Your background is in photography, it was what you were focusing on when we were in the MFA program together at SF State University. How did you first get into making drawings? I know that’s what it seems like, because both my BFA and MFA are in photography, but I have been drawing since I…
Hiba Schahbaz is a Brooklyn-based artist who works in the centuries-old art form of miniature painting. She trained in miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan and received an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in New York City. Schahbaz, a Muslim woman of color, speaks critically and poetically about western…
Dustin Harewood brings to canvas colliding worlds, where east meets west, both above and below sea level. His works mesh the importance of our climate and the heavy hand that media has, using the imagined to discuss our human footprint. Heavily influenced by the submerged landscapes, Harewood has used his memories to create a vibrant and…
I stand in front of a question written in obsidian shards. I don’t speak obsidian. I’m not sure anyone does. I’m not even sure Jimmie Durham does, and he’s the one who wrote it. I try to translate. “God! You’re, the a do sad ads (oa) ash… bread as a broad goo?” That can’t be…
Bryan Kring is an Oakland-based book artist and graphic designer. His enchanting images and dark humored writing are often enhanced with interactive mechanisms that pull you into another world held in the palm of your hand. I visited him in the studio to see more of his work in person and ask him about his…
Is embroidery a skill you learned as a child, or something you developed later on? My mother taught me to sew when I was a little girl, just simple stitching, and it was something I’ve always done. I never had any formal training. I don’t use proper stitches. I don’t use techniques that have a…
Truth be told, I would have loved to sit down with Rebecca Reeves in person to pick her brain about her art work, which begs to be further investigated. However, as Bucks County and San Francisco are separated by a vast 2,900 miles, we had to settle for a digital exchange. My initial investigations of…
When I look at your work, I see of glimpses of intimacy — at times they are absurd or cause discomfort, but the intention is earnest. What do you want your work to do, to evoke in a viewer or participant? My partner once looked at my work and told me he thought my work…
Clare Benson is a contemporary artist based in Arizona who grew up in Michigan. Benson’s work explores rural landscapes, hunting, and identity. We chose to speak with Benson because we felt her work, post election, showed a unique perspective into rural America through exploring gender roles, our relationships with the land, and climate change. Benson…
There is enigmatic simplicity, from the design of your website to your artwork. Tell me a bit about yourself – did you grow up with a lot of exposure to contemporary art? Oh not at all. Truthfully, I didn’t learn a lot about contemporary art until I was in graduate school. I grew up in…
