Interviews by Brainard Carey

Violeta Maya (b. 1993, Madrid, Spain) lives and works in Madrid and received her BA from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2015. Recent solo exhibitions include Me atrevo a decir que esta pintura está viva, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2025), Precisamente porque el rosa me incomoda, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, ES (2023), Todo en constante cambio y yo aquí observando, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2023), ¿Verde Azulado o Azul Verdoso?, Alzueta Gallery, Palau de Casavells, Girona, ES (2022), and A mi nadie me preguntó si quería nacer, pero bueno, aquí estoy, Alzueta Gallery, Madrid, ES (2022).

She was recently featured as part of the Olivia Foundation’s Spotlight Series and has been included in group exhibitions at Jack Siebert Projects, Los Angeles (2025), Fernberger Gallery, Los Angeles (2024), Alzueta Gallery, Madrid, ES (2023); and GÄRNA Gallery, Madrid, ES (2022), among others.

Violeta Maya, Me atrevería a decir que esta pintura está viva, 2024, Pigments and acrylic on canvas, 80 1/4h x 119 3/4w in.

Violeta Maya, Miedo a lo desconocido, 2024, Wood, acrylic on silk, 81 1/4h x 20w x 4 3/4d in.

Violeta Maya, Infinitas versiones de una misma I, 2024, Pigments and acrylic on canvas, 78 1/2h x 48 3/4w in.

Diane Burko’s work in painting, photography, and time-based media considers the marks that human conversations make on the landscape. A Professor Emerita of the Community College of Philadelphia with additional teaching experience at Princeton University, Burko has received multiple grants from the NEA, the Pennsylvania Arts Council, the Leeway Foundation and the Independence Foundation. She has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art.

After focusing for several decades on monumental geological formations and waterways through landscape painting, Burko has shifted in the past 20 years to analyze the impact of industrial and colonial activity on those same landscapes. Burko’s practice seeks to visually emulsify interconnected subjects– extraction, deforestation, extinction, environmental justice, indigenous genocide, ecological degradation, climate collapse– so viewers might feel their connection viscerally through the beauty of her work. While her work deals with impending climate catastrophe, rather than lingering in dystopia, it celebrates the sublimity of the landscape by honoring the intricate geological and political webs that shape the identity of a place.

Burko has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, including shows at London’s Royal Academy of Art, Minneapolis Art Institute, National Academy of Sciences, Phillips Collection, RISD Museum Tang Museum, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, and the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. She has been awarded residencies in Giverny, Bellagio, the Arctic Circle, and the Amazon Rainforest. In 2021, her solo exhibition Seeing Climate Change at the American University Museum was cited in the New York Times as one of the best shows of 2021. Her most recent solo show, Diane Burko: Bearing Witness, open January 31 to March 8, 2025 at Cristin Tierney Gallery was her first solo exhibition in New York in over 40 years.

Throughout her practice, Burko especially cherishes her collaborations with researchers in the sciences. She learns the most from “bearing witness” to the land.

Diane Burko Summer Heat 1 & 2 2020 Mixed Media on Canvas, 84 x 162 in. overall. Courtesy of the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery. Photo by Adam Reich.

Diane Burko Amazon 34 2024 Mixed Media on Canvas, 20 x 20 in. Courtesy of the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery. Photo by Adam Reich.

Diane Burko Unprecedented Study 1 2021 Mixed Media on Canvas, 20 x 20 in. Courtesy of the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery. Photo by Adam Reich.

Photography by Balarama Heller

Aaron Gilbert (b. 1979, Altoona, PA) lives and works between New York and Los Angeles. Gilbert received a BFA in painting from Yale University in 2005 followed by a MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2008. Gilbert also holds an Associate of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Penn State University (2000).

Gilbert’s work has been exhibited with Sant’Andrea de Scaphis, Rome; PPOW Gallery, New York; Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles; Lyles & King, New York; and Deitch Projects, New York. Gilbert’s work is in major public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, Studio Museum in Harlem, Columbus Museum of Art, High Museum, and RISD Museum. Aaron Gilbert has also been the recipient of many awards including the Colene Brown Art Prize in 2022, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant in 2015, and was named the 2010 “Young American Painter of Distinction” by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Gilbert has held residencies at Fountainhead Residency (2013), Yaddo (2012), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Residency (2008), and American Academy in Rome Affiliate Fellowship (2008).

Aaron Gilbert's debut exhibition with Gladstone Gallery, World Without End, is on view through April 19, 2025.

Aaron Gilbert • g • o • p • u • f • f •, 2025 Oil on linen 66 x 129 inches (167.6 x 327.7 cm) © Aaron Gilbert Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Photography by David Regen

Aaron Gilbert The Fourth Way, 2024 Oil on linen 108 x 74 3/8 inches (274.3 x 188.6 cm) © Aaron Gilbert Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Photography by David Regen

Aaron Gilbert Judah (Al Green), 2024 Oil on linen 21 3/4 x 28 7/8 inches (55.2 x 73.7 cm) © Aaron Gilbert Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Photography by David Regen

Rei Xiao was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and earned her BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional study at Central Saint Martins at the University of Arts, London, United Kingdom.

