Annie Kevans … I got Annie Kevans on the podcast! I have been smitten with Annie’s dreamy portraits since the first time I saw them way back in 2009. Well, nine years later and here we are {I like to ease into meeting my heroes}. Annie is a British artist who spent her early childhood in France, attended a {super weird} private school in England, lived in Barcelona for awhile, then London again, and NOW she lives in France. Again. Her story is so, so, so good, and I know first-hand because I was lucky enough to write all about it in my new book! We’re going to talk about all of it – from that super weird private school and her passion for women in art history, to Andy Warhol in drag and jumping off cliffs with a kite type of thing on her back. You can listen right up there under that lovely portrait of Lady Gaga (!), or subscribe on iTunes.

First up, Annie’s ‘Boys’ series. Let’s kick things off with Hitler, shall we:

Yep, dictators before they were dictators … dictators when they were sweet, young, rosy-cheeked boys. ps. This was the series that Charles Saatchi bought just as Annie was graduating from art school. THE. WHOLE. SERIES. Yeah.

‘The History of Art’ … sigh. I cannot explain how much I love this series featuring pioneering female artists:

So powerful, so beautiful. We mentioned Edmonia Lewis a few times and she is in there, of course … her story is so inspiring {she’s also the person Annie named in the not-so-speedy speed round as her choice for a dinner companion. I want to come too!} These unstoppable artists seem like a perfect segue into this next tidbit:

Yep, Annie is in my new book, ‘A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women’ – and she happens to be the first artist in Chapter 1! I had the honor of writing her story and displaying her gorgeous work. I have also sprinkled bits about historical women throughout the book, and in Annie’s section I just had to include Sofonisba’s story.

Alright, from inspiring women to fabulous male artists … who dressed like women from time to time:

These paintings are from Annie’s ‘Drag’ series, and here is part of her artist statement about this work:

In the ‘Drag’ series, Kevans reveals male art stars comfortably posing as women but confident that their achievements will not be forgotten.  Artists such as Francis Bacon, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Robert Mapplethorpe and Cecil Beaton all photographed themselves in drag but the question remains: would these artists continue to be so revered had they been born women?

Hm. Excellent question, Annie. Excellent question.

And finally, Annie holding things together in Europe:

Ha! When you find something like this on your guest’s Instagram feed, well, YOU POST IT. Thank you soooo much to Annie for doing this with me, and for also being part of this big important book that is ridiculously important to me. Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and thank YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Sigh. New work by LA based artist Seonna Hong. Seriously, I love everything she does every time she does it! Speaking of which, all of these pieces are part of a new show, titled “Things Will Get Better”… let’s hope so. The show opens TOMORROW NIGHT, October 6 from 6-9pm at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco.

“This show is about reckoning. I found myself in the last couple years being overwhelmed by what was happening in the world and it forced me to rethink my place in it as a woman, a person of color, a mother, and as a citizen. I looked for inspiration in people around me, their activism, their work, their humanity and I found hope and community in that.”

So smart, so beautiful.

* BOOK TOUR INFO ALERT *  Seonna and I will both be at Hashimoto on Saturday October 20th! Yep, I’ll be there doing a talk, Q&A, and book signing from 2-4pm AND you can get Seonna to sign it too because her beautiful story/work is featured on pages 30 – 35… YAY! Mark your calendars for A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women in San Francisco!

Powerful. That word always come up when I write about the work of Iraqi born, US based artist Hayv Kahraman. I had the honor of writing her whole story in my latest book, A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now with Women … which just so happens to be hitting shelves, worldwide, today! It is big, important, and filled with stories of unstoppable women – both contemporary and historical. Hayv’s bio and paintings are in Chapter 12 : Look To The Past {p.232 – 237}, as her work is directly influenced by her past personal experiences – fleeing Iraq with her family at the tender age of eleven, for example. Hayv is an extraordinary person and insanely talented artist. In fact, she has an absolutely stunning show hanging right now {install shown above} at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects in Culver City. Here is a taste of what this show explores:

“Silence is Gold” powerfully reveals the important role played by sexuality and violence in claims to asylum and to humanitarian aid; but it also demonstrates that this works differently for different people. Women fleeing from the global South largely need to sexualize and sell themselves to cross borders, or to sell the very real violence they may have experienced [Note 3]. Trafficking victims must be at once innocent and ravaged; they must leverage their violation even as they must be ashamed of it. These women are required to provide the graphic details of their sexual exploitation, in ways that can end up being both horrifying and titillating for those who serve as legal or political adjudicators. ~Dr. Miriam Ticktin on Havy Kahraman’s exhibition “Silence Is Gold” at Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles.

