I made this work as part of a series titled "Homecoming" while spending the summer in my hometown in Hefei, China. The series was a result of my own awareness of the precariousness of my identity. I was giving myself permission to occupy, more comfortably and more productively, the liminal space that is what Ien Ang would call in-between-ness. The self-generated idealization of my so-called “foreign” childhood has recently become glaring, and I find myself at once escaping to and challenging my limited lived experience with contemporary Chinese society. Straddling spaces and cultures and selves, the series was grounded in a specific space and time, and was an attempt to better understand my own relationship with China
"Full Table" (2019)
oil on canvas
size: 102" x 62
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, with an exception of living in Puerto Rico for about a year. I graduated with a BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 2019. I currently work and reside in Brooklyn. I predominantly paint with oil paint working with figures and mostly doing portraiture and self portraits.
I have a history of figure painting in my work, but have recently begun exploring self- portraits and what “self” really entails. Sometimes I depict myself intentionally in these portraits. Other times when I am painting the figure I end up using myself as a reference. When doing so, the painting always ends up as a version of myself.
Being adopted I grew up especially conscious of the concept of identity and what it meant to be myself. Having a Puerto Rican mom and an Irish dad it was hard fitting into my family the way I wanted, physically. I never really felt Korean yet I looked Korean. When I paint a painting of myself and I get to watch it come together, I see a reflection of the woman that I have become and a reminder that no matter what culture I grew up in, that I am me and I am proud. Involving myself in my paintings forces a relationship with myself, an intimacy, an understanding. Although I consider these self portraits, I don't expect the viewer to understand this is me. Although my paintings tell a story of identity, it is up for interpretation to the viewer to fill in the blanks of the narrative.
Portrait
Oil on canvas
2020
25 x 32 inches
April 22, 2020
I create sanctuaries for contemplation. Through restoring and amplifying awareness of the richness within our physical world, I hope to convey a sense of awe through a distinctly contemporary lens.
Growing up in Silicon Valley and amongst the mountains in Northern California, I spent many hours in front of screens and many hours directly under the stars. I often drove to the Sierra Nevada Mountains for weekend backpacking trips where I could spend hours staring out at the landscape and breathing in the fresh mountain air. These trips were psychologically restorative and form a bedrock for how I make my work feel today.
Exposure to traditional Chinese art, architecture, and ways of temple life have also helped me internalize a gentle way of organizing space and objects that embodies qualities of resonance, spaciousness and warmth. I have immense respect for those who take on a spiritual purpose in their lives. And for me, my art practice is my spiritual practice.
I arrive here with the attempt to just describe, to make ever more evident the richness of the everyday and the universal.
Sanctuary (Every person is a Part of the Continent, a Part of the Main)
2019-2020, Installation at the LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York, NY
Using painting, collage, video, and animation, artist and environmental activist Carola C. Dixon, creates alternative universes populated by bizarre characters that are at once both strange and familiar. Her work is founded on a futuristic conception of the holy trinity which replaces the father, the son, and the holy spirit with art, nature, and technology.
With strength in world-building, Carola continues to learn and master new mediums and technologies. These skills allow her to continuously pull viewers deeper into her universe of strange mythology. In these spaces of awe and discomfort, her work asks us to consider the presence, or absence, of harmony between ourselves, nature, and technology.
Carola studies Visual Arts at Columbia University while also focusing on taking courses in Environmental Biology. In 2019 she spent a year working with, and interviewing, environmental artists and activists for the NGO Oceanic Global’s online publication “The Current.” Following this work, she was invited to travel to the Maldives to create a two-part animated video series that is now being used by the NGO Blue Marine Foundation to lobby for the creation of marine protected areas and new regulations that protect vulnerable reef fish.
In this piece, Venus 2.0 a bust of the goddess Venus has washed up on the shore along with clams and seashells. Her marble has been indelibly marked by the many sentiments for which she has been a vessel. Completing an evolutionary cycle, she finds herself once again by the water, beginning a new life cycle, in a world governed by a strange new matrix we do not yet understand.
This piece is part of a greater series of works that explore this world and its mythology.