She has exhibited her works in shows in Istanbul, London, Boston, and New York City and has held artist residencies at ChaNorth, Vermont Studio Center, and The Macedonia Institute.

Her first solo exhibition, "The Flea and the Acrobat," was shown in Fragment Gallery in 2025. She is also a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and a finalist for the Bennett Prize.

CYCLONE V10 ABSOLUTE, 2024 Oil on linen 24 x 42 in | 60 x 106 cm

IT WAS DARK INSIDE THE WOLF, 2022 Oil on canvas 48 x 60 in | 121 x 152 cm

BALL AND CHAIN, 2022 Oil on canvas 28 x 36 in | 71 x 91 cm

At first glance, Mung'ora's work offers glimpses into everyday life in Nairobi, capturing moments ranging from bustling cityscapes to intimate portraits.Yet, upon deeper reflection, Mung'ora's canvases reveal a profound commentary on the fragmentation of urban landscapes, where physical and socialboundaries delineate diverse experiences from street to street. Through meticulously layered compositions, Mung'ora intertwines historical referenceswith modern-day scenes, highlighting the enduring imprints of past lives while emphasizing the disparities inherent in Nairobi's evolving environments.

Mung’ora is a member of Brush Tu, a Nairobi-based artists’ collective, and has exhibited widely including: A Tapestry of Contemporary Africa, MoCaL.I., New York (2024); Common Ground, NCAI, Nairobi (2023); African Identities, AKKA Project, Venice (2022); Walking the Edge, Afriart Gallery,Kampala (2022); 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair, New York (2022); Fragments, Antoine Dupin, Rennes (2022); A Gathering of Small Fires, MontagueContemporary, New York (2021); Sacrifice Pasture, One Off Gallery, Nairobi (2021); Kikulacho, British Institute in East Africa, Nairobi (2018);Remains, Waste & Metonymy II, British Institute in East Africa, Nairobi (2017); Stranger Times, Circle Art Gallery, Nariobi (2017), among others.

He was the winner of the 2016 Manjano Art Prize in Nairobi, a finalist in the 2018 edition of the Barclays L’Atelier competition, and a finalist in the 2020EPI competition.His works form part of many notable collections, including the I&M Bank Collection, MFA Boston (promised), New Orleans Museum of Art (promised),Rodney Miller Collection, Nicolas Jay Collection, Rift Collection, Sir John Rose Collection, among others. His work been featured in the Artnet, Art inAfrica, the New York Times, and the Nation, among others.

Installation, ‘Song of Lawino,’ a solo exhibition by Kenyan artist Elias Mung’ora held at Indiana State University's Yang Gallery

Installation, ‘Song of Lawino,’ a solo exhibition by Kenyan artist Elias Mung’ora held at Indiana State University's Yang Gallery

Unplanned Move 2 2024 Mixed Media on Canvas 71 x 71 in

Self Portrait 2024 Signed and Dated on Front Mixed Media on Canvas 71 x 71 in

Graham Marks produces exuberant, coil-built ceramics adorned with vibrant glazes, which combine functionalism with visual delight. Of late, Marks has embraced loose, sinuous forms from which coils of clay spill in dynamic and improvisatory compositions. His candelabras and flower vases contain a wild energy all their own, full of brash, linear abandon. In their merging of pattern and embellishment, they recall the intricate crafts of eighteenth-century France, bringing rococo flourishes to the timeless theme of utilitarian vessels.

Marks taught ceramics at Kansas State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he was Head of Ceramics from 1986 to 1992. His work has been exhibited internationally and collected privately; it is held by numerous public institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Detroit Institute of Art, the Everson Museum, the Museum of Art and Design, the Cranbrook Museum of Art, the Stedelijk Museum, the Hermitage Museum, and the National Gallery of Australia. From 1992 to 1995, he studied acupuncture with J.R. Worsley, establishing a private practice which ran successfully for two and a half decades. In 2020, Marks returned to ceramics. He splits his time between Brooklyn and Alfred, NY.

Graham Marks, Collection of Candelabras, 2023–24. Glazed stoneware, thrown, coiled, and pinched. Dimensions vary. Courtesy of Hostler Burrows. Photo by Joe Kramm

Graham Marks, Pair of Candelabras, 2024. Glazed stoneware, thrown, coiled, and pinched. Dimensions vary. Courtesy of Hostler Burrows. Photo by Joe Kramm

Graham Marks, Collection of Malinalco Candelabras, 2023. Glazed stoneware, thrown, coiled, and pinched. Dimensions vary. Courtesy of Hostler Burrows. Photo by Joe Kramm

Adam Erlbaum received a BA in Mathematics from The Colorado College in 2002.  He has attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of the Arts, and the MFA program at the Vermont College of the Fine Arts.

Erlbaum has exhibited in Philadelphia, Aspen, South Carolina, and St. Louis.  He paints at The Mill Studios in Philadelphia.

Adam Erlbaum "Yellow Alleys," 2024 Oil on canvas. 24 × 30 × 2 1/2 in.

