Summer Setting
Weekly Wrap:
Swoosh—time is flying and Summer is setting! This week I finished a painting, naming it Ombré et Lumiere after learning the French for shadow and light, literally “shaded and light.” I had been referring to the painting as Blind Noir as it fells kinda thematic of film noir. I became curious about how one would say shadow and light in French because of the French coined name of the genre and voila, ombré et lumiere!
I applied to the Quinn Emanuel residency. Completing my application one day before the deadline, yay! My proposal focused on finishing up the Shadow and Light series that was originally seeded in late 2016! Yeah, time to move forward, we are not going back!
This week I’m at the beginning stages of thinking about and trying to form reference images for the Bennet Prize, we’ll see where it leads. FYI, to all interested the deadline is coming up mid-October!
I took a visit to the Broad to see the Mickalene Thomas show All About Love. I don’t remember where or when I first saw a Mickalene Thomas but I do remember taking my time visiting her first major retrospective in 2013, Origins of the World at the Brooklyn Museum. I was stunned by the work, the material, the investigation of beauty and art history, and how it was all presented. The presentation of the works at both the Broad and the Brooklyn Museum bends the traditional museum space, challenging ideas of how we might expect to experience work within an institution as isolated from the world. It does this by recreating living spaces within the museum, adding textures and comforts of interior home life. The center of one gallery has been converted into a large living room. Viewers are invited to sit in one of the several upholstered chairs to watch the video work “Angelitos Negros (Black Angels)” screening along one wall, to read one of the many books stacked on side tables, or simply relax. A guard explained that the museum built these spaces under the oversight and guidance of the artist. I can only assume that Mickalene Thomas cares deeply about how her work is shown, especially in art spaces that have traditionally been non-inclusive and often use exclusivity as currency. The concluding line of the introductory wall plate writes “Thomas aims to make space for Black joy, leisure, and eroticism both for their own sake and to counteract injustice.” It feels refreshing to see this sentiment functioning in the structure that contains the show. These values aren’t solely held up by the work but have an active function in its presentation and how the presentation holds and cares for both the artwork and the visitor.
Open call:
La Napoule Art Foundation
https://www.lnaf.org/residencies/
International Artist Residency
Deadline: September 6, 2024
Residency period of February 24—March 24, 2025
Fee: $30
From the website:
This residency offers up to ten artists of all disciplines a four week period to live and work at the Château de La Napoule. At its core is a belief in the value of the shared experience of personal, professional, and artistic discovery that takes place within a supportive environment of peers. This program promotes opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue, artistic exchange, and exploration of a shared interest in the greater good.