affect our unstable and everchanging society? Daniel Agra: Without a doubt, the cultural, social and political moment that we living today. I think that art and artists should play a more significant social role, but we are often relegated by various factors in today's society, we are like something that can be dispensed with. Regardless of personal taste, art in general is a food for knowledge and constructive and critical growth of any person, as well as for the imagination, creativity and for the soul ... it makes us more human. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts again, Daniel. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Daniel Agra: Thank you very much for counting on Abyssurbs and for giving me this opportunity. I continue working on current projects, in their constant development with new techniques that I can apply or, as in this case, optical filters. As I mentioned before, my current path is very directed towards filters and abstraction, although I had a second part of the project "Gallaecia Perpetua" called "Gallaecia Intempore", which due to lack of time I could not develop earlier and I am actually finishing now. As for future projects, I have some ideas and just a few days ago I developed four new optical filters with those future projects in mind. Daniel Agra scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Hello Anna and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production and we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.annamacrae.com in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. As a basically self-taught artist, are there any experiences that did particularly influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum direct the I consider myself a lifelong artist, and from an early age I surrounded myself with art making. My mother and grandmother were both artists, their skills were often put to use in a more practical and domestic environment, but their approach to life instilled in me creative possibilities in everyday objects and situations. I am a self-taught artist, and follow an intuitive path throughout my art practice, where disrespect for conventions are primary. My work is generated in response to the materials that I use together with the techniques and processes that I have developed. I am interested in texture and surface and playing with non-precious unconventional materials. My intention is to make work that is relatable, complex and slightly awkward. I often embed familiar items beneath the surface to give a fresh unexpected texture and to create dialog. I court contrast and contradiction, and continually challenge myself to explore new methods of working. I thrive on attempting to harness the potential chaos of the unknown during the creative process of making abstraction. I surrender to the rules of chance and natural intuition as I make and play. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Anna Macrae
And Then This Happened, oils collage, 40 x 30, 2016
trajectory of your current artistic research, helping you to develop your attitude to experiment with different artistic techniques and materials? Anna Macrae: Growing up in England in the 1960’s we had quite a frugal lifestyle, I suppose that was the influence of my parents own experiences of being children in the Second World War. I had a simple upbringing, with a make do and mend approach to life. I think that instilled in me the idea of not wasting anything, and being creative with everyday objects and materials. To this day, I find that using nonprecious materials gives way to greater freedoms to make “mistakes” and discoveries. I have become to realize that using “expensive” materials acts as an inhibitor to my process, with play being an essential ingredient to my exploration The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape — and that our readers have already had the chance to get to know in the introductory pages of this article — has at once captured our attention for the way you sapiently draw from ordinary experience and daily life, to expand and subvert the idea of familiarity: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how does your daily life's experience fuel your creative process? Anna Macrae: I feel quite grounded in living a simple life. I enjoy walking my dogs in local trails, and appreciating what nature has to teach us throughout the seasons. I am lucky to have a home studio that backs onto my English style garden, which is an extension of my art practice. I feel that am both an observer and participant in the routine ebb and flow of the un-extraordinary, which is rich and full of value and nuances to be unraveled We have appreciated the way your artistic production — and more specifically That Time The World Stood Still — sheds a whole new light on the importance of the physical aspect of a work of Art: as an artist particularly interested into texture and surface, how do you consider the relation between the nature of the concepts that you explore in your artistic research and the physical aspect of your artworks? Anna Macrae: I consider myself a process artist, and as such my catalyst for making is most always based in my response to the materials and processes that I want to explore. When starting a new series, I usually set myself a few simple parameters, such as how I want to build up a surface, the color palette or how I want to lay down my marks. Once I have these basic outlines in place I really let the intuitive process start to evolve, it soon becomes self-directed, with usually a sense of urgency and physicality that leads to discoveries. Whilst pushing boundaries, I am always bringing along that muscle memory of a familiar vocabulary of mark, shape and form, that is usually serviced up in a new iteration Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