Venus 2.0, April 2020, Digital Collage, Dimensions May Vary
'Sleep'
Animation, still cut, 00:06:10, 2019
This piece is from an ongoing series of mixed media collages in which I pair aged paper, in this case an inscribed flyleaf of a 19th century French book, with prints of my own photographs.
I’m interested in making portraits with a level of attention and devotion that hearkens back to the pre- digital through processes of creating, printing, and reproducing my photographs.
My work is a reaction to the way we consume images today, passively yet insatiably boring through the constant stream provided by our devices. I’d like to encourage people, through small gestures on paper, to remember the joy of slowing down.
“Taylor,” February 2020, collage of color photograph and found paper,
10 x 14 inches
This work was made after a particularly bad asthma exacerbation in January and February of 2020. I decided to let the disease that causes me so much stress bleed into my work. I did not know that soon after, we would begin social distancing, school would close, New York City would lockdown, etc. I did not know that we would be going through a global pandemic because of a respiratory illness. So much of my life has been focused on simply breathing and whether or not my airways were clear. It’s all we – all of us – do now, is prepare to hopefully not get sick.
– Danielle Gott, April 2020
Self-Portrait with Inhaler Number 1, March 2020, digital photograph/inket print, Dimensions Variable
After painting hundreds of eyeballs in multiple styles, I decided to shift my work into abstraction. From simplifying the human form into shapes and colors, it allowed me to be more creative than ever before. The word “trypophobia” came up more times that I could have imagined when people were talking about my work. Trypophobia is an aversion to irregular patterns, such as small holes or clusters. I became so involved with creating these clusters of circles, researching what parts of nature these clusters can be found in, I felt as if I was starting to develop a phobia to these clusters. I was led to the irregular patterns of frog eggs, and blood cells which can be sensed in my work. To take these parts of nature and create abstract pieces of art from it, brought me such energy.
I would generally create smaller studies using watercolor on paper, experimenting with shapes, colors, backgrounds, foregrounds, and depth. Which then, I would take those studies and paint larger acrylic pieces using the smaller studies as inspiration. I would add multiple layers to create a certain depth in flatness. Recently I have started experimenting with resin in my art work. I am never sure how it will end up until the resin has dried and cured. The uncertainty of where the resin will drip and puddle up is an exciting vulnerability. I like to think that nothing in life is guaranteed, and I also feel that way in my art work. You never know if your piece will survive the elements, or certain mixtures of solvents and materials.
As a child growing up, I always found myself staring at patterns in everyday life, from items such as a popcorn ceiling to the bubbles in my cappuccino. I wanted to find life inside of those patterns. Similar to describing clouds as certain shapes and objects. I found myself doing just that in my paintings as well. I’m not able to look at any time of circular pattern in life without thinking about my art work. Trypophobia may be something that I am starting to develop in an absurd way.
These two paintings explore the use of different materials that allow for a certain depth in flatness. Multiple layers of paint and glass beads aid the circle form throughout my work.
Bold contrasting colors let your eyes roam from top to bottom, and back with ease.
Fiona Noring is a New York and Massachusetts based artist working in ceramic sculpture, drawing, and printmaking. She is currently finding inspiration in detritus, permeable membranes, and the tangled ecologies of the landscape she was raised in. Her current body of work reinterprets cyclical spaces of metamorphosis in order to question hierarchies, collapse binaries, and find openings in the boundaries we let define us. The Ephemeral Pool (Flowering Phase) manifests the spirit of the vernal pond, a freshwater body that pools in winter and is gone by the heat of summer, and seeks to make it solid, if not eternal. The work is a mysterious object, a window, and a portal. Like a vernal pool it may be a good place to lay your eggs, a good place for lunch, a good place to be a salamander, and/or a good place to die.
The Ephemeral Pool (Flowering Phase)
Ceramic, inkjet print, hot glue, wire, moss, algae, stone, vernal pool water
8 in. x 2 in. x 8 inch
Rats are really close to humans. Rats are not only the main character of novels and movies but also being reared as a pet. I was fascinated by their charming and beautiful looks. But when I looked closely, they were very weak and puny. So many rats are being used in experiments and unimaginable numbers of life are tested and killed for humans. I drew such rat in my painting with affection and compassion.
