Art Sense

A discussion with art critic Ben Davis about his new book "Art in the After-Culture: Capitalist Crisis and Cultural Strategy". In the book, Davis (whose day job is National Art Critic for Artnet News) presents a number of essays that comment on the future of culture, politics, and capitalism through the lens of the art world. What does the future look like?

A discussion with artist Sarah Morris. Morris’s films and paintings try to capture the way in which we conceptualize the physical space of locations, while trying to reconcile our imaginations and the reality of navigation. Her works are in the collections of nearly every major contemporary museum and this coming year will see major retrospectives in both Germany and Japan.

A discussion with artist Lauren Quin. Quin is an abstract painter that builds paintings known for their vibrant colors and layer upon layer of mark making. In the conversation, we discuss her multistage process, her pursuit of intense colors, her love of Los Angeles and the meaning behind the name of her new show at Blum & Poe.

A discussion with beloved New York Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz. Formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice, Jerry won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2018 for an article titled “My Life as a Failed Artist” in which he revealed childhood trauma, his life as an aspiring artist in the 70s and the circuitous path that led him to long-haul truck driving before eventually finding his place writing about art. Much of our conversation centers around advice from his 2020 New York Times Bestseller “How to Be an Artist”.

A discussion with artist Christiane Lyons. In her ongoing series “Some Women”, she explores, by distorting the female body, the cycle of women’s objectification throughout art history and culture while at the same time, attempting to break this cycle by imbuing the figures with subjectivity. One of her paintings from this series is included in the “Women Painting Women” exhibition currently on display at The Modern in Fort Worth.

A discussion with photographer Bonnie Schiffman. Bonnie spent decades specializing in portraits of actors, directors, musicians and comedians for some of the nation’s most popular publications, particularly Rolling Stone magazine. In the episode, she discusses her improvised shooting style, her ability to capture an honest image, her favorite celebrities and her expansion into NFTs.

A discussion with Miranda Metcalf, founder and host of “Hello, Print Friend”, a podcast with over 130 episodes dedicated to the celebration and amplification of printmaking and its culture. In our conversation Miranda provides a historical context for printmaking, its advances, the culture around the medium and advice for the aspiring collector.

A discussion with Andrea Karnes, Chief Curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The museum will be debuting a new group exhibit later this month titled “Women Painting Women”. The show brings together more than forty female painters, including giants like Alice Neel and Faith Ringgold, mid-career artists like Jenny Saville and Amy Sherald, as well as up-and-coming female artists we should be taking note of. The portraits all fall into roughly four categories: The Body, Nature Personified, Color as Portrait, and Selfhood but all are paintings of women by women.

A discussion with author Ann Marks regarding her new book “Vivian Maier Developed”. Vivian Maier became an overnight sensation when over 140,000 professional quality photographs by Maier were found in abandoned storage units throughout Chicago. Documentaries from Netflix and the BBC followed with the common theme of trying to assemble a portrait of the very private and very quirky nanny who happened to be a photographic savant. Marks’ new book digs deep to answer those lingering questions about Vivian’s identity, her past, her shortcomings and her compulsions.

A discussion with artist Barry X Ball. His work utilizes the latest advances in 3D imaging, stone cutting and robotic milling to create breathtaking sculptures that are in conversation with art history. The hand-finished sculptures are known for their use of unique varieties of stone from around the world, as well as their meticulous craftsmanship. The results are captivating.

https://www.barryxball.com/