From early age you have been always making and playing, using everyday objects, and as you have remarked in your artist's statement, the artistic skills of your mother and grandmother instilled in you creative possibilities in everyday objects and situations. New York City based visual artist and sculptor Zoe Leonard remarked once that "the objects that we leave behind, like archeological findings reveal so much about us". As an artist particularly using deliberately not precious materials, we’d love to ask you about the qualities of the materials that you include — or that you plan to include — in your artworks: in particular, how do you consider the role of raw, found and recycled materials in your projects? Anna Macrae: I do relate to Zoe Leonard’s observations, I feel that every apparently insignificant object has a story, and a scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Changing Landscapes, 20x60, oils, 2016
reason for being there, and therefore has value and purpose. Things can become very personal and have a narrative, no matter how mundane they may seem to be. When I am sourcing materials to embed, I take form what is close at hand and is quite otherwise valueless. I have a need to disrupt the surface before I can start to make. I build layers and then excavate. Working on an old canvases or just literally laying down raw materials such as cardboard or fabric really helps me not feel precious about starting on a new piece, this become part of a warm up ritual to see where the making journey might take me Your artworks are marked out with such sapient combination between rigorous sense of geometry and precise choice of tones, that you create by laying then editing and redacting, and that provide Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
your works with recognizable visual identity: do you create your works intuitivelly, instinctively? How important are improvisation and spontaneity in your practice? Anna Macrae: Intuition, improvisation and spontaneity are key to my practice. I think scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Escaping Places, 40 x 40 oils, 2017
Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land in general I have to put a lot of information down, then edit and redact, searching for beauty in those messy imperfections that reveal themselves, similar to life’s journey I suppose. When I am in the process of making, and get into that special zone, it can often feel like I’m somehow detached from being in control Happy Place, oils fabric, 42 x42, 2016
Escape, 36 x48, oils, 2016
and the art seems to makes itself. It feels like making magic sometimes J We definetely love the way Unintended Consequences features such stunning combination between reminders to realistic elements and such unique abstract sensitiveness, to create scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Silly Little Thingy 1, Cardboard and mixed medium 10x10 2021
seductively ambiguous images. Scottish artist Peter Doig once remarked that even the most realistic work of arts are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us, how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Silly Little Thingy 2, Cardboard and mixed medium 10x10 2021
Unintended Consequences - 36 x 48 - oil house paint mixed medium 2020
Anna Macrae: Yes I love this painting too. It has such buildup of so many layers of information. I think often the viewer wants to make sense of what they are observing by trying to rationalize shapes and forms into recognizable objects. We are naturally drawn to what we know, and look for scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Inconsequential Cotton, oil and mixed medium, 24 x 24 2020
what is familiar. I personally find abstraction much more challenging and engaging to create and observe than realistic work. I agree with Peter Doig that what is laid down is the result of personal observations and experience of the artist, which is the product of their own unconscious reality, Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Silly Little Thingy 3, Cardboard and mixed medium, 10x10, 2021
Through your works you created such unique visual vocabulary able to trigger the viewers' imagination, inviting them to elaborate personal interpretations: how open would you like your works to be understood? Anna Macrae: I think if I’m honest, I not scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
really looking for my paintings to be understood, I think an engaging painting, particularly abstract, should take the viewer on their own personal journey. As an artist, I have fulfilled my need to express myself. I invite the viewer to then build their own relationship and response to what they are uncovering. If my painting are easy to understand, they become benign Your artistic production feature such unconventional sense of beauty that challenges the logic of ordinary perception, unveiling the connection between beauty and imperfection: how do you consider the role of aesthetics playing within your artistic research? Anna Macrae: Who wants something that is perfect, there doesn’t seem anything to discover in perfection, it doesn’t seem to have a story or be open to growth. In general I approach my artmaking with no rules, and it becomes a dance of sorts where the personal decision making process is up to me to solve. The answer lies in how it makes me feel when I’m making, that is the key to for me for finding my perfect imperfection Your artworks have often titles that seem to offer guidance to the viewers: how do you go about naming your work ? In particular, is important for you to tell something that might walk the viewers through their visual experience? Anna Macrae: I feel my titles are pretty random. I like something a bit unexpected or maybe something that happened across my day. It might be relatable or ambiguous. I invite the viewer to take pause and think of their scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Anna Macrae Land