Ratty
Mixed media, 25 x 36.9 inches, 2020
Link to video: https://vimeo.com/409315947
Chapters is a visual poetry contemplating the coexistence of the synthetic and the organic. The video juxtaposes the real- whether it be nature, humans, animals, or anything that I could capture with my camera- with the virtual. The video invites the viewers to participate in scrutinizing our conceptions of the virtual and the real; the inescapable position that we are placed throughout our lives, the ambiguous position in the middle of somewhere.
Chapters, 2020, HD video, 5 min 49 sec.
Coincidentally, when I was walking down the street I found the cats and the place was mainly between piles of garbage. This brought me a little happiness to see cats but which is a pitiful sight. These things <Find a cat!> I wanted to express it interestingly through the title. And if you look closely at the pictures, you can see, but in fact, in the last picture, the cat does not exist. But I imagine there might be a cat somewhere in that dump.
‘Find a cat!’ Watercolor on paper, 2020
Untitled, C-print, 39.3 x 39.3 inches, 2020
We’re in a situation where we can’t go anywhere. I expressed my desire to leave somewhere through the window of a plane.
‘Leave’ Mixed media, 11.6 x 8.3 inches each, 2020
Kandi Spindler is a current MFA student at LIU Post and public defender practicing in Nassau County, New York. She received her BA from Mount Holyoke College in 2013, and her JD from Vermont Law School in 2017. Kandi is primarily influenced by street art, particularly as a vehicle for resistance through exuberance. As the child of a New Yorker and West Virginian, she’s a mashup of glitter, dirt, and gas station snacks. Her art is more or less the same.
“CakeFaced I” approx. 14” x 16” mixed media of vintage photo with paint marker and acrylic paint, handmade wooden frame, acrylic medium and polymer clay, 2019.
“Tackle and Bait” tryptic of 3 plaques approx. 18” x 5” mixed media of paint marker and acrylic paint in wooden plaque, acrylic medium and found objects, 2019.
Shoots ambiguous images instead of not the set look in everyday life.
On a foggy day,
one day with unfamiliar sunlight,
focus on one part and look closely and I can see the strange images.
When look at these things, I experienced a different space and time.
Whether uncomfortable or something beauty(comfortable), unfamiliar images leads me to a new space
I gaze in that space without hesitation.
Aleph, single channel video, sound, 00:04:38, installation view, 2020
212.581.1966
Lori Sanford-Ross was born in Brooklyn, New York. She has an MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, and studied with Fred Bendheim at the Art Students League of New York.
Lori has participated in numerous exhibitions including the Blue Mountain Gallery, curated by John Yau, the Bowery Gallery, curated by Karen Wilkin, Vivid Space SD, Studio 10 and the Bodega Gallery. Her paintings were featured in the Netflix series The Characters. Lori received an individual artists’ grant from Queens Council on the Arts for her project, Pockets of Serenity, the Hidden Landscapes of Queens. Her solo show, Queenscapes, was profiled on Time Warner Cable News, NY1. Lori lives and works in Long Island City with her husband Sid Ross, an actor and playwright, and her daughter Rachel.
June
watercolor & gouache
2019
13 x 9 inches
Humanity dominated the earth, but is still very vulnerable in the natural disasters. Nowadays, humanity is faced a huge test aginst Corona virus 19 and human weakness was also revealed in this test.
The human world is full of anxious feelings such as death, fear, despair, greed, and discrimination. Chinese and Asian patients are not enemies of humanity. They are comrades who participated in this test with us. Abandoning preconceptions and looking at the world, we can see that this world is more beautiful and diverse than we think. The mask covers the virus, but it cannot covers our hope for life. The true and thoughtful considerations is the best answer sheet we can get through this test in this difficult situation.
Inward, pigment print, shot on iphone 8 plus, 2020
I often adjust to other people's moods. And also I think everyone has done too, so I hope it will be an empathetic through my art work.
Self portrait, Acrylic on canvas, 17.9 x 14.9 inches, 2020
Mino Shih was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She studied fine art at Parsons School of Art and Design in New York. Her work is motivated by an investigation into the history of White Terror in Taiwan. Her paintings seek to evoke the kind of time that has transformed into remainders, but retains a potency similar to an obligation.
