in general, I think, because of my interest in the body and its futility. I'm drawn to the human body as a humble organism.

More recently, I've been using bright pinks as well because it is associated with being low brow or overly saccharine. It's unsophisticated and also maybe a bit repulsive, like pepto-bismol. I see a relationship between my use of pink and my interest in socially ascribed feminine traits -- wet, dark, fragmented, negative, etc. I want to uplift pink's status by subverting the negative implications associated with femininity."

An image of a work in progress, from Jennifers studio.

I really enjoy reading what Jennifer contributes as one of our writers and even more so, enjoy seeing how she translates such an incredible study into a work of art. Her work is always so in depth, which I know we can all appreciate. You can get a closer look into her practice, on our blog, The secretions we keep secret.

Danielle Schlunegger

Danielle Schlunegger has taken fine art to a whole new level. She has studied naturalist Marcus Kelli and has taken it upon herself to recreate his own studies, turning science and history into art so we can better understand his research. She grew up amongst the shell shops and sand dunes of Ventura, CA. Currently working and living in Oakland CA, her artwork is strongly influenced by 18th century Cabinets of Curiosity and early explorers. Danielle graduated from California College of Arts in 2010 with distinction, receiving the All College Honors award for her work on The Marcus Kelli Collection.

When did you decide to join Venison?
I wanted to get involved with Venison after Amber and I became friends and I got to know all the people working on the magazine. Everyone involved creates such a supportive community for each other and I wanted to help contribute and be involved in that support system.

You were interviewed by Amber in the Autumn of 2014. What is it like going from being interviewee to interviewer?
Being interviewed by Venison was a huge confidence boost. The idea that someone liked my work enough to want to put the time into promoting me was very validating and it opened a lot of doors for me. Getting to interview other artists has been a really valuable networking tool and a way for me to promote the artwork I admire while giving other artists the same kind of validation.

Danielle Schlunegger

A hand built, working reproduction of a camera that would've been used by naturalist Marcus Kelli. Part of The Marcus Kelli Collection.

I asked Danielle if she was a full time artist. It surely seems so with all the work she's been producing.
I work with my hands pretty much all day, even though I do have to have a day job. I work in a wood shop making panels and stretcher bars for other artists. My day job has opened up a lot of great connections and friendships. I like to think of my self as a full time artist, just with many different jobs: Having day job to pay for my studio/supplies/ groceries etc, making the actual art, promoting my art and upcoming shows, looking and applying for opportunities, and maintaining a good family and friend life outside of making art.

Do you have any advice or tips for emerging artists?
I think having a group of friends who are artists who push each other to keep making art is really something to hold on to. Have a good website that is easy to navigate--more people will see an image of your work online than they will in person. I'm also always a fan of keeping business cards on you all the time. You never know when you'll need them.

Stories of an Outsider in Nature, a portable museum space used to help explore the life of Marcus Kelli, 2012-2013.

You can read Danielle's interview with Amber in the Autumn 2014 issue of Venison to get an in depth look into her art.

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Holiday Spotlight: Amber Imrie-Situnayake & Adriana Villagran

12/12/2015

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In light of the Holiday Season, a time for friends and family to come together, we thought it was important for our readers to get to know who we are. Over the next few weeks, we'll be introducing to you the creators and contributors of Venison Magazine: the art publication run by artists for artists.

Today, I'd like to introduce to you our Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Amber Imrie-Situnayake
&
Lead Editor and Journalist, Adriana Villagran.

www.amberimrie.com, @amberimrie
www.adrianavillagran.com, @adrimakesart

Amber Imrie-Situnayake

Amber grew up in the Ozark Mountains and it has undeniably had a significant influence on her work. She uses “historically craft based and domestically ripe materials,” such as wool, as mentioned in her artist statement, “to bring comfort to things that are in all honesty, not as pleasant as they initially seem.” Here, we touch basis with the artist and founder on her motivation for starting Venison Magazine.

What inspired you to launch Venison Magazine?
So this answer comes in a few parts. This is where I was coming from mentally: As a beginning artist, I had just left undergrad and I was finding it incredibly hard to "get out there and meet people." I was part of an art collective that I founded while still in school, but I was finding it difficult to meet new artists and bring more people on board. I just felt awkward and insincere in all my actions. I was intimidated by art openings. I grew up really poor and uncultured, so the gallery scene was about as far removed from a BBQ in Arkansas as you could get. Simply, I felt out of my element.

But then the Ah ha! moment:
I was in the UK at a gallery space in Birmingham with my in-laws when I went into the gift shop area to find a magazine I could read on the plane home and I couldn't find anything that I was willing to buy. Most of the magazines were 70-90% advertising, and most of the work was outdated and safe. I couldn't find anything that was showing the kind of work that was even similar to the space I was standing in. So I thought, let’s start a magazine!