own relationship to the title and work Over the years your works have been showcased in many exhibitions, including your current show Shifting Viewpoints at Commons Gallery, Sammamish, Washington: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annamacrae_ art — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? Anna Macrae: Yes it is definitely an interesting time to be an artist as far as finding your audience. One thing that the pandemic has shown us is that we should look for new ways to promote ourselves, which has really taken on global possibilities. I feel this has broken down a lot of preconceived boundaries and given way to the prospect of been seen online internationally rather than just a physical space. Having said that, there is nothing better than to hang your work and understand it in the context of a gallery and interact directly with your audience. I have been playing with Instagram for a couple of years now, I do enjoy the networking and following artists that inspire me and occasionally you get some interesting opportunities that come your way, which is nice scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Anna Macrae scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land That Time The World Stood Still, 30 x 40, oil an dmixed medium, 2021
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Just Because I Said So , oil and mixed medium, 18 x 24, 2021
We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Anna. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Anna Macrae: It’s been a pleasure sharing my thoughts with you. I currently have an exhibition that I am preparing for, called “Playing For Time” at Shift Gallery in Seattle. Some of the work I made last summer, and some is more recent, I really wanted to focus on repeat patterns and forms that I see reoccurring in my work, and solidify these into my artmaking vocabulary. Over the last few years I have expanding my practice to explore more sculptural forms, I feels these are a natural progression to the way I’ve been working, as they are very tactile and material based, often using found objects. I will certainly be exploring these more and understanding the crossover between painting and sculpture. Thank you for taking time to read this article, and I look forward to connecting with your readers scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Anna Macrae Land An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Hello Nina and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production, we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.ninatichava.com in order to get a wide idea about your multifaceted artistic production. We would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training, and you hold a BFA from California College of the Arts [+ Crafts] in San Francisco/Oakland: how did these formative years influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how did your cultural substratum — due to your parents’ multidimensional creative work — direct the trajectory of your current artistic research? Nina Tichava: Thank you so much for featuring my paintings and for your thoughtful questions, truly. I love that you immediately describe my art practice as multifaceted, as that is such an essential characteristic of my work and an apt way to label my interests: numerous. My time in art school at CCA[C] was absolutely foundational to the way that I paint today. At that time in the late 90’s, the school was still My paintings are about relationships; I’m interested in the interactions between materials and methods as well as the color and spatial relationships that naturally develop in process. Using painting and printmaking techniques, I interweave drawing and collage with a variety of media. Simultaneously painterly and constrained, my paintings are composed of complex layers, many of which are over-painted and concealed. A prominent element of my work is the application of thousands of beads of paint, painstakingly and individually painted with a brush and used to create screens and patterns. I describe my work as “abstract painting with botanical and architectural references,” as the pieces suggest natural forms (birds, leaves, branches), man made structures (buildings, windows, lights) and patterning both natural and designed (woven fabrics, strata of earth, pixels). My works are emotional and imperfect, and as objects they embody my response to things mass produced and idealized. The paintings are collections of moments from daily life: combined glimpses, thoughts, memories and objects. I am trying to describe not only what things look like, but also how they might feel. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Nina Tichava
Perhaps Your Dream Drifted Through Mine / Lantern Series
focused on both fine arts and craft arts, with curriculums in textiles, glass blowing, ceramics and furniture making alongside painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture. Concurrently, the school was growing its digital programs like graphic and industrial design, illustration and web design, but I found myself most drawn to the more traditional fine arts and crafts. I often refer to the way that I work as “building” a painting; that is to say, I am interested in the objectness of the pieces I make and how they exist in a physical space and what they are made of. I’m not as invested in just what a painting looks like or depicts, but the process itself, as well as the physical thing. The craft of making something in the real world—a heavy, complex, technical feat—is what continually draws me to art making. My school decided to drop the “Craft” from its name in 2003, and I was the last graduating class that was able to choose whether to have the word Craft on my diploma, which of course I chose; the craft was the reason I wanted to go to the school in the first place. The draw of craft did originate with my parents, as you mention. My father was a Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land When Day Comes We Step Out Of The Shade / Lantern Series Somewhere Between Dust And The Stars / Lantern Series