Grass and Cloth is a painting that deals with the political and historical situation of Taiwan after White Terror - a reign of martial law from 1949 to 1987 - through the idea of contamination. It is a vertical confrontation to the viewer of an absent execution. The grass of the execution grounds levitates, contaminates, and is contaminated by an event that implicates all of its witnesses. The painting is an effort to present these complications that must arise with the fact of being a witness.
‘Grass and Cloth’ Oil on canvas, 66 x 36 inches, 2020
In my current work, I am making cross-cultural connection series of international dogs. Acrylic paintings and charcoal pencil drawings comprise the series. I began exploring human nature dog art since Mengmeng became a family member in my house. The name means adorable in Chinese, French bulldogs have cute funny faces and it brings me inspiration and release stress. In my personal philosophy, dogs bring aesthetic awareness to my life and they are my best friends. In my artwork, I depict French bulldogs to play the role of human beings, doing human activities just like me. They are eating, sleeping, and enjoying everything in their lives. Each dog has an individual personality. In my works, they represent different famous artists and cultural elements. Those fantastic dogs communicate cheerful feelings to me, which helps me express my love of dogs. My paintings and drawings can help people think of their lovely pets when they see my work. Moreover, this body of work represents my positive personal energy, and I hope people experience happiness in innocent ways from my works. I believe that people should be friendly, peaceful, and share their love with each other on earth, just as dogs add value to our lives.
Harmonious Frenchie, Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 30 inches, 2020
Dream of Shanghai Steamed Buns, Charcoal on paper, 11 x 14 inches 2020
I was inspired by a furnace at a steel factory. The rectangular shape is the door of furnace. The process of their work is very interesting. That is workers use a long tool to put many iron scraps into the furnace to melt it down, and then create a new iron bar again. I would really like to express the process when I paint, so I use a custom-made brush to swipe down with one stroke of a brush a canvas. I use the image of fire and make the image of a iron bar like workers.
'Fire’ Oil on canvas, 35.78 x 25.5 inches, 2019
‘Fire’ Oil on canvas, 63.8 x 44 inches, 2019
Everything is gone.
Tired of complicated thoughts, I burn wood fires. The wood fire is burning and dancing. I can't think of anything for a while. In that short moment, I felt so happy.
‘Wood Fire’ Oil on canvas, 35.7 x 28.6 inches, 2020
I explore how I remember sites, and how I visualize forgotten or imagined places as I navigate my experience of geographical migration and its aftereffects. These memories of home expect to breathe through my paintings, I feel the need to recapture this site through my daydreams. Sense of place and displacement hold both the real and the imaginary and my practice depicts what this might look like. My work is not about seeing or inventing, but about revealing a version of my reality through the distortions of my memory.
‘Planes of Perspective II’ Oil on canvas, 34x48 inches, 2020
As an artist I explore the process of forgetting and recollection though subject-related mediums. My work focuses on the recollection cycle, through which we are constantly moving away from what actually happened, but getting closer to who we are, and how we determine our own narrative.
This project was looking to reconstruct a memory of a space from my childhood, and trying to find the best way to use tangible and intangible elements to bring a memory into reality. By reconstructing a recollection of a space, I am trying to preserve my own memories of it, and delay the inevitable process of forgetting.
21, Digital Photography, 2020
“The Lifely”
I am compelled to the structural elements in nature around me. I have a sensitive perception of nature. My photographs are my voice. When I photograph nature, I am talking to myself and the photographs become the sentences. The lines and shapes are my emotions; the light and shadow are my expressions. They are translating my internal voice to the viewers and explain more about the lesser-known part of me.
Image #1:
"_0831 (Shelter Island in March)", 2020
Inkjet Print 30 x 40 Inches
Image #2:
"_0251 (Jones Beach in February)", 2020
Inkjet Print 30 x 40 Inches
“Stay !” Oil on paper, 16.1 x 12. 9 inches, 2020
'House' is a representative space that gives us rest. I realized that when I standing alone in other regions. The image of this work is the place where I felt most comfortable place.
‘Sweet home 1’ Mixed media, 28.7 x 24 inches, 2020
‘Sweet home 2’, Mixed media, 28.7 x 24 inches, 2020
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‘Gaeul’ aquarium, 17.7 x 17.7 x 17.7 inches, 2020