Art from the Outside

This episode, we are delighted to be joined by the multi-disciplinary artist and dear friend Paul Maheke.

Based in London but originally from France, Paul’s practice focused on dance but encompasses a collaborative body of work comprising performance, installation, sound and video. His work considers the potential of the body as an archive in order to examine how memory and identity is formed and constituted.

Recent solo exhibitions include “A fire circle for a public hearing” at the Chisenhale gallery in London (2018) and Vleeshal Middelburg (2019), and “I Lost Track of the Swarm” at the South London Gallery (2016).

Paul has also performed his work at major events across the world, including at the 2019 Venice Biennale (which was curated by another guest, Aaron Cezar), the 2019 Performa Biennial in New York, and the 2018 Baltic Triennial in Estonia (which is where I actually had the true pleasure of getting to meet Paul).

He completed an MA Art Practice from École nationale supérieure d'arts de Cergy (2011) and was an Associate of Open School East's Programme of study. He is represented by Galerie Sultana and Goodman Gallery.

His most recent work, Taboo Durag, is a new solo performance touching on personal trauma and healing and is part of the Glasgow International 2021. It is viewable every Saturday from 19 June – 31 July, midnight – midnight BST as part of the Digital Programming for the Glasgow International. In June it was announced that he had been commissioned by Artangel to produce a sound art and installations at Orford Ness, a barren shingle spit on England's Suffolk Coast, exploring the history of 'the island of secrets.'

Some artists discussed in this episode:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode, we are very fortunate to be joined by the fabulous Aaron Cezar. Aaron is the Director of the Delfina Foundation, a London-based artist residency program that, since its founding in 2007, has hosted over 300 artists from more than 70 countries. Some familiar alumni include Kevin Beasley, Rana Begum, Michael Rakowitz, Wael Shawky, and Eric N. Mack, just to name a few.

Aaron is also an active curator and was somewhat of a trailblazer as the curator of the performance program at the 2019 Venice Biennale. As part of the official public program, he conceived the opening week and final weekend performances with Ralph Rugoff. 

We’re especially excited to be chatting with Aaron as he is one of the jurors for the Turner Prize, one of the most important art prizes in the UK. 

Aaron has curated external exhibitions, performances and programs at Hayward Gallery Project Space, SongEun Artspace, ArtBo, and Art Dubai, to name a few. Aaron has moderated high profile discussions in conferences as well as in the context of art fairs including Art Basel, Frieze and Art Brussels. He has written for The Art Newspaper, Harper’s Bazaar, and ArtAsiaPacific, among others.

Some artists discussed in this episode:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode, we are extremely lucky to be joined by the pioneering artist, Phyllida Barlow. We talk about her early memories of the art world, how she continues to evolve her practice, what it's like to be a working artist and a parent, getting a CBE, and much more!

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne in England, Phyllida works across media including painting, sculpture, and drawing. She is known for using materials such as plaster, cement and scrim to turn the conventions of sculpture on its head. Phyllida has been widely exhibited across the globe, including, most recently, a solo show at the Royal Academy in London in 2019 and, just this month an exhibition at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany. She presented an installation for the Tate Britain Commission 2014 in the museum's Duveen Galleries. Phyllida was also included in the 2013 Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, PA, which was co-curated by another Art from the Outside guest, Tina Kukielski. Phyllida Barlow is represented by Hauser and Wirth. 

In addition, among an almost never ending list of (very intimidating) accomplishments, Phyllida was was made a CBE for her services to the arts in 2015 and, in 2017, Barlow represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale.

Some artists discussed in this episode:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode we are thrilled to be joined by an amazing gallerist - and friend - Jessica Silverman. Jessica founded her namesake gallery in 2008 in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district; after completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Otis College in Los Angeles and a Master of Arts in Curatorial Practice at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. 

Since then, the gallery has moved to a newly renovated space in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, with an impressive roster of artists such as: Judy Chicago, Hugh Scott-Douglas, Isaac Julien, Andrea Bowers, and (one of our personal favorites) Hayal Pozanti - just to name a few. 

Renowned for punching above its weight, the gallery has an international reputation for curating compelling exhibitions and building artists’ careers. 

Works by the gallery’s artists have been acquired by leading museums all over the world including: Tate (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), MoMA (New York), MCA Chicago, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art - among many others. Visit the gallery's website here. 

Some artists discussed in this episode:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode we are hugely excited to be joined by the definition defying artist Dayanita Singh.

Based in New Delhi, India, Dayanita started taking photographs in the early 1980s, soon expanding into photojournalism. Her practice has grown to span photography, bookmaking, installations, and perhaps most famously since 2012, museum directing.

Her work has been presented at the Hayward Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, as well the Venice Biennale. Her work is also in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate in London, as well as the subject of several books.

She is the winner of multiple awards and perhaps most well-known for her Museum Bhavan, which won the 2017 PhotoBook of the Year in the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards and, in 2018, was awarded the Infinity Award of the International Center of Photography. 

You can follow Dayanita on Instagram @dayanitasingh or visit her website. 

In addition, we also discuss the Indian Tabla Drummer Zakir Hussain. You can learn more about him on the National Endowment for the Arts website.