construction worker and builder when I was young, and he built our modest home in rural Northern New Mexico mainly by himself. It was the early 70’s and “living off the land” was a definite cultural movement; my family had chickens and a garden and really we lived like it was another century in some ways. My mother learned to weave, and would spin then dye her own wool to make thread. scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition The Winds Of The Heavens Dance Between You / Lantern Series
My mother was always making something, either weaving or beading, canning food or baking bread. It was a very creative environment to be raised in, and I learned at a young age to express myself by making. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape and that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article, has at once captured our attention Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land You Got My Soul / Lantern Series
for the way your unique artistic research unveils the connection between reality and abstraction, inviting the viewers to explore the multilayered nature of the relationship between colors and shapes: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how did you developed your cross-disciplinary technique? Nina Tichava: My technique began developing in art school, where the general culture of my department was that painting could really be anything, and the lines between painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture were amorphous. I was encouraged by my teachers to take some time working independently before applying to MFA programs, and I took that recommendation seriously. I prioritized finding affordable studio space—which brought me back to New Mexico—and began working hard at making paintings. I had the focus and the freedom to try anything I wanted, and I pushed myself to find new ways to work with different ideas. Over time, I scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Slowly The West Reaches For Clothes Of New Colors / Lantern Series
Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land began to refine the visual language I was developing, and that language included elements of printmaking, direct painting, repeating pattern and even some subtle dimensionality. We have particularly appreciated the way your artworks feature such a balanced combination between a rigorous sense of geometry and a careful choice of colors, showing that vivacious tones are not strictly indispensable to create tension and dynamics. How do you structure your process in order to achieve such brilliant results? In particular, how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks? Nina Tichava: A key element of my process that enables brilliant color is the use of fastdrying layers. I was originally an oil painter, but transitioned to acrylic in 2012 in order to achieve the kind of layering I wanted, which often mimics printmaking. I have found that
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition the use of multiple layers creates depth and minimizes muddiness, which was something I always struggled with when painting in oils. For years I was constraining my color choices, mainly because I was sensitive to what I felt were imbalances created by forceful use of color, but in the past 5 years or so I have been able free myself from a certain selfconsciousness about vibrant color and to experiment with high contrast and rich hues. The Only Song I Want To Hear / Botanical Series
From a personal perspective, I see my current color tendencies to be freer and more confident than in the past. As you remarked once, your process-based paintings are "as unplanned as possible, and I search to convey a feeling of immediacy and to enhance the very physical and tactile elements of my artworks." New York City-based artist Lydia Dona once Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land You Don’t Even Know How Breathtaking You Are / Botanical Series
Ever Since Happiness Heard Your Name(Aspen) /Botanical Series
remarked that in order to make art today one has to reevaluate the conceptual language behind the mechanism of art making itself. How do you consider the creative role of improvisation playing within your artistic practice? Nina Tichava: I typically begin my paintings scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Capsized Forever Into This Infinite Golden Sea / Botanical Series
with intuitive mark making or patterning, creating an underlying texture and movement that I use as a starting place from which to build. These beginnings are certainly instinctive, but also come from committed practice and tried methods. I am continually trying new things to keep the work fresh and interesting to me, and there is definitely a Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land The Only Thing That Ever Saved My Life / Botanical Series
spontaneity to the decisions I make. My paintings would be impossible without that discovery. I do not even consider composition until a painting is roughly half-way done, and the process of making a piece flow and balance is a continual effort until the painting is finished. I can’t imagine planning a painting ahead of time and then scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition A Man Couldn’t Make A Habit Of Such Color / Botanical Series