Powerful. “Silence is Gold” will be up until October 27th at Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles.

I am so, so, so incredibly proud of this book … if you see it in a shop, snap a photo for me {and you know, buy it too!} 

Okay, I know I’m dating myself by mentioning ‘The Care Bears’, but these paintings make me feel like something has gone terribly wrong in Care-A-Lot! This is the utopian / dystopian work of Korean artist Sanghee Ahn. My eye immediately went to the rainbows and candy, so my first thought was, ‘Oooh, I’d love to walk around in there’ … however, on closer inspection … hellfire, grenades, pollution? I’m having second thoughts about vacationing on that cupcake. I discovered Sanghee’s work while I was selecting artists for The Other Art Fair in LA, and yes, I picked her! If you’re in LA between October 25th – 28th stop by the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

Oh boy! If you’re in Chicago this coming weekend {September 28th – 30th} be sure to check out The Other Art Fair … So. Much. ART. Here are just five of my faves. And hell yes, I’m kicking things off with Isabella Di Sclafani’s Queens:

Gasp! I love it all! Go if you can … The Other Art Fair | Chicago : Mana Contemporary, 2233 S Throop / For hours, and ticket info visit their site. Oh! AND tomorrow night, September 27th there is a party for artists… that’s you!

Artists above: Isabella Di Sclafani / Chris Hyndman / Kaylee Dalton / Britni Mara / Erin Vincent

ps. The Other Art Fair will be in London and LA in October, and Brooklyn in November.

Oh my word… all hail New York based artist Mickalene Thomas. Patterns, women, jewels, glitter, more patterns! All of her work is so rich, not only with visual treats, but also with power and meaning. Here is a perfect description found on her “about” page:

“Mickalene Thomas makes paintings, collages, photography, video, and installations that draw on art history and popular culture to create a contemporary vision of female sexuality, beauty, and power. Blurring the distinction between object and subject, concrete and abstract, real and imaginary, Thomas constructs complex portraits, landscapes, and interiors in order to examine how identity, gender, and sense-of-self are informed by the ways women (and “feminine” spaces) are represented in art and popular culture.”

YES! And those “feminine” spaces are FANTASTIC! If you ever get a chance to immerse yourself in one of Mickalene’s installations, DO IT. Here’s a little peek:

Love. Happy Monday.

Embroidery. Yes, everything except that lovely pink background is done with thread. THREAD. Cayce Zavaglia is an American painter who now uses stitches instead of brushstrokes – although, paint has recently come back into her arsenal. In reverse. Huh? Well just listen right up there under “Florence”, or subscribe on iTunes, and it will all make sense very soon.

First, a handful of Cayce’s insanely beautiful embroidered portraits… brace yourself for the realism:

Yeah, thread. Teeny tiny perfect little stitches, all coming together to create absolutely stunning portraits of Cayce’s friends and family. I mean, WHAT!?

So creating this work is exciting enough, but then she started flipping her pieces over and VOILA, the “Verso” series:

Messy but beautiful… just like life.

Well, why stop there, right? Might as well be “petrified and totally excited”! Here’s what happened when Cayce decided to pick up her paints again:

Gasp! Verso paintings! And wait until you see them in context {especially that last piece above}:

Double gasp!

And finally, I have to show you some of Cayce’s process shots… found, of course, on her dreamy Instagram feed:

Love! And there she is in action. Seriously, I could NOT do what Cayce does. Thank goodness for that little ball she squeezes while stuck in traffic so that her hands stay strong! Thanks so much to Cayce for doing this with me; thanks to Saatchi Art and Thrive for supporting the episode; and BIG thanks to you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Sarah Ball, Artist
2. Alex Katz, Artist

Kicking things off with “When Brown Chicks Take Over The World”, finishing with closeups of “Here’s to Extravagant Futures”, and a whole bunch of goodness in between! This is fabulous work of LA based artist Deedee Cheriel. Popping by her site is always a good idea, because there is always something new to see… AND you find out about things like this: Deedee’s latest show, titled “Cosmic Connections” opens at KP Projects, LA in a couple of weeks. Saturday, October 6th, 7-10pm to be exact. To attend, RSVP to rsvp@kpprojects.net {guest list at the door}. The show is up until October 27th.

A post shared by Zhuang Hong Yi (@zhuanghongyiart) on Jul 26, 2018 at 5:57am PDT

… and now a whole bunch of closeups, just because!

Ceramic? Nope. Plastic? Nope. Fine rice paper and acrylic on canvas? Yep. This is the work of Chinese born, Netherlands based artist Zhuang Hong Yi. As if these “flowers” aren’t mind blowing enough, somehow he has painted/arranged these delicate little petals so that the color changes depending on the angle you’re looking at them from… click PLAY on that Instagram video above to see what I mean! Sigh… so beautiful, as is this description of his work via HOFA Gallery, London:

“The flower motif dominates Zhuang Hong Yi’s work – a significant image in Chinese culture which carries countless meanings and emotions yet with equally strong associations with the Netherlands, world famous for its flowers – and he works patiently and religiously on this subject year after year, intricately crafting his works with care and forethought. Zhuang’s well known and highly collected ‘flower bed’ works are crafted from delicate pieces of painted rice paper, which he has bent and folded into hundreds of tiny buds.”

{Thanks to @melaart for pointing me to this crazy beautiful work.}

Sparkly stars, rainbows, mermaids, and a land full o’ fairies! Today I’m talking to California based artist, teacher, and restorer of all things magical … well, at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, anyway! Shannon D. Taylor is a very busy woman, but that doesn’t stop her from adding a little bit of magic to pretty much everything she does. Listen right up there under “Southern Star”, or subscribe on iTunes.

Alright, first things first, a few of Shannon’s pieces that I’ve written about before:

See? Too good not to show again!

Next … ping pong paddles and saws, because when you do an art residency in a giant warehouse filled with thrifted goods, this is the kind of thing that can happen:

Oh, those tigers. And do you see what I mean about her sparkly starry skies? So dreamy!

Now not only is Shannon a talented painter, she’s also REALLY good at finding vintage frames to house her gorgeous work. Look at this:

Gasp! They’re all so fabulous, each one filled to the brim with Shannon’s weird & wonderful worlds. Also, I really need to go thrift shopping with her. A lot.

So, when Shannon isn’t making her own work, she’s teaching at the California College of the Arts … and I desperately want to be in her six hour sketchbook class! Here is a tiny peek into her sketchbook:

Ha! And a lovely self-portrait too! You is beautiful, Shannon.

Alright … and when she’s not making her own work, or teaching, she’s restoring the magical bits and pieces at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland! This is the super fun event at Fairyland we were talking about:

… and that’s the piece I made for it! 10″x10″ wood panel, complete with chunky gold glitter paint because when you make something for Fairyland, YOU ADD GLITTER. If you can go to this party, GO! Artists making art in front of your eyes that then sells for $40/piece? Yeah, GO!

And finally, you thought her work was magic… wait until you see her studio:

Ah-mazing! I wonder if any gnomes or fairies share that crazy-cozy space with her!?  And yes, that’s Shannon’s latest self-portrait… kickass kimono included. Thanks so much to Shannon for fitting me into her crazy schedule; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode; and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. California College of the Arts
2. Children’s Fairyland, Oakland California
3. Tickets for “Drawn Together” : Friday September 28th, 2018  6-9pm
4. Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek CA
5. Shannon on Instagram, aka magicmakerdreamweaver 
6. Discount Universe {home of that awesome kimono}