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode, we are very lucky to speak with the visionary collector, philanthropist, and our personal art world hero, Pamela Joyner.

Based in San Francisco, California, Pamela is a true champion for artists of African descent. Together with her husband Fred Giuffrida, she has built one of the world’s leading collections of  artworks by Black and African diaspora artists, including deep holdings of works by artists including Alma Thomas, Mark Bradford, Jack Whitten, and Sam Gilliam - among many others.

Their collection has been the subject of several museum exhibitions, including shows at Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The collection is also documented in the beautiful book, Four Generations: The Joyner Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art.

Pamela is also a distinguished and highly active philanthropist, sitting on the boards of multiple non-profit institutions, including the San Francisco MoMA, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Tate Americas foundation. She is also a founding member of the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums an organization of and for Black trustees currently serving on the boards of art museums within the United States. 

Some artists discussed:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

In this episode we speak with the inspiring and brilliant artist, Jeffrey Gibson.

Jeffrey Gibson’s practice combines the cultural and artistic traditions of his Cherokee and Choctaw heritage with the visual languages of Modernism and themes from contemporary popular culture. 

Born in Colorado Springs, CO in 1972, Gibson grew up in urban centers in the United States, Germany, Korea, and England; which helped to influence his cross-cultural aesthetic. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Arts in painting at the Royal College of Art in London. 

Gibson’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; Denver Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas - among many others. 

Gibson’s previous exhibitions include, Jeffrey Gibson, ‘LIKE A HAMMER,’ organized by the Denver Art Museum, and ‘This Is The Day,’ organized by The Wellin Museum. Other notable solo exhibitions include: ‘The Anthropophagic Effect’ (2019) The New Museum, New York; ‘Look How Far We’ve Come!’ (2017), Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee; ‘Jeffrey Gibson: Speak to Me,’ (2017), Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Oklahoma City; and ‘A Kind of Confession’ (2016), Savannah College of Art and Design Museum, Savannah. He was included in the 2019 Whitney Biennial and was featured in the outdoor exhibition “Monuments Now,” at Socrates Sculpture Park, in Long Island City.

Gibson is a recipient of numerous awards, notably a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship; Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant; and Creative Capital Foundation Grant. He is currently an artist-in-residence and professor at Bard College and is based in Hudson, New York.

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode, we’re honored to be joined by curator, writer, and museum director Laura Raicovich.

Laura is currently the interim director of New York’s Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, one of the world’s only museums dedicated to the presentation queer art. Prior to assuming this role, Laura was the President and Executive Director of the Queens Museum in New York, where she was instrumental in transforming the museum to better serve its community, as well as expanding its roster of world-class exhibitions. During her tenure, she oversaw exhibitions of Mel Chin, William Gropper, and a show called Hey! Ho! Let's Go: Ramones and the Birth of Punk, an exploration of the band's punk ethics of resistance and roots in Queens.

Before the Queens Museum, Laura spent several years at Creative Time, the Dia: Art Foundation, the Guggenheim Museum, and many other incredible institutions.

Laura has also authored and edited several books, including "At the Lightning Field" (Coffee House Press, 2017) and "A Diary of Mysterious Difficulties" (Publication Studio, 2014). This year, she will also be launching a book on museums and the myth of neutrality titled "Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest," published by Verso Books.

Some artists (and others) discussed in this episode:

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode we are extremely excited to be talking to the boundary defying collector, philanthropist, and general art world powerhouse, Nadia Samdani. 

Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nadia is the founder and director of the Samdani Art Foundation, which she launched in 2011 and has now become one of the leading non-profits focused on supporting the arts in and across South East Asia. 

In her role as Director of the Samdani Art Foundation, Nadia led the launch of the Dkaha Art Summit in 2012, a multifaceted, interdisciplinary biennial that brings together curators, artists, and other arts professionals from around the globe. 

Nadia is also very active philanthropically. She and her husband Rajeeb were founding members of the Tate’s South Asian Acquisition Committee.  And In 2017, with her husband Rajeeb, she was the first South Asian arts patron to receive the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award. 

In 2014 the Samdanis were nominated in the Young Collector of the Year category for the Forbes India Art Award, in recognition of their impressive collection of artists such as Anish Kapoor, Bharti Kher, Jitish Kallat, Ravinder Reddy, Chitra Ganesh, and Subodh Gupta. 

Nadia and Rajeeb plan to soon expand their art empire with another major achievement: the opening of the Srihatta–Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, which is currently slated to be inaugurated in 2021 in Sylhet, a city in eastern Bangladesh. 

Some artists discussed in this episode:

Links: Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka Art Summit, Srihatta

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.

This episode, we welcome the legendary artist Ursula von Rydinsvard. Known for her highly personal and often monumental sculptures in cedar and bronze, Ursula  has been working in Brooklyn, New York for the past 30 years. 

She has had numerous exhibitions around the world, including solo shows at the beautiful Yorkshire Sculpture Park in England, the 2015 Venice Biennale, and the amazing Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. 

Her work is also in the permanent collections of museums including the Metropolitan Museum and MoMA in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, San Francisco MoMA, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, just to name a few. And, to add to her massive list of accomplishments, Ursula was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2008. 

For images, artworks, and more behind the scenes goodness, follow @artfromtheoutsidepodcast on Instagram.