methodically executing that original plan without deviation…perhaps it is because I tend to be a little controlling in my own life, so I need the paintings to be a place where I can make it up as I go along. It might be the only place I can do it. As you have expressed in your artist's statement, you try to describe “not only what things look like, but also how they might feel.” How does your everyday life experience and your memories fuel your creative process? Nina Tichava: I truly am a collector of visual moments, like the curve of built-up snow on a tennis court, the unfolding of a sunset on my drive home from the studio, the way trees stand in silhouette against a wall...it is endless what I find inspiring. At the same time, I do not want to paint a sunset, or a tree, exactly. This might be the distinction that draws me to abstraction: it is not a literal interpretation or a description I am trying to achieve, but a deeper sense of what an object or image might hold for myself or the viewer, whether that is a memory or a feeling or something else entirely I don’t always know. Your works suggest natural forms as well as architectural man-made structures. With their sapient construction and a bit enigmatic visual quality, your artworks seem to unveil the bridge between the real and the imagined. Scottish painter Peter Doig once stated that even the most realistic paintings are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us. How do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination playing within your artistic production? Nina Tichava: How wonderful that you bring up Peter Doig—he’s a favorite of mine and I absolutely agree with his statement. I believe that the feelings and viewpoint of the maker cannot be separated from the art, as the art is coming through the maker’s brain and hands scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Nina Tichava Land
much like a filter. There is a translation happening, whether in paintings or photographs or digital art. I also know that a creator’s personal experiences of being alive will affect their version of reality. This might be the special thing that makes art necessary, that artists can imagine and articulate their own account of the world. Even if you set out to describe something exactly like you see it, you will see it differently than everyone else. I scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Let Me Tell You About Love / Botanical Series
think that I do make paintings to show the outside world what I see inside my head, or what I might want to see exist in the world. Circular shapes are quite recurrent in your artistic production: would you tell us something about this aspect of your works? Nina Tichava: I have worked with repeating patterns since the beginning of my career, Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Between The Flowers Face To Face With The Sky / Botanical Series
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition I Came To Make The Sky A Garden / Botanical Series
using motifs I found in textiles, in architecture and in nature. Over time, I found that the overlapping circle was continually surfacing in my work, frequenly broken into arcs or in moments that were just the suggestion of a disk. I love that the circle is universal and very flexible, and can reference nature (planets, tree trunks, ripples in water, a pupil) as well as the manmade (bulbs, balls, tables, plates, wheels, rings…an boundless category!). I find that the circles are also powerful vehicles for movement, directing the eye around the composition and often creating a soft rhythm. The refinement of my visual language as well as the utility of the circle is how it became such a central element in my paintings. With their unique multilayered feature, we daresay that your artistic practice seems to aim to look inside of what appears to be seen, rather than its surface, providing the spectator with freedom to realize their own scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Nina Tichava Land Among The Hesitant Branches / Botanical Series The Leaf Has A Song In It / Botanical Series
perception. Austrian art historian Ernst Gombrich wrote of the importance of providing a space for the viewers to project onto, so that they can actively participate in the creation of the illusion: how important is it for you to trigger the viewers' imagination in order to allow for personal interpretations? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? Nina Tichava: Looking at art, and especially nonrepresentational art, is a very personal and subjective thing. It is also what I find exciting about making abstract work, because the viewer is able to layer their own memories and experiences over my paintings, making the encounter quietly interactive. I enjoy hearing from people about what they might see in the work, or what it might remind them scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Your Happening Is Beautiful / Palm And Lantern 1&2 / Botanical Series
of. It is great when someone surprises me with a thought about something they see in my work that I would never expect or imagine myself. The open-endedness of that interaction is so satisfying. You are an established artist, and over the years your works have been exhibited on many occasions, including your recent participation to the 8th Anniversary Group Show at Laura Rathe Fine Art, in Dallas: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of art from traditional gallery spaces to street and especially to online platforms, such as Instagram, increases, how does this, in your opinion, change the relationship with a globalised audience? Nina Tichava: I have never believed that artists create in a vaccuum, and for certain I don’t. I am often looking at other artists, as well as designers, to see what they are interested in, and of course when there is increased demand for certain paintings that I make I am motivated to make more. I think I would make paintings on my own even if not a professional artist and committed to multiple galleries, but I would not make nearly as many and definitely not as big as I have been! I fully embrace digital and social media—it ties back to the culture of my art school as well as my own opinion: art can be anything you want it to be, and the traditional categories of painting, photography, digital media, etc. are all overlapping in beautiful ways. I think that a physical piece seen in person is going to be a different experience than the one you have on a phone or computer, but I do not categorize one as being better or worse than another— they are just different. Being an art maker in the past 10 years has really bridged physical and digital spaces, and especially the last two years in a pandemic…I don’t know how I would have survived without a digital and social community. It is exciting to have my work seen by a larger and more diverse audience, especially globally. The barriers to exhibiting in physical spaces can be very intimidating, and online sharing really does Nina Tichava scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
