Sigh. I want to lie under these magical trees, looking up at birds and feathers and flowers and, well, whatever else might be floating by… mushrooms, shells, scribbles of color. This is the work of Copenhagen based artist Benny Dröscher. He has worked in all sorts of mediums from 3D to 2D. I’m pretty sure these are acrylic paintings… or lithographs? Or some kind of fabulous combo? Here’s the thing, it doesn’t really matter because I’m madly in love with them either way.

ps. Last week I wrote about Swiss artist Mathilde Tinturier’s lovely  mobiles, and someone said ‘they look like a Benny Dröscher painting.’ That person was right!

The exploration of “movement through space and time using textiles as a drawing tool, creating labor-intensive meditative works that recall natural wonders, landscape, and psychedelic visions, exploring relationships, touch, intimacy, and tactility.” Yes, please! This is the colorful, meticulous, I-wanna-touch-it work of American artist Andrea Alonge. Her recent artist statement is a beautiful look at where most of us are at this very moment:

“Our lives are colored with human interactions and relationships. We build lines of intimacy with each other and our environments. We hope to see ourselves reflected, catch a glimpse of a familiarity that spurs us to bridge the distance between us. In a time of digital interactions and a need for physical distance, our concept of distance becomes heightened yet blurry – we see and interact with each other and our environments through a screen. Sharing a physical space is something we all crave, yet out of necessity we are forced to translate the experience of the physical into the digital. We are finding our way through the unknown, the compulsion to touch, the need to meet even if in a truncated form, and the balance between isolation and socialization. We are more aware of the physical presence of others, the distance between us, and the subtle ways we have to communicate care for others because of the danger of getting too physically close. Our environments and nature have become solace, we can still touch the trees and the sand and the water. Our bodies are grounded in different relational indicators, and our intimacy now takes a different form. If we’re lucky, we still have someone we can touch and receive the chemical and tactile stimuli so necessary for our sense of well-being. A thought that comforts me is the idea of our connections to everything through our chemical makeup – we are made up of the water, and the same elements as the stars and the trees, and the air that we breathe, and our universal consciousness. We are all touching. We will touch forever.” 

Sigh. I needed to hear that.

Giant, ‘not-quite-right’ dollhouses? I can’t think of more perfect way to kick off a Monday morning! This is the work of Geneva based artist Denis Savary, and these images are from his current show, titled “Ithica”, at Galerie Maria Bernheim in Zurich. Here is the gallery’s description:

The name of the exhibition Ithaca refers to the American city home to the famous and liberal Cornell University, one of the main areas of development of the American film industry, which owes its name to the dreamed homeland of Odysseus. 

Three disproportionately large dollhouses are displayed on antique rugs, based on models of very common houses, a typical Swiss Villa. They seem pushed to the limit of their stability, revealing the weakness and the narrowness of their original suburbs, like those cut out by Gordon Matta Clark. Their intentional blandness lets through glimpses of strange interior scenes, forcing the viewer to approach them cautiously. Their dimensions, the meticulousness of their structures and the effects of distortion open them to our interpretation; simultaneously art historical and literary references come through, a room is plastered with a wallpaper based on Marcel Duchamp, who painted a reduced version of the “Nude descending a staircase” for the dollhouse of one of his collectors. One thinks of Robert Gober, whom Denis Savary had already evoked a few years ago, when he appropriated the gallery owner’s doll house, realizing a full exhibition as an extension of this work in a space whose architecture echoed it (La Villa, villa Bernasconi 2010), publishing as the only exhibition catalog views of the interior of this dollhouse. These new sculptures also recall early videos by Savary that seemed to be shot from the window of his family home, located on the outskirts of a small town with no specific quality.

“Ithica” runs until February 27th, 2021.

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had someone on the podcast who’s done a commission for THE QUEEN!? Yep, London based artist Ann Carrington is on the podcast! I interviewed her for my book, “A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women”, a few years ago but it was all through email. Today I finally got to talk to her in person about turning knives into flowers, welding giant spiderwebs, and oh yeah, that time she hung out with Prince Charles on a barge to discuss a project for his mum’s Diamond Jubilee. WHAT!? Deep breath. Listen right up there under Ann in her studio, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and or Spotify.

First up, cutlery bouquets:

 

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Yeah, she “has a cutlery guy”. So amazing. Oh, and more amazing-ness that I totally forgot to mention, but I have to show you. Look what Ann does with beer & soda cans:

I mean, come on. The final piece is titled “Virgin Queen”, which I’m using as a royal segue into these “Pearly Queens”:

 

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Okay, there’s a lot to say about all of that! First, the black and white photo at the very top is a shot of a few “Pearly Kings and Queens”. The next image was the first of Ann’s Queens I ever saw, via The Novogratz! The “in situ” photo is from one of their shows … or books … or some fabulous project they did {it’s hard to keep up with them!}. The video at the bottom is only a few days old and gives a peek at the new punk-ish Queens she’s been working on. Now, the colored button Queen, both up close and in situ, is the commission Ann did for Jacob Rothschild. That was the project that led to this:

Whaaaaaat?! Yep. Hanging out with Charlie on a barge, as you do. This is the banner Ann was asked to create to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee {2012}, and now hangs at the Haberdasher’s Hall in London. Oh my word. Okay, I need a deep, fresh cleansing breath of sea air to help me deal with all of that excitement… how about a trip to Margate to see Ann’s “Shell Ladies”:

Oh my goodness, aren’t they all so lovely? And I looooove that her kids’ names are on the inside of those bronze shells of “Mrs.Booth” {which aren’t turning green by the way… they’re Verdigris darling, Verdigris.}

Up next, spiderwebs:

… and there she is, welding a GIANT one for a very special client. Herself. Yep, that’s the big web that will be suspended above the studio. Ah, another perfect segue! Let’s finish up with a look into Ann’s amazing building in Margate:

 

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Do you see why I invited myself over?! A stunning space filled with shipping containers packed with sparkly treasures. LOVE. Okay, and with that I will say thank you to Ann for being my guest today, and of course, thanks to you for listening. If you’d like to give me a little love over on Apple Podcasts, I’d be very grateful! Thank you xo ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Ann on Instagram
2. Royal College of Art
3. The Novogratz on Instagram
4. Robert Novogratz on the podcast, episode no.11
5. “A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women”
6. Amber Cowan on the podcast, episode no.115
7. Turner Contemporary, Margate
8. Tracey Emin, Artist
9. YBAs
10. Alexander McQueen, Fashion Designer

 

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Whaaaaat?! Oh my word, I want to push those big buttons and make tiny people float around in water! This is “Waterful : Wonder Rooms”, just one in a series of wonderful waterful-ness, by Tel Aviv based artist Liya Jacobi. Here’s her bio… which makes me wish I went to school to become a TOY MAKER!

Liya Jacobi is a Tel Aviv based artist, toy designer and a special needs advocate with experience in child therapy and graphic design. Jacobi combines traditional craftsmanship with modern intention, creating unique objects while unexpectedly merging form and function. By playing with preconceptions about art and design – the social, cultural and historical relations to objects we all share – she provides a new context. Presenting alternatives to contemporary appliances, she adds unforeseen functionality and a delicate execution to her work. Liya studied Visual Communication at Instituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Italy and Toy Design at Shenker College of Engineering and Design in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

I love everything about this. Happy Friday.

{thanks to @melaart for sharing this work with me!}

“Women Words” by American artist Betty Tompkins. There are decades of history behind this work, but these are some of the latest iterations of a series that now includes thousands of paintings, and mixed media pieces. These ones, ripped from the pages of art history books*, are the most recent {2017-2020}. I found so many interesting interviews with Betty, that instead of retelling the story, I just pulled my favorite bits from several places:

In 2002 and 2013, Tompkins circulated the following email: “I am considering doing another series of pieces using images of women comprised of words. I would appreciate your help in developing the vocabulary. Please send me a list of words that describe women. They can be affectionate (honey), pejorative (bitch), slang, descriptive, etc. The words don’t have to be in English but I need as accurate a translation as possible. Many, many thanks, Betty Tompkins.” Over 3,500 words and phrases were submitted in seven languages, equally split between men and women. – Gavlak Gallery

…

Tompkins had bought more than *60 art history textbooks and was tearing out pages, unapologetically defacing some of the world’s best-known paintings and using female figures as canvases for unused suggestions for “Women Words.” “I come from a family where you couldn’t even crack the spine of a book, let alone tear out a page,” she recalled, admitting that “it was a lot of fun!” – Artnet Interview

…

ELLE: A lot of anger, violence and frustration towards women comes out through this process of audience participation. How do you deal with that?

BT: I have a really good sense of humour, and I think it’s saving my life – and my blood pressure! There was one guy who had written ‘the only thing that would make her more beautiful would be my dick in her mouth’ and I thought, who is this guy? You have to laugh. Someone else had written ‘heck, most people don’t like women’ and I thought ‘okay, let’s think about this one!’ – Elle Magazine Interview

…

Words on Mona Lisa above: “POOPSIE” IS A WORD USED BY MY EX-BOYFRIEND WHICH I THOUGHT WAS SEXIST AND DEMEANING. HE MIGHT HAVE TREATED ME NICE BUT I WAS HIS CONCUBINE, BOUND FEET, DYSLEXIC, SUZY WONG OR TROPY WIFE. AFTER A SEVEN YEAR REATION, HE GOT HIS 7-YEAR ITCH. HE GOT ME ARRESTED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFTER I GOT LAID OFF. I WAS HOMELESS FOR 6 MONTHS. EH ENCOURAGED ME TO COLLECT DISABILITY BENEFITS WHILE HE SURFED THE NET FOR A WIFE. SHE JUST HAPPENS TO BE 29 YEARS OLD. IN ADDITION, HE KEEPS HIS 2 HOUSES IN PROVINCETOWN AS WELL AS HIS RENT-STABILIZED APARTMENT. OF COURSE THERE IS NO WORD FOR A MAN UNLESS HE IS A CASANOVA, A PLAYBOY, AND OTHER POSITIVE THINGS TO PROVE HIS VIRILITY. – via @bettytompkinsart on Instagram

Kick-ass women are my favorite.

 

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Gasp! It’s a teeny tiny magical fairyland! This is the delicate, meticulous work of Swiss artist Mathilde Tinturier. I wrote about her a couple of years ago {2019}, but every time one of her creations scrolls by in my Instagram feed, I catch my breath. Bits of nature – from colorful feathers and seed pods, to found petals and old leaves curling over on themselves – covered in homemade confetti, beads and pins all dangling from the ceiling, being gently moved by the wind. Aaaaand, exhale.

{Her work is available via Le Salon Vert, Geneva.}

Oooh, I want to hold one of these “clouds” … I won’t try to taste it, I promise. That said, it wouldn’t be my fault if I did take a little lick, because the first two pieces at the top of the post are titled “Lollipop Mint Baby Cloud Bundles”. Yum!  Anyway, this is the ceramic work of UK based artist Tessa Eastman, and here is a description of her work:

“I aim to fix ungraspable states such as fleeting cloud formations, which represent the ideal and the perishable, doom and fantasy”.

[Tessa Eastman] draws inspiration from natural phenomena as seen through a microscope, exploring the strangeness of growth where systems flow and digress.

Grouping work creates a dialogue of congruence and conflict where voluminous cloud-like shapes exploring the theme of space pushing outwards are juxtaposed with mesh structures revealing the internal. The tension between internal and external relates to receptacles where positive and negative space are equally valued, and also to the body where the void permits life. It is through sensitivity to form and glaze that Tessa’s sculptures become animated and much time is invested in research and testing. Tessa says: “Colour is inspiring and creates a distinction between the sum of parts. Matt and shiny, coarse and smooth and hot and cool coloured glazes offer depth of character.”

Okay, now I really want to hold one.

{List of galleries/places to see Tessa’s work.}

Ah, the absolutely gorgeous, totally mind-bending work of Vancouver based painter Eric Louie. Yes, I said painter… large-scale oil on canvas to be exact. Every time one of Eric’s pieces scrolls by on Instagram, I catch my breath. Colorful metallic ribbons… that aren’t metal or ribbons!? Here’s part of his artist statement:

“My paintings have always had a sensibility towards the natural order of things. I’m interested in creating events that both acknowledge and deny spatial illusion simultaneously. I feel as though there never is an end to these works in their self -fulfillment, which is exciting and challenging to me. My process in the beginning is to make a painting in response to one of its predecessors. None of the works are planned and continually change course until they come to some resolve where I can let them go. The forms are invented during the process, some of which survive until the end, others lost in the many layers of thin glazes of paint.”

‘Acknowledging and denying spatial illusion simultaneously’ … ummm, CHECK! Happy Monday.

Today’s episode is filled with insight, laughter… and paper made from old jeans? Yep. I wrote about American artist Rebecca Hutchinson a few weeks ago, and immediately had oh so many questions. There was something about pulp and handmade paper, but also porcelain some of which was fired and some wasn’t? Don’t worry, I got all of the answers! Rebecca and I talked about her childhood on the farm, how she found her way to sculpture, and not only did we get elbow deep in paper pulp, we also rolled up our sleeves and talked a LOT about how to deal with rude inner critics. Spoiler alert, sometimes it involves a mini trampoline! Seriously. You can listen right up there under Rebecca and “Orange Burst”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and or Spotify.

First, this is the work I shared a few weeks ago. There’s a little sampling of everything… artwork for the ceiling, wall and floor:

See? This is why I had to get her on the podcast immediately.

Okay, but wait. Before we get into the process shots and video, I just had to share these pieces. Apparently, I’m a sucker for work that hangs from the ceiling:

Oh my word. So. GORGEOUS.

Alright, here we go. Rebecca’s studio {most shots are from her summer studio in Montana… you’ll understand why in a second}, and a couple of process videos:

 

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Ahhhhhhh! Can you imagine spending the summer working in that gorgeous Montana studio, arm deep in paper pulp? Count me in! And, look at all of that teamwork in action… love, love, love.

Next up, a little peek at Rebecca’s current show, “Midnight Blooms”, happening right now until February 28th, at the Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA:

Blue!!!! Sigh. So dreamy. Speaking of dreamy, that little farm girl from the beginning of the episode is still very  much inspired by Mother Nature:

A sunset transformed into supplies. Yep, I’d be totally inspired working there all summer, too. Thank you so much to Rebecca for coming on the podcast, and thanks to you for listening. Now, all of you, go find a mini trampoline and jump all of that self doubt right out!

Other links:

1. Rebecca on Instagram
2. “Midnight Blooms”, her current show at Danforth Art Museum {until Feb 28, 2021}
3. Upcoming Workshop at Harvard
4. Adelaine Muth, Artist {Rebecca’s studio assistant} 
5. Archie Bray Foundation
6. UMass