Interviews by Brainard Carey

Polly Shindler (New Haven, 1977) received her M.F.A. in Painting from Pratt Institute and her B.A. in History from University of Massachusetts. She has shown throughout the U.S. as well as internationally at Rafael Pérez Hernando Gallery in Madrid and Cristea Roberts Gallery in London. She recently had her first solo presentation at NADA Art Fair in Miami and will have her first solo exhibition in April of 2024, both with Deanna Evans Projects. Current shows include Feels Like Home at JDJ gallery, May You Live the Rest of Your Life at BravinLee Programs and Cool and Collected at Kenise Barnes Fine Art.

Previous solo shows include Time Management at Freight + Volume, Retreat, at Ortega y Gasset Projects and at the project space Tennis Elbow at The Journal Gallery, NYC. Art Fairs include SP-Arte representing Gisela Projects, São Paulo, BRA, Art Estampa representing Rafael Pérez Hernando Gallery, Madrid, SP, Untitled Art Fair with Pratt Institute Fine Arts and Art on Paper Fair representing 3 Walls, NYC. Polly was awarded the Martha Boschen Porter Grant, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation in 2023. Her painting Green Rocking Chair shown in Still Lives, a group show at Underdonk in Brooklyn, was featured in “Goings on About Town” in the New Yorker in September 2018.

She was granted a yearlong curatorial residency at Trestle Projects in 2015. Shindler has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center in 2013, the Wassaic Project in 2020 and 2022, and Provincetown for the DNA Residency in 2021 and 2023 and Yaddo in 2024. Two of her paintings were cover art for published novels, Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny and A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson. She lives in Millerton, NY in the Hudson Valley with her dog, Owen.

Polly Shindler, Library Stacks 2024 Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10"

Polly Shindler, Moon Garden 3 2024 Acrylic on canvas 24" x 20"

Polly Shindler, Stargazing from the Balcony 2024 Acrylic on canvas 30" x 24"

Natasza Niedziolka Courtesy the artist and Sean Kelly, NewYork/Los Angeles

For nearly ten years, Niedziółka has primarily worked with embroidery thread that she applies by hand to stretched canvas. The canvas functions as a support, manufactured by a machine with a regular horizontal and vertical structure, on which the irregular manual stitching of the embroidery can be seen. In their visual appearance, Niedziółka’s works oscillate between textile picture and tapestry. The hatching – in the sense of stitches made close together, most often in a vertical row – is perhaps the most characteristic aspect of these works in which threads are woven into the canvas in a flat chromatic gradation.

In their materiality and treatment of color, Niedziółka’s works strive toward immediate sensations: They want to be beheld, for it is only when beholders move in front of the picture that the threads can unfold their entire chromatic spectrum. Seen from the front or from the side, these stitches appear either as separate units or as one dense color field. What appears flat is sometimes revealed to be a loop extending out from the surface; and we can discern how parts of the canvas have been treated with a pigment pen or with ink and wax when we look very closely and recognize their different textures.

Her works may therefore explicitly present themselves as pictures, yet their materiality deviates from that of conventional pictures. There is a temporal aspect to be found in the meditative time spent making each work, and there is a chromatic aspect – a curious shimmering of colors that is activated when we move around while looking at the work. And then there is the aspect of the pictures’ appearance, which we can only identify at second glance as embroidered compositions that are non-representational but are always charged with multifaceted associations.

Natasza Niedziółka, At One, One&9, 2023-2024, signed, titled and dated by artist, verso, silk thread, crayon on linen, 50 1/8 x 60 11/16 x 1 inches (127.3 x 154.1 x 2.5 cm). © Natasza Niedziółka Courtesy: the artist and Sean Kelly, New York/Los, Angeles.

Natasza Niedziółka, Zero6812, 2023-2024, cotton and silk thread, crayon on linen, 92 1/2 x 135 13/16 inches (235 x 345 cm). © Natasza Niedziółka Courtesy: the artist and Sean Kelly, New York/Los, Angeles.

Natasza Niedziółka, Protest Song (The Bigger Picture), 2023-2024, silk thread, crayon on ryps silk, 110 1/4 x 74 13/16 inches (280 x 190 cm). © Natasza Niedziółka Courtesy: the artist and Sean Kelly, New York/Los, Angeles.

Armendariz was born in El Paso, Texas. He received his BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2008, Armendariz received the Artpace Supplemental Travel Grant for travel to Mexico City, and in 2013, he was selected to participate as the Artist-in-Residence in the Blue Star Contemporary Berlin Residency Program in partnership with Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany.

In 2017, Armendariz was selected to be the first Artist-in-Residence for the DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas. In 2017 and again in 2022, Armendariz was a selected to be an Artist-In-Residency at Anderson Ranch, Snowmass Village, Colorado.

His artistic and conceptual aesthetic is heavily influenced by growing up near the U.S./Mexico border. Images that have cultural, biographical and art historical references are carved and burned into the surface of his paintings, drawings, and prints. Greek and Mesoamerican mythology plays an important part in the artist’s exploration of the complex relationship between humans and animals. As a figurative artist, Armendariz enjoys playing with traits of human anatomy and identifying possible connections with characteristics found in animals that allow a deeper understanding of humanity.

Armendariz’s artworks can be found in prestigious collections, including the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX and The McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX.

Richard, 'Ricky' Armendariz, Fool for Love, 2023,Signed and dated lower right, numbered lower left, Woodblock print, 26 x 22 in, 66 x 55.9 cm, Edition of 10.

Richard 'Ricky' Armendariz, Novios, Sagittarius, 2022, Signed and dated lower right, numbered lower left, Woodblock print, 20 x 20 in, 50.8 x 50.8 cm, Edition of 5.

Richard 'Ricky' Armendariz, The Predicament, 2023, Signed and dated lower right, numbered lower left, Oil on carved birch wood, 49.75 x 30.5 in, 126.4 x 77.5 cm

Trudy Benson

Trudy Benson received her Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in 2010 and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007.

She has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria; Weber Fine Art, Greenwich, CT; SUNNY, New York; Massif Central, Brussels, Belgium; Miles McEnery Gallery, New York; and Ceysson & Bénétière, Saint-Étienne, France.

Her work has been included in recent group exhibitions at Krinzinger Schottenfeld, Vienna, Austria; Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY; m.simons, Amsterdam; Mother Gallery, Beacon, NY; Miles McEnery Gallery, New York; and Gaa Projects, Cologne, Germany.

Benson’s work may be found in the collections of the Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, New York; Hudson Valley MOCA, Peekskill, NY; Portland Museum of Art, ME; Saatchi Gallery, London; Schwartz Art Collection, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA; and the Susan and Michael Hort Collection, New York.

The artist lives and works in Newburgh, NY.

In a departure from her first exhibition with Miles McEnery Gallery in October 2021, Benson’s compositions have turned to emphasize fine line work made with an airbrush. From afar, warped planes buzz with motion; when the viewer steps closer, densely-scribbled marks are revealed as the source rather than solid blocks of color. The paintings are rendered in color combinations from monochromatic palettes to power clashing hues, creating harmony in the unexpected.

Trudy Benson, A Cross Across, 2023 Acrylic and oil on canvas 34 x 40 inches 86.4 x 101.6 cm

Trudy Benson, Radiant Sky, 2023, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 80 inches, 152.4 x 203.2 cm

Trudy Benson, Tests Her Limits, 2022, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 61 x 77 inches, 154.9 x 195.6 cm

Debbi Kenote in her studio, Brooklyn, NY. 2023. Photograph by Anastasiya Shelest. Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York.

Debbi Kenote (b. 1991, Anacortes, WA) has exhibited at galleries internationally, including shows at Kate Werble and Marvin Gardens in New York, Duran|Mashaal Gallery in Montreal, Cob Gallery in London, and Fir Gallery in Beijing. She received her BFA in Painting from Western Washington University and her MFA in Sculpture from Brooklyn College.

Her work has been on display at several art fairs, including Art Toronto, Art Plural, Future Fair and SPRING/BREAK Art Show. Kenote has been published through Liquitex, Maake Magazine, Elle Magazine, Innovate Grant, Suboart, The Hopper Prize, Art of Choice, and Hyperallergic. Her work has been placed in several collections, including the OZ Art Collection and the Capital One Corporate Collection. She has been an artist in residence at the Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Saltonstall Foundation, PLOP, Nes Artist Residency, and the Mineral School. In 2022 she was a finalist for the Innovate Grant and in 2021 she was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize. Kenote lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Debbi Kenote, Wax Cap, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 48 x 96 inches (121.9 x 243.8 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York.

Debbi Kenote, Elm Cap, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 36 x 72 inches (91.4 x 182.9 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York.

Debbi Kenote, Amanita, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 36 x 72 inches (91.4 x 182.9 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York.

Jakub Tomáš was born in Jihlava, Czech Republic, where he lives and works. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, and studied previously at the University of West Bohemia and the Institute of Art and Design in Plzeň, CZ.

He has shown widely in the Czech Republic, with recent solo exhibitions at Oblastní Galerie Vysočiny, Jihlava; Stage Garden Gallery, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm; Městská Galerie, Týn nad Vltavou; Šopa Gallery, Košice; GAVU Cheb; Galerie Václava Špály, Prague; Nová Galerie, Prague; and NEVAN CONTEMPO, Prague; and international exhibitions in Austria, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom.

Jakub Tomáš, Family Meeting, 2023 Oil on canvas, 63h x 79w in. 160.02h x 200.66w cm. Courtesy of Asya Geisberg Gallery. Photo Credit: Etienne Frossard

Jakub Tomáš, Beekeepers, 2023. Oil on canvas. 63h x 47.25w in 160.02h x 120.02w cm. Courtesy of Asya Geisberg Gallery. Photo Credit: Etienne Frossard

Jakub Tomáš, The Field Robot of Myself II, 2023 Oil on canvas, 31.50h x 23.75w in, 80h x 60.33w cm. Courtesy of Asya Geisberg Gallery. Photo Credit: Etienne Frossard

C’naan Hamburger (b. 1984, Jerusalem, Israel; lives and works in New York, NY. MFA Painting Hunter College, 2023. BA, Tufts University, 2007.) Hamburger is the recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant in 2023 and 2022, and the AXA Art Prize honorable mention in 2023 and prize finalist in 2021.

C’naan’s work is currently on view at Charles Moffett through April 20.

Her work has recently been exhibited by Kate Werble Gallery in New York, NY, and is held in the permanent collections of the Bartow-Pell Museum, Bronx, NY, and UMass Dartmouth, Claire T. Carney Library Archives and Special Collections. C’naan has been an outdoor educator for over a dozen years. Before pursuing her artistic practice, she was a World Champion skateboarder, named best female skater of 2001 by Transworld Skateboard Magazine; and in 2000, she won the World Cup of Skateboarding and the Van’s Triple Crown in Women’s Street.

C'naan Hamburger, Painting Class, 2023 Egg Tempera, pigment and ground NYC sidewalk on panel 