Yep, these words are MATTRESSES. I know, right? I saw the work of American artist Stephanie Patton when I was in New Orleans this past summer, and immediately fell in love {turns out she is from a family of mattress makers so she comes by it honestly!}. Not only are these big cozy words amazing on their own, her artist statement warms my heart too:

“Humor plays an important role in my work. I often use it as a device to bring attention to more critical issues. Over the course of my artistic career I have found that creating humorous objects often breaks down barriers and allows for the beginning of an open and genuine dialog between my art, the audience and myself. In this way, humor transforms my personal experience into something universal.

Issues and elements that remain constant in my work are an exploration of mental and physical health, themes of healing, comfort and self-preservation. As a multi-media artist I use materials and processes that personally speak to my conceptual concerns and often allude to various emotional states.”

Stephanie is represented by Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans.

Curtains, kind of. Delicately balanced and made from polyurethane foam, latex and plastic… but if one of those brightly colored foam circles is removed, so is the tension and everything falls apart. Beautiful. This is the work of New York based artist Eva LeWitt {images from Oslo at VI, VII, Spring 2018}. She did an interview with Artsy a few years ago, and I love this answer about her material choices:

“I work the most freely when I limit my materials and techniques. I have the luxury of choosing this, but the greatest crafts and primitive arts are made only out of the materials at hand. For me this is the most exciting part of making sculpture—what are the inherent limits I can push this material to, how beautiful and interesting is it capable of becoming? What is that sack of sponges and that roll of tape concealing, and how can I reveal it?” 

YES! Oh, and if her last name sounds familiar, Eva’s father is Sol LeWitt. I love that she followed his artistic footsteps, but that she is absolutely forging her own path, pushing her work in new and exciting ways. {I wonder if she was named after her father’s friend, the fabulous artist Eva Hesse?}

{via DesignCrush}

Oh, I love this so much. I have loved the drawings of Brooklyn based artist Langdon Graves for years, but I had never seen her installation work… until now! These images are from her May 2016 installation, titled “Spooky Action at a Distance” {Victori+Mo, Brooklyn}. I am completely smitten by Langdon’s color choices, her elegant style, and … wait for it… THIS subject matter:

“The drawings and sculptures featured in Spooky Action at a Distance take as their starting point scenes from first-hand accounts of ghost stories told by the artist’s grandmother, as illustrated by her childhood imagination and memory of them.  They speak in a blend of domestic fragments from her grandmother’s home, and imagery borrowed from a variety of traditions and rituals involving death and the afterlife, including the spiritualist practices of séance and spirit communication; funereal objects; and ancient symbols of death and rebirth. Building on Graves’ formal tendency to insert negative space throughout her subject matter, these images and objects are incomplete and removed from their context, and so approximate the inevitable clouding of memory; they offer stand-ins of the familiar and impressions rather than distinct representations.”

Grandmothers, ghosts AND art? Loooooove.

Oooh, paper rocks! I really want to make a joke about scissors, but I won’t. This lovely piece is the work of California based printmaker Mark Johnsen. I wonder how long I would stand in front of this work, titled “The Rocks”, if given the opportunity. Monotypes, etchings, stone lithographs … oh so many textures, lines, details. Sigh. Here are a few words on where Mark draws inspiration:

“… from childhood fishing trips to the Eastern Sierras and is fascinated by the intersection of natural elements. By using the Monotype process he works reductively to scratch or wipe away extra information to reveal a clearer image. Much like his memories, the process caters to the images that are produced.” 

THIS IS A DRAWING. Yes, “paint” drawn with colored pencils. For real. After listening to – and loving – both of her TEDx talks (2014 / 2018), I am so thrilled to be chatting with Australian-born, New York based artist CJ Hendry. A few fun facts: CJ stands for Catherine Jenna, she sold her entire wardrobe to buy drawing supplies, her favorite color is white, and she swears like a sailor… obviously I loved her immediately. Listen to episode no.140, the final episode of Season No.2, right up there under that perfect pink “paint”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Big, beautiful objects of desire:

She doesn’t love the word “AMAZING”, so don’t tell her I said this … AMAZING! She’s got a lot of footwear in her portfolio, but I’m pretty sure those Aussie boots were the big first sale she mentioned.

Next … food! This is the first series of CJ’s I ever saw (2015). Clearly I had to write a post immediately when I saw these yummy morsels:

Um, yeah… my pen doesn’t do that.

Now, we didn’t talk about this next series, but I just found it (on her Instagram feed), and had to show you. An alphabet of metallic balloons, each letter drawn in a location that started with that particular letter:

… and of course, there are many more! I was quite proud of my self-control in only posting two of them.

Oh my word, and now her paint series. This might be my fave (simply because I personally have a thing for big juicy strokes of paint in my own work). Brace yourself:

Pick jaw up off floor. Continue reading:

And finally… “Monochrome”:

I absolutely will not say AMAZING (but I might be thinking it). I wish I’d been in New York when this show was open… I would have jumped in that bin of pink teddy bears for sure.

And lastly, I thought this photo was a perfect way to wrap things up … CJ in New York, drawing, while wearing all white:

Livin’ the dream. I’m quite sure she can afford all of the petrol, rent and snacks her heart desires at this point! Thank you so much to CJ for doing this with me – I had such a great time, and I feel like this conversation was a great way to finish season two! Thanks to Saatchi Art and Create Magazine for supporting the episode (and don’t forget to check out The Other Art Fair … London, Chicago, Los Angeles and Brooklyn are this fall, so deadlines are coming up). And finally, high fives to you for always showing up to listen – I appreciate it more than I can explain in words. I’m going to spend the summer recharging, getting ready for my fall book tour, and recording a whole bunch of new episodes for SEASON THREE … see you in September! ps. In the meantime, feel free to pop over to iTunes to give Art For Your Ear a little love ♥

Other links:

1. CJ on Instagram
2. TEDx 2014
3. TEDx 2018
4. Monochrome
5. The Other Art Fair via Saatchi Art

WHAT? Oh my word, I have just come across the work of Melbourne based artist Louise Meuwissen and I am now officially madly in love. Beads, sequins, shells, glass … a whole bunch of other stuff! Her objects are intricate, precious treasures but can we talk about the piece suspended from a gallery ceiling? STUN. NING. That piece is showing at Rubicon Gallery {Melbourne} until June 9th. If you go, TAKE PICTURES!

ps. The painting behind Louise’s work is by Ebony Gulliver.

First of all, today is World Collage Day!? For real. So, how perfect is it that I have the lovely and talented Clare Celeste Börsch on the podcast? Perfectly perfect! Clare is an American artist based in Berlin… who has also lived in Thailand, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, and that’s just the first part of the story! I’ve loved her work for years, and assumed she was a full-time artist. Well, you know what they say about “assuming”… it makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. I feel like this episode is a piece of art history in the making because only two months ago, Clare finally made the jump to being an Artist with a capital A. Why? Because a tiger told her to. Listen right up there under that lady sleeping on a petal, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Where to begin? With Clare’s tiger, obviously. Thankfully, he has finally been set free:

This is a brand new piece {as in two days ago} that Clare made to celebrate/embrace this exciting JUMP into being a full-time artist. The story about her tiger dream was magic, as is this collage.

These are a few pieces that represent what Clare was doing for the last few years {before the glass and installation pieces}. I own prints of a few of these, and yes, I LOVE them:

Sigh. So lovely … and insane cutting skills, no?!

Ooooh, here’s the installation Clare created {and that I wrote about just a few weeks ago}:

Ridiculously beautiful {even that yellow snake, whom I hate}. So much attention to detail, so many perfectly cut bits of wonderfulness, and all done while her baby napped. I mean, COME ON.

From gallery walls to New York Magazine! Yep, for somebody “doing this on the side”, Clare has certainly had some very cool commercial clients:

Speaking as a person who buys wine for the labels {don’t you dare judge me}, I’d buy all of these!

And now… Clare’s newest body of work. Collaged worlds living inside glass panels:

Right!? Oh I think she’s on her way to creating the 3D collage world that’s in her mind. I am so happy that tiger is out of his cage!

And as usual, I like to finish things off with the artist in her element:

Gasp! That light! Also, look how organized her cuttings are? Honestly, that makes my heart race with Type A excitement {I feel like you might be judging me again?}. Thank you so much to Clare for being my guest today; thanks to Saatchi Art and Create Magazine for supporting the episode; and huge thanks to you for listening! There will be more Art For Your Ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Vincent Serritella, Episode No.9
2. Kate Woodrow, Literary Agent
3. Fulcrum Arts, Pasadena CA
4. LACE 
5. Kolaj Conference, July 2018
6. Joseph Cornell
7. “A Glorious Freedom” by Lisa Congdon
8. Raffy Napay (Textile installation artist)
9. Clare’s beautiful, newly restructured Instagram feed!

I mean, WHAT!? A cut paper collage that has taken over a beautiful old space… love, gasp, whoa, sigh … all the stuff I say when I’m madly in love with a project. This is the work of Berlin based artist Clare Celeste Börsch. I’ve written about her collages before, and even have one hanging in my house, but this…. THIS? It is an installation titled, Intimate Immensity  … Love, gasp, whoa, sigh. And oh yes, I’m trying to get her on the podcast as we speak!

ps. some of Clare’s prints are for sale in her shop.

Ooooh! This is an absolutely gorgeous, and gigantic, weaving by Venezuelan artist Mariadela Araujo. She  studied fashion in Rome and weaving in Barcelona {where she now lives}. Speaking of Barcelona, that’s where this beautiful piece of work was installed … at Luiza, a restaurant on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. I’m not 100% sure that it’s still there, but the menu looks pretty good so no harm in swinging by to check if you happen to be in the neighborhood! Happy Monday.

ps. Mariadela also makes/sells smaller pieces, you know, in case you don’t have this kind of room to spare in your house! Check out her online shop.

Absolutely magical work that I really want to touch, but I won’t. Maybe. This is the work of sculptor Claudia Fontes … she was born in Argentina, but has been living in London for the past decade. Wait, this is starting to sound familiar … hold the phone … she’s the artist who created the insane sculpture, titled “The Horse Problem”, for the Argentina Pavilion at the Venice Biennale last summer! This was my favorite installation at the Arsenale. It was truly breathtaking… the work, the space, the grandeur of it all:

A post shared by the jealous curator (@thejealouscurator) on Aug 15, 2017 at 2:49am PDT

Stun. Ning.

ps. I’m heading back to Venice this June (11th – 16th) to be one of several instructors during the “Contemporary Art Week” at the European Cultural Academy. There are handful of spots left, so sign up soon if you’re interested!