equalize is so many ways. I am also inspired daily by artists and creators I follow online, and have built real relationships with so many people and institutions. I cannot imagine being a contemporary artist without digital interactions. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninatichava) Twitter: @ninaforplace We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic work and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Nina. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Nina Tichava: Thank you again for your time scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition I Carry Your Heart With Me / Weaving Series
and interest. I’m so appreciative of you selecting my paintings for this article! I am currently working on paintings for upcoming exhibitions in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Dallas, Texas. They are colorful, mainly large-scale pieces that are really exciting to be making. In addition to creating new work, I am also getting involved in the NFT space, a recent obsession fueled by my interests in digital media and the future of Web3. It’s a compelling space to be exploring right now, and I am spending as much time learning as I can find while in full production mode in my studio. I tend to seek out complexity and am most happy working on many projects at once, so this year is one I am really looking forward to. scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Nina Tichava Land An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Hello Amy and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production, we would like to invite our readers to visit https://amynelderart.com in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production. We would start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. Your studies range from the University of California at Berkeley to the Academy of Art in San Francisco to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia: how did these experiences influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how did your cultural substratum direct the trajectory of your current artistic research, helping you to develop your attitude toward experimentation? Amy Nelder: My life has always been a mosaic of my artistic passions. As far back as I can remember into my childhood, I was always multi-tasking my various art mediums, from visual to music. If I wasn’t singing, I was drawing or painting; if I wasn’t drawing or painting, I was playing piano or eventually writing poetry, or dreaming poems that I later painted, or “wrote” with imagery. Painting helped me process a lot of my life, and music was my celebration. In my mid-twenties, I began to paint full-time, which for me became a solitary experience, me alone with my thoughts, inspirations and objectives. It took me a while to even realize that my painting was musical and story-telling as well, morphing I’ve become keenly aware of a welcome invasion of experience and time affecting my work. It’s not about aging, or so specifically the passage of time, but with every experience my frame of reference becomes richer, and the experiences are moments, and the moments become conversations, and the conversations become hours, and the hours become growth, and as the years pass I become an accumulation of more and more experiences, and those experiences affect my work. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Amy Nelder
many of my interests and intentions. Once that became my career, it also became my solace and my method of communication for everything else in my path - and so with every passing year, my work changes subtly with my areas of immersion in my life, influenced by the size of the world around me and what’s happening in it, ranging from the birth of my child to the #metoo movement to the current pandemic. My work changes more distinctly every few years, but I don’t think of it as experimentation, I think of it as actualizing what’s in my head, sometimes working on a composition in my mind for years before I find or make the time for it to pour out onto the canvas. I spent the first 25 years of my life identifying primarily as a singer and songwriter who also painted and wrote, but eventually those identities shifted, and I became a painter who did music on the side - but I always notice how musical my painting is. My way of feeling color is totally rhythmic and lyrical, the way I lay the colors down with excruciating balance is a compulsion born of feeling an inescapable sense of melody, treble and bass. A painting is a composition, just like a symphony. Now I evince my musicality through color, detail, and compositional balance. It’s all very layered, my passions intermingled. I was a very serious opera singer for much of that part of my life, which is also a very narrative and dramatic way of being immersed in music, and my work often feels very operatic to me as well, ranging from lyrical to coloratura to dramatic. Wild Night, for instance, I would call very coloratura, lots of colorful runs for the soprano. After the Black and White Ball is heavier, darker and more dramatic. Details are more like high notes, the thick layered scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition