Engels the Artist

Artist Q&A with Engels the Artist

Engels the Artist is a painter who subverts the materials of a painting. Staples march across the picture plane. Wooden stretchers peek through raw canvas. Canvas is punctured, torn or shredded. The strict economy of line and texture, the use of everyday objects, and makeshift elegance recalls his grandmother’s home in Haiti, which against all odds had splendor.

In 2019, Engels the Artist had a solo show at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase New York. He has shown extensively in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. The National Museum of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Skoto Gallery, New York; FiveMyles Gallery, New York; Zane Bennett Gallery, Santa Fe; and others have exhibited his work.

A monograph on Engels the Artist was published by Neuberger Museum of Art in 2019, and his work has been written about in Hyperallergic, the New York Post, and the New York Daily News.

Engels the Artist works in Brooklyn, New York.

“Cotton Pearl”, oil on canvas, 60 x 40 x 8 in | 152 x 102 x 20 cm, 2017

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

I like so many artists from so many different periods. The impressionists and the artists of the Dada movement speak to me directly. The tenderness of Cezanne. Bob Thompson’s play on the classical and the raw. One of my favorite artists is Antoni Tàpies. His work is tactile. His used materials like string and marble dust. He grew up during the Spanish Civil War. He looked at destruction and made something sacred, tranquil. His work makes me feel like I am on a journey. It is transformative.

How did you become a professional artist?

I did not get into art. Art got into me. I knew I was an artist when … Click here to read more

Lawrence Charles Miller

Artist Q&A with Lawrence Charles Miller

The human figure is the given in Lawrence Charles Miller’s visual equations. He creates pictures that imply their own fiction, making pictures within and about pictures. He is known for his sense of humor, which is often evident in his art. He has exhibited extensively across the United States, including exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, as well as exhibition abroad in Wales, Tijuana, and San Paulo. His work is in the permanent collection of MOMA in New York City; MOMA in Wales, UK; MuBE, Sao Paulo; LACMA, Los Angeles; and Fluxus Museum in Texas.

“Oxendrawn #9”, graphite and electronic digital media on paper, 10 x 12 in | 25 x 30 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

Leonardo DaVinci. On each viewing his drawings seem to draw themselves anew. This sensation of movement ends in a mighty stillness in his paintings. Here I sense a timelessness that gives them a contemporary attitude. To me it’s oddly American. I think of Warhol’s electric chairs. Hopper’s rooms. Pollack’s thickets of time.

How did you become a professional artist?

Well, I come from a working-class family in a gritty city. My mother’s family were Italian immigrants, and my father was Pennsylvania Dutch. It was either the steel mill or something else.

What are the influences and inspirations in your work?

My parents bought a set of encyclopedias. There was a section about painting in the P volume. My drawing habit switched from copying comics to copying the old masters. Later, libraries were crucial. My inspiration became modern art and poetry.

Lawrence Charles Miller, portrait by Peter Isaac Miller

How is your work different than everything else out there?

Recently, my work has become something else. It is different relative to … Click here to read more

Luminita Gliga

Artist Q&A with Luminita Gliga

Luminita Gliga (b. 1975) is an internationally recognized visual artist who is living and working in Bucharest, Romania. She studied painting at the National University of Arts in Bucharest. With a PhD in visual arts at the same university and with over 15 years of art experience, Gliga expresses through the colors and shapes, creating new worlds where the viewer is expected and invited to explore. Her compositions are created with abstract and elements from the known and seen world. The painted image is a form of communicating with people.

Gliga’s paintings have been presented in many places in her country and across the globe in art museums, galleries, festivals, and art fairs including the Romanian Artists’ Union, the Romanian Parliament; Galerie Icosahedron and the New Arts Center in New York; the IRCCU Venice; and the the Thuilliers Gallery in Paris. She was awarded by La Société académique Arts-Sciences-Lettres with Medaille de Vermeil in 2006. Her artworks are present in various public and private collections.

“Memories of a Tropical World II”, acrylic on canvas, 39 x 51 in | 100 x 130cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

My tastes are changing all the time because it can be the situation to like just one artist or the complete opera. I love Abstract Expressionism, particularly Willem de Kooning, but my favorite artist of all time is Picasso. I am fascinated by his way of breaking the practices of the past and finding new shapes to express. Also his devotion to artistic production contributed significantly to the whole development of modern art. I also find his collages very interesting. He remains an influential painter and sculptor, print maker, and ceramist. He wanted to develop a new way of seeing, namely in that of reflecting the … Click here to read more

Mark Kostabi

Artist Q&A with Mark Kostabi

Mark Kostabi is most known for his paintings of faceless figures which often comment on contemporary political, social and psychological issues, and which have visual stylistic roots in the work of Giorgio de Chirico and Fernand Léger.

Beyond traditional art world exposure, Kostabi has designed album covers for Guns N’ Roses (Use Your Illusion) and The Ramones (¡Adios Amigos!), Seether (Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray), Jimmy Scott (Holding Back The Years), Glint (Sound in Silence), RK: Roman Klun (Kingsway), Psychotica (Espina) and numerous products including a Swatch watch, Alessi vases, Rosenthal espresso cups, Ritzenhoff milk glasses, and a Giro d’Italia pink jersey. Kostabi is also known for his many collaborations with other artists including Enzo Cucchi, Arman, Howard Finster, Tadanori Yokoo, Enrico Baj, and Paul Kostabi.

“Ideas are Drips from a Melting Brain”, oil on canvas, oil on canvas, 47 x 47 in | 120 x 120 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

That’s sort of like asking which city I prefer better: Rome or New York, where I have homes in both. I like each city equally but for different reasons. So the best I can do here is list some of my favorites: Caravaggio, Bernini, Picasso, Warhol, De Chirico, Hopper, Magritte, Dali’, Arman, Picabia and Duchamp.

How did you become a professional artist?

I had natural talent and a strong desire to draw at a young age. All the positive encouragement made it an easy career decision.

What are the influences and inspirations in your work?

Amanda Gorman’s poetry. The pandemic. New technology. And the concept of recycling and revisiting earlier works and ideas of mine and improving them.

How is your work different than everything else out there?

It’s the … Click here to read more

Hayley Ferber

Artist Q&A with Hayley Ferber

Hayley Ferber is an artist, educator, curator, and contemporary arts leader living in Brooklyn, New York. In her personal artistic practice, Ferber creates artist’s books with suminagashi paper marbling, watercolor painting, embroidery and printmaking exploring nautical themes. With a BS from New York University in Studio Art, an MAT from the Rhode Island School of Design in Art & Design Education and over 10 years of teaching experience, Ferber’s professional mission is to facilitate and support creative opportunities in the arts. As Deputy Director of Chashama, a non-profit that repurposes unused real estate into artist studios and exhibition spaces, she supports a creative community of multidisciplinary artists.

“Chase”, mixed media, 4 x 6 to 4 x 24 in | 10 x 15 to 10 x 61 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

My favorite artist of all time is Kiki Smith. I’m amazed by all the different mediums she works with from printmaking to photography to textiles to sculpture and appreciate the universality of her content exploring the human condition.

How did you become a professional artist?

I studied painting and drawing at NYU as an undergrad and found my way to book and print making about 10 years later. I teach and curate and feel that all of these practices are closely linked. I also work as Deputy Director of Chashama, a non-profit where I support a multidisciplinary group of artists with free presentation space and subsidized studio rentals.

What are the influences and inspirations in your work?

I am greatly inspired by the sea. There is something about the mystery and adventure that lies beneath the waves, this whole other universe full of beauty. As Henry B. Culliver describes in The Book of Old Ships, “… the ship, combines all the elements of aesthetic fundamentals; … Click here to read more

KwangHo Shin

Artist Q&A with KwangHo Shin

KwangHo Shin attempts to capture the complex relationship between the expression of emotion and the experience of the mind. With roots in Abstract Expressionism, he employs intense and vibrant oils juxtaposed with charcoal to distort the facial features of his subjects and confront them psychologically.

The artist deliberately refuses the depiction of precise form and proportion in an effort to transcend conventional representation and in turn confronts a more visceral type of portraiture. Faces are deconstructed but retain the power of expression as the artist reimagines them in a patchwork of carefully yet energetically applied strokes of color. Shin’s paintings convey the inner psychological processes of his subjects but also remind the viewer of the artist’s presence.

“[21p09] untitled”, oil on canvas, 21 x 16 in | 53 x 41 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

My favorite artists include Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Alberto Giacometti.

How did you become a professional artist?

Because I used to like making or drawing something, I went to an art high school and naturally went to an art school. By making works and posting them on social media after graduation, I was able to arrive at this point. I just did what I enjoyed doing.

What are the influences and inspirations in your work?

The images in my art are shaped through the emotions formed in conversation with the people around me, and the images and stories gathered through mass media such as the news.

How is your work different than everything else out there?

I mainly use primary colors, and the texture is very thick; therefore, I believe that my work permits multitude of emotions and feelings when seen in person.

When is a piece finished for you?