Adam Erlbaum "Blue Break Vertical," 2024 Oil on canvas. 30 × 24 × 2 1/2 in.

Adam Erlbaum "Yellow Over Blue," 2024 Oil on canvas. 30 × 24 × 2 1/2 in.

Emil Lukas Infinite Edge 6 February – 15 March 2025 New York, NY – 9 January 2025: Sperone Westwater is pleased to present new work by Emil Lukas.

His fifth solo exhibition at the gallery is comprised of paintings and works on paper utilizing materials which have characterized his practice: thread, acrylic, ink and larvae. Lukas’ circular thread paintings, Fuse and In Wave (each 60 inches in diameter) combine an actively painted reflector behind an accumulation of thread.

The artist’s new series of lattice paintings, including Glass in Moving Water, explores what happens when we process two complementary paintings at the same time. The artist creates an underpainting on the canvas, then layers a second composition on a raised pattern of dots. The combined acrylic-on-canvas works engage the viewers’ position and distance in the surrounding architecture of the gallery.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1964, Emil Lukas has exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. Solo museum shows include “Emil Lukas: Connection to the Curious,” The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT (2005); “Emil Lukas,” The Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC (2005); “Things with Wings,” The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA (2005); “Moderate Climate and the Bitter Bison,” Hunterdon Museum, Hunterdon, NJ (2008); “Emil Lukas,” Morris Gallery at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia (2016); “Emil Lukas: Entre dos líneas tenues,” Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry, Uruguay (2023) and “Emil Lukas: Four Modes,” Lafayette College Art Galleries, Easton, PA (2023).

Emil Lukas, In Wave, 2024, thread over wood, plaster, aluminum frame with paint and nails, 60 x 60 x 6 inches (152,4 x 152,4 x 15,2 cm)

Emil Lukas, 4.24 Light Years, 2024, ink on glass and paper with graphite and charcoal in painted frame, 15 x 12 x 2 inches (38,1 x 30,5 x 5,1 cm)

Emil Lukas, Dendrite, 2025, acrylic on canvas over wood panel, 55 x 79 x 3 inches (139,7 x 200,7 x 7,6 cm)

Stephanie H. Shih in the studio, Brooklyn, NY, 2025. Photo: Robert Bredvad

Stephanie H. Shih (b. 1986, Philadelphia, PA) renders outdated consumer goods as trompe l’oeil sculptures that reveal the tensions within American domestic life. Turning everyday items—a Thighmaster, a self-help book, many pantries’ worth of condiments—into intricately painted ceramic objects transforms each into a permanent artifact. Seen together, the works play with notions of timelessness and obsolescence, nostalgia and disillusionment.

Shih has exhibited work at James Cohan, New York, NY; Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA; Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Alexander Berggruen, New York, NY; Cantor Arts Center, Stanford, CA; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA; Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR; and the American Museum of Ceramic Arts, Pomona, CA. The artist has also been the recipient of numerous awards and residencies including the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship, New York, NY; residency at The Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY as well as many others.

Community work is central to Shih’s practice, and since 2017, she has used her art and platform to raise over half a million dollars in direct aid for victims of state violence. Want to help? Click here. She is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.

Works from Stephanie H. Shih’s solo show Domestic Bliss (January 22-February 26, 2025) at Alexander Berggruen, New York. All works: 2023-2024, ceramic. Copyright the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Robert Bredvad

Stephanie H. Shih Filet-O-Fish, 2023 ceramic 5 1/2 x 5 x 5 1/2 in. (14 x 12.7 x 14 cm.) Copyright the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Robert Bredvad.  Included in Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss (January 22-February 26, 2025) at Alexander Berggruen, NY.

Stephanie H. Shih Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 2024 ceramic 7 x 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (17.8 x 11.4 x 3.8 cm.) Copyright the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Robert Bredvad.  Included in Stephanie H. Shih: Domestic Bliss (January 22-February 26, 2025) at Alexander Berggruen, NY.

David Humphrey has maintained a forty-year commitment to making formally inventive, psycho-socially engaged paintings. Over this time he has  continued to transform images from the public realm into imaginative hybrids of the social and eccentrically individual, the historic and vividly contemporary. His work celebrates the peculiar nesting within the familiar.  Mixing various representational schema with improvisational abstraction, he tells stories of vexed intimacy, political/ socio reality, and imaginative projections crashing into the real.

David Humphrey (b. 1955) has been the subject of 44 solo exhibitions including McKee Gallery, NY; Sikkema Jenkins, NY; Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami; and Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati. His work is in the collections of several museums and public collections including Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as well as the Saatchi Gallery, London. He is currently teaching in the MFA program of Columbia. He was awarded the Rome Prize in 2008. Humphrey has had five solo exhibitions at Fredericks & Freiser.

David Humphrey, Colored Drinks, 2024 Acrylic on canvas 72 x 60 inches

David Humphrey, Plant Thoughts, 2024 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 72 inches

David Humphrey, Wolf, 2024 Acrylic on canvas 54 x 44 inches