Late in his career, Auguste Rodin constructed strange assemblages by affixing plaster fragments of his figural sculptures onto antique terra-cotta pots from his collection, creating hybrid forms with little artistic precedent. As Rodin scholar Bénédicte Garnier has written, “The true revolution lay in this mix of objects from the past with works in progress.”
Crossing Thresholds: A Conversation with Tallur L.N.
An artist of complex oppositions and striking balances, divisions and unities, Tallur L.N. spends half the year in India and half in South Korea, maintaining independent studio practices in both countries. He studied partly in Northern England for a Masters, and he exhibits partly in New York and partly in Mumbai.
Sliding Into the Unknown: A Conversation with Saint Clair Cemin
Saint Clair Cemin’s work ranges across numerous genres, all pervaded by his unique sensibility and spirit. From 40-foot-tall monuments in locations worldwide down to softball-size objects in stone, metal, wood, and syn- thetics, his sculptures delight, amuse, and mesmerize.
Gray Areas: A conversation with Jennifer Wen Ma
Multi-disciplinary artist Jennifer Wen Ma has been busier than usual as she takes the critically acclaimed opera Paradise Interrupted (2015-ongoing) on the road. Her visually stunning installation, enhanced by interactive digitalized technology designed by Guillermo Acevedo, sets the stage for an intriguing score by prominent Chinese composer Huang Ruo, who deftly blends traditional Kun opera
Loaded Histories/Real Experiences: A Conversation with Kevin Beasley
A multi-disciplinary artist whose practice includes sculpture, installation, sound, and performance, Kevin Beasley caught the attention of the art world with I Want My Spot Back (shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 2012), a work that remixed 1990s rap acappellas.
Abigail DeVille: Everyday Processions
Fashioned from rubbish and recycled materials, Abigail DeVille’s sculptures refuse their role as art objects. Instead, her assemblages of repurposed items revel in excess and the casual circumstance of the everyday. Recognizing the potential of cast-off things to tell stories and enunciate other histories, DeVille proposes an alternative, social purpose for sculpture (often combined with
Difficult Connections: A Conversation with Ursula Johnson
Ursula Johnson’s hybrid work blends sculpture, performance, and activism. A member of the Eskasoni Mi’kmaw First Nation on Cape Breton Island (Unama’ki in Mi’kmaw) in Nova Scotia, she grew up speaking the Mi’kmaw language. Johnson spent her early working life as an activist and participated in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United
Social Skins and Other Constructs: A Conversation with Wilmer Wilson IV
Cross-disciplinary artist Wilmer Wilson IV focuses on the body, how gestures and everyday materials activate it, and how images of the body are transformed through context and enter the social realm. By exploring applied skins and the circulation of images, he resists the production of simplified icons without abandoning corporeal realities.
Double Consciousness: A Conversation with Jefferson Pinder
In a career that has evolved from the performing arts to performance art, Jefferson Pinder consistently probes themes of racial identity through live performance, video, and sculpture. Key works such as Ben-Hur, Afro- Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise), Overture (Star of Ethiopia), and Dark Matter meld historical legacy with current events, adopting references from W.E.B.
Under Construction: A Conversation with Hemall Bhuta
Hemali Bhuta’s journey into the world of installation has been fascinating. Her multi-disciplinary work focuses on the notion of in-between space, which she considers a plane where the limitations of dimensionality do not apply. By attempting to translate one medium or form into another, she questions the authority that determines the nature of a space.