There are definitely some wonderful online magazines that are doing very similar things as Venison now, which is fantastic! I never started the company with dollar signs in my eyes, but I started it to build community and give a platform for emerging and pre-emerging artists who were making unusual, compelling, or risky work.

"I never started the company with dollar signs in my eyes, but I started it to build community.."

Amber in a piece from her Hum installation, 2015.

And then I thought, how does an artist dedicate themselves to their own work and the works of others?
What kind of affect does writing about art have on your own creative processes?
This is such a great question, because it has a huge impact on my own work. It connects me with larger dialog about art, themes, and movements. Writing about art has made my work more relatable to others and less (directly) personal. Since I work as a scout for the magazine. I look at A LOT of artist websites, so my own site has vastly improved and become more user friendly. It's also given me a whole new perspective on the jurying process which has made my own rejections easier to swallow. The writing and editing aspect has improved my own writing. If you told my high school english teacher that I was working as an editor--she would bark with laughter. After I dropped out of high school, I asked her for a letter of recommendation for a job at McDonalds, she said "I'll have to tell them that you are bad at writing." Her opinion of me was astoundingly low.

Amber Imrie-Situnayake working on Nature Suit in her Studio. Photo Credit: Dave McHale

As a self-promoter, I like having the magazine; it relaxes the situation and allows us to have a real connection. Some of the relationships I've developed have grown into shows of my own work, while others haven't, but I have good relationships with a lot of spaces which is most important. I've also gained great interpersonal skills. Gallery openings and meeting curators and directors has become fun. Instead of freezing up and having no idea what to say, I have a million questions and am able to show the genuine interest I’ve always had. Now people don't assume I'm just another artist out to promote myself. Instead, I can be a person of press who is interested in what the organization is doing. That way there isn't so much pressure to promote myself. I also find that if I introduce myself as both an editor and artist, it puts the curator or gallery owner at ease. You can sense them tense up when they think they are being hunted down by an artist interested in their space.

As a fiber and installation artist, you create large scaled, interactive works. Your most recent project, “Nature Suit” falls within that realm but brings new light to installation art. What were your driving forces for this project?

The Nature Suit is about how nature is sold to us as an idolized holy experience we must prepare for through products and technology.

So, I grew up off-the-grid in Newton County Arkansas. We lived over an hour's drive from the closest town. I didn't go to school, we didn't have much money, and I spent most my time in the woods by myself. Bugs and bug bites were a normal everyday aspect of life. I have large scars on both my knees from skinning them, and countless "marks of adventure" across my body. I never thought that my life was in anyway "cool" but rather, I was made fun of for being tomboyish and dirty. Now, I live in the Bay Area, where it is trendy to go hiking and be outdoors. Here, Hipsters & Yippies take hikes in their 200 dollar boots and Northface pants holding their hiking poles.

They walk along groomed trails that wind through groves not 30 yards from civilization. Marine county, one of the wealthiest places, is also leading in outdoor living. The products marketed to them: sweat wicking ultra-light weight jackets, hiking poles, 'Fresh' scent bug sprays, 1,000 dollars a night "rustic glamping trip."

It's so ridiculous how idolized an "authentic" interaction with nature has become and how far from "authentic" these trips and products make us from the reality of actually being in nature. So, that is the Nature Suit----the next step to making a product substitute for the "authentic adventure." A way to look like you've had adventures in nature without the hassle of going outdoors. It also highlights the aspects of being in nature that people try to avoid through buying all these products. As if bug bites and scars are the cool factor in our outdoor living trend.

Nature Suit ad Campaign, 2015

Adriana Villagran

Adriana, currently based in San Francisco, CA, is a visual artist who creates images that are very inviting and dare I say, delicious? Don't mistake me though, her works are not to be taken lightly. As you read on, you'll see why.

Sweet Tooth, Oil on panel, 2014

My initial question is often, why and do you enjoy it? When I asked Adriana this, she mentioned she loved being introduced to artists. Artists she may not have been able to meet if it weren't for the Venison connection--or community---being built. She stated, "The most exciting part is finding artists across the globe struggling with the same existential questions that I am. It's very comforting, and quite an inspiration to keep moving forward. "

As Lead editor, I can imagine you’ve reviewed a ton of art! What do you find most important when it comes to interacting with fellow artists?
I would say the mode of dialogue is most important. That is, how I am interacting with the artist: is it a digital or face-to-face conversation. The personal in-studio conversations are joyfully awkward and ultimately richer than a digital conversation.

That is of course to be expected. You tend to get more of a grasp of what the artist's work is about because you can see it and smell it and you can ask questions right on the spot. Most of the interactions I have through Venison are digital though. We live in digital world now, that is the reality.

