Artblog | Artists

April 12, 2019 by Wit López

A Festival Grows in Harlem, Black Web Fest, at the National Black Theater

Wit López met Victoria Coker recently in New York and followed up to interview her about her Black Web Fest, happening this weekend in Harlem.

April 3, 2019 by Mark Lord

Jasper Johns distills the past through the calm analytics of mind applied to memory, at Matthew Marks Gallery

Our contributor Mark Lord experiences the Jasper Johns exhibit at Matthew Marks, and finds the highly charged subject of the work (a 1965 photo of a U.S. combat soldier weeping at the loss he could not prevent of friends in the war). He talks about the intimacy and emotion of the subject and how Johns removes the emotion for a reading about the mind distilling memory over time. The show is up through April 6 at the New York gallery.

April 1, 2019 by Morgan Nitz

Jacob Chris Hammes on curating, art-making, capitalism, and comedy

Jacob Chris Hammes is an artist, curator, teacher, and founder of the gallery Pilot Projects. In this podcast Morgan Nitz and Roberta talk with Chris about funding, the importance of discourse, seasonal- (and capitalism fueled-) depression, pond theory, and hear a few jokes. Catch Jacob Chris Hammes’s upcoming solo show, at the new gallery, Information, 2024 E Westmoreland St, on April 13th, 2019. The interview was recorded at Pilot Projects and is 31:40 minutes.

March 27, 2019 by Susan Isaacs

Works by (mostly) women, sensual, whimsical, powerful, in ‘Intimate Immensity’ at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Guest writer Susan Isaacs, a noted art historian, curator and educator, writes of a show of abstract sculpture curated by Alexis Granwell at PAFA. Isaacs speaks with Granwell about the exhibit, her curating and her art practice and says the exhibition of abstract works engages through its sensual materiality.

March 24, 2019 by Roberta

Ask Artblog’s Beth Heinly on answering questions, writing essays and making art

Beth Heinly wears a lot of hats. (And sometimes funny noses, eyebrows and glasses.) In addition to being a performance artist (see her Friday, March 29 at Final Fridays at the PMA), Beth is one of Artblog’s “Ask Artblog” columnists. And, of course, she creates the weekly comics series, “The 3:00 Book,” now in its fifth year of continuous postings on Artblog! Morgan and Roberta caught up with Beth at the Blue Jay Diner recently and asked her how she does it all. The interview is 25:05 minutes long.

March 15, 2019 by Janyce Denise Glasper

Culinary meets literature in Our Mothers’ Kitchens

Janyce Denise Glasper speaks with Shivon Pearl Love and Khaliah D. Pitts, founders of Our Mothers’ Kitchens, a culinary/ literature project created by and for black people. Check out this interview to learn more about the project, which celebrates four black women authors, and its accompanying Summer Camp for Black girls!

March 14, 2019 by Samuel Brown

Joakim Ojanen’s anxiety-ridden characters, sexualized undertones, at The Hole NYC

Samuel Brown writes a thoughtful review of Joakim Ojanen’s recent show “Snake Pit” at The Hole NYC! Buy yourself a bus ticket and catch this quirky show– a world building installation filled with odd, anxious, cheeky, and playful characters– before April 14th, 2019!

March 13, 2019 by Andrea Kirsh

Public artist of bridges and space and concerns for community, Siah Armajani at the Met Breuer

Public art nerds! Artblog contributor Andrea Kirsh penned a thoughtful piece on “Siah Armajani: Follow This Line” (on view NOW at the Met Breuer!) Armajani, who was forced to leave Iran in the 1960s for political reasons, creates witty works that comment on American building forms and pose questions about social interactions with public spaces. Don’t miss “Siah Armajani: Follow This Line” on view until June 2nd, 2019!