… Click here to read more

Ben Weiner

Artist Q&A with Ben Weiner

Ben Charles Weiner lives and works in Queens, New York. Weiner studied painting under José Lazcarro Toquero at La Universidad de las Americas (Mexico), before completing his BA at Wesleyan University (CT). His work has been exhibited widely within the US and internationally, at institutions including The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Tarble Art Center, and The Carnegie Art Museum. Recent gallery exhibitions include “Notebook” at 56 Henry, “Dropout” at Super Dutchess, and “Gel Variations” at Mark Moore Gallery. His work is represented in various public collections, including Microsoft, Sammlung, Progressive Insurance, and The Frederick R. Weisman Collection. His work has been featured in publications including Artforum, Artnews, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, W Magazine, Interview Magazine, Artsy, and Vogue.

“Crazy Quilt”, oil on canvas, 14 x 18 in | 36 x 46 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

If I had to choose one it might be Lynda Benglis. But Audrey Flack, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jack Whitten, and Brice Marsden are all artists to whom I frequently look for answers.

How did you become a professional artist?

I’ve been obsessed with making art for as long as I can remember and have pursued it for my entire life. When I was younger I always had notebooks filled with drawings and made comics and zines. Then in college I was studying abroad at La Universidad de las Americas in Mexico when I studied painting for the first time with Jose Lascarro Toquero, a protege of the great muralist Ruffino Tamayo. That was when I decided I wanted to be a painter. I traveled all over Mexico to seek out the work of the muralists there. Their scale, material experimentation, symbolism, and futurism inspired me to want to make … Click here to read more

Jonathan Freemantle

Artist Q&A with Jonathan Freemantle

Founded on encyclopaedic and intimate understanding of painting and art history, Freemantle’s work explores the intricate relationship between his body, time and the earth as materials and as inspiration. Spanning egg tempera, mountain rocks and ochre in his paintings, he situates the body as an organic presence at one with the landscape, at the same time as integrating the landscape physically in the human act of painting. In an age damned as Anthropocene, In his passionate and viscerally undeniable canvases, Freemantle consciously and resolutely makes the case for redemption and forgiveness of the human and as a male of the man, on the planet.

Freemantle, has been exhibiting internationally since 2007, with group and solo exhibitions in London, Cape Town, Amsterdam, Johannesburg and Edinburgh, including a major commission by The Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg.

*“Unknown Pleasures (VI)”*, oil on linen, 40 x 48 in | 102 x 122 cm, 2021

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

That’s an impossible question! I don’t think I can answer with just one artist. At different times in my career I’ve had artist’s who have inspired me deeply. Different artists at different times. At the beginning there was Leonardo Da Vinci. We had a reproduction of his cartoon for ‘The Virgin & Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist’ (the original is at the National Gallery in London) hanging in our home in Cape Town where I grew up. My father is also an artist, he spoke about the work with such reverence and it rubbed off.

When I finally arrived in London age 17 to study Fine Art I made a pilgrimage to see the original and it was so deeply moving. Then there is Cezanne. He was the first painter that I felt … Click here to read more

Joseph Nechvatal

Artist Q&A with Joseph Nechvatal

Joseph Nechvatal’s contemporary art practice engages in the fragile wedding of image production and image resistance. Through his version of an art-of-noise, he brings a subversive reading to the human body through computational viruses, articulating concerns regarding safety, identity and objectivity. Since 1986, Nechvatal has worked with ubiquitous electronic visual information, computers and computer-robotics. His computer-robotic assisted paintings and computer software animations are shown regularly in galleries and museums throughout the world.

“Plagued Orlando Tracking the Viral Storm”, virus-modeled artificial life acrylic paintings on canvas, 12 x 24 in | 30 x 60 cm (diptych), 2020

Who is your favorite artist of all time?

Marcel Duchamp. Because Duchamp’s entire artistic activity since the “definitive incompletion” of his masterpiece The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même), most often called The Large Glass (Le Grand Verre) in 1923 was an exercise in strategic invisibility, giving rise to objects and events which―because they were apparently too impermanent or unimportant or insubstantial, or because they eluded established genre conventions, or because they confused or diluted authorial identity―evaded recognition as traditional “works of art.”

How did you become a professional artist?

I went to art school, moved to New York City, and began showing my drawings in non-profit spaces during the early 1980s and, through those exhibitions, was invited to show with the commercial galleries Jack Tilton, Brooke Alexander, and Paula Cooper. Good reviews in the press helped.

What are the influences and inspirations in your work?

Dionysus, the apocalyptic, communication excess, the virus, and gender fluidity. Recently I have been inspired by the Virginia Woolf book Orlando (1928) and Antonin Artaud’s prophetic text The Theatre and the Plague, originally presented as a performance-lecture on April 6, 1933 at the Sorbonne (now an essential element … Click here to read more