What's great about these type of interactions is that the artist has the time to reflect and put their best foot forward. They can take a breath and not stress out about saying the right thing at the right moment. It gives them an opportunity to really reflect and see things through another artist's eyes. I think that is a good moment for them, a moment for growth. So ultimately the mode of conversation decides the kind of interaction I have with each artist.

I think podcasts are going to be a thing in the near future which is a whole other beast. I'm excited to see how that turns out

"... It gives them an opportunity to really reflect and see things through another artist's eyes."

Both your paintings and sculptures entail great detail to depict a heavy message revolving around how women are perceived. When did you realize this was a subject to cover in your art?
It's actually a very clear moment that I started focusing on this subject matter. It was in late 2013 that I started working in a not-so-nice part of San Francisco that I really started to feel the burden of being a women in an urban environment. Burden is really not the right word for it. It is a much more complicated feeling than a single word can describe. But at that moment in my life, which was (and is) smack in the middle of my young naive adulthood, burden is the best word to describe what I was feeling. Here I was 23 years old and I became aware that a lot of my identity as a women had been force-fed to me by an overwhelmingly male perspective. This realization started to permeate into my art because it seemed like it was the only thing I had going that was really worth investigating. Two years later and my work is barely scratching the surface on such complex perceptions

Sticky Bun, Oil on panel, 2015

of women. Recently I have begun to really delve into women's magazines as a source of inspiration as they are so brilliantly laid out to manipulate the reader. They are jewels of inspiration for my work, the question now is how do I manipulate the imagery to say something more meaningful and bite back a bit. That is the really difficult part.

"...the question now is how do I manipulate the imagery to say something more meaningful and bite back a bit."

Under the Rose, colored pencil and pan pastel on paper, 2015

Shroud, colored pencil on paper, 2015

The goals of Venison Magazine are apparent: to build a foundation where artists can meet, discuss and expose themselves to one another. Stop by next week to read about more of the artists contributing to Venison!

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Laura Bernard - #venmag Feature/ Find

11/23/2015

Venison Magazine finally has it's own Instagram!!! For the last two year all of us behind the scenes: found and searched for artists through our own instagram accounts. (@amberimrie, @adrimakesart, @zishery) Now, we have one hub @ven.mag , for finding and featuring artists. This long over due move has led us to an exciting new "competition/ application"- #venmag and Laura Bernard was our first pick! If your an maker, creator, art space, collective, and you feel like you fit the Venison mission, #venmag to enter to grab our attention to the awesomeness that you do.
Thanks Laura Bernard for both entering and talking with us!

Tell me a little about your work and how you got started as an illustrator?

So I've always been an illustrator really. I was the kid at the back of the classroom doodling on the fronts, backs and insides of my Math book. Its been a thing that I’ve felt I’ve always had to do. Although through school I kept my creativity to myself until I discovered illustration in my final two years at high school and fell in love with the art world.

Did you attend university, if so where and what did you major in?

I have just completed my third year specializing in Illustration at Massey University in Wellington and plan to finish my degree in the near future at at a University in Melbourne. I have also done 6 months in Textile Design which is something else I am interested in.

What are some of the recurring themes or imagery and their significants?

‘Lucidity’ \\ 8.27” x 11.69” \\ Acrylic ink on 300gsm paper

Some recurring imagery in my works are motifs of nature; the outdoors, flora, bugs, animals and floral patterns - there are a lots of water related pieces, even though I hate the water!

I like to paint a lot of conceptual/ surreal themes and most of the time they evolve around things like intra-personal connections, or I suppose being alone too. Not loneliness, I don’t like that word, but just being by yourself. Being a creative introvert myself, I've dealt with lots of misconceptions and assumptions surrounding the word ‘introvert’ from the people around me. I think this is something that definitely seems to come through in my work.

Why do you hate water?
I hate water because my dad loves it. He made me go on many boat trips when I just wanted to be on land! Solid reliable ground. To make things worse, when he realized that I wasn’t so keen on water, he signed me up to a week long sailing course because "I must try it myself before I made up my mind" (even though my mind was made up!). I hated it more than almost anything. I do love underwater sea life and visual concepts including water but its not my thing (sorry Dad!).

‘A commission for two sisters’ \\ 8.27” x 11.69” \\ Gouache on 300gsm paper

Tell me about the titles for your work?
All of my personal works do have titles, although commissions are usually just “Commission for ____”
The title always relates to the works, even if conceptually or personally.

‘Prickly head’ \\ 5.83” x 8.27" \\ gouache on 300gm paper

Your pieces seem like part of a story, do you see them as little series or interconnected in some way?

I think that all of my pieces do have a connection, as I do like them to be consistent and coherent as one body of work or like a storybook. I also love the idea of creating works that women can relate to and connect with, one way or another. I like the pieces to show emotion, which usually comes across as Melancholic, so I’ve been told!

Can you tell me about the significants/ meaning of the titles for Lucidity and Prickly head?

Lucidity is actually hanging in my mums living room, she fell in love with it, it reminds her of me! The name’s meaning is primarily explaining the transparency of being up in your own head, and how clear things are up there! Almost like a lucid dream.

Prickly head imagery signifies the barrier that everyone naturally puts up. almost like a mental defence system. Prick them before you get pricked!

Can you tell me a bit about the dialog and connective-ness that you hope your work makes with women? Or your experiences so far?

We all have deeper side; those aspects of ourselves that we don't share. My work exposes these by connecting women to their inner-selves. It's providing a vehicle for them to have their internal dialogue illustrated. So they can feel fine about feeling how they do, and ultimately be themselves. Being able to create work that connects and resonates with woman is what I try to accomplish, although it is tricky to illustrate emotions and things that aren’t tangible. I feel the best way I can do this is conceptually, with hidden motifs and symbolism, or even an illustration open to interpretation; where what it means or meant to mean is interpreted differently to each person.

‘Aqua Ursine’ \\ 20” x 16” \\ Acrylic ink on 310gsm paper

What other things do you do beyond illustration work? (Day job, hobbies?)

Other than Illustration, which to be honest is what most of my spare time goes towards, I will bake, play some video games or do yoga. My illustration has been my part time job for the past few months, so since I am not studying any longer, I'll be looking for full time work to help save for my move to Melbourne.

What is your studio space like/ where you make work? What is your current studio "jam" (what you are watching or listening to while you work?

My current studio space is a corner in my bedroom. I've created a little nook near a large window. When I move to Melbourne next year, I will be getting a proper studio space though! Other than working there, I enjoy to sit outside in my back garden and sketch in the sun.

When I work, I do it in three different ways. I either listen to very very loud music (that I usually sing to). Quiet, mellow music that helps me focus on any tiny details, or I will watch a tv show/ movie for background noise. Ive always loved Radiohead, and they are fantastic to listen to; upbeat or Mellow!

I see that you have a furry studio assistant, what is his/her name and tell me a little about him?

Haha my cat is amazing! His name is Balto, he’s a bit chubby and he loves cuddles, licking, sleeping and sitting on my work. He accompanies me every day, and is good company! I will be flying him over to Melbourne once myself and my partner have found a place!

Thanks again for this opportunity, and hopefully I’ve answered everything!

Thanks Amber,
Laura

'Self Portrait’ \\ 8.27” x 11.69” \\ Gouache on 300gsm paper

We found Laura through our #venmag hashtag on Instagram! It was lovely talking to her about her growing practice and we recommend following her through one or all of her media bellow!

Website: http://www.laurabernard.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura__bernard/ (double underscore)
Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/laurabernard
Blog: http://laura-bernard-illustration.tumblr.com

‘Musing’ \\ 14’’ x 19.9’' \\ Gouache on 300gsm paper

<<Previous

Weekly Blog

Opening | Natural Selections

Metafictions at State

Review by Roula Seikaly

Bestiario/Menagerie

Review by Roula Seikaly

Meager Form, work by Camilla Taylor

Preview by Nazish Chunara

Up Close and Wearable: Tides

Preview by Nazish Chunara

Tokens, Gold, and Glory - Q&A with Wendy Red Star

Interview by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner

"We're so far removed from nature that we kind of get some satisfaction being around fake nature."

"I decided I was no longer going to say no to art.
I’m always going to say yes to art. "

Weekly Listens

Listen Type: Podcast
Episode: Year End Round Up
Show: Congratulations Pine Tree

Holiday Spotlight: Jennifer Huang and Danielle Schlunegger

Jennifer Chen-Su Huang

Danielle Schlunegger

Holiday Spotlight: Amber Imrie-Situnayake & Adriana Villagran

Amber Imrie-Situnayake

Adriana Villagran

Laura Bernard - #venmag Feature/ Find

Author

Categories

Weekly Blog

Review by Roula Seikaly

Review by Roula Seikaly

Preview by Nazish Chunara

Preview by Nazish Chunara

Interview by Danielle Schlunegger-Warner

"We're so far removed from nature that we kind of get some satisfaction being around fake nature."

"I decided I was no longer going to say no to art.​I’m always going to say yes to art. "

﻿﻿﻿﻿Listen Type: PodcastEpisode: Year End Round UpShow: Congratulations Pine Tree

Jennifer Chen-Su Huang

Danielle Schlunegger

Amber Imrie-Situnayake

Adriana Villagran

Author

Categories

"I decided I was no longer going to say no to art.
I’m always going to say yes to art. "

Listen Type: Podcast
Episode: Year End Round Up
Show: Congratulations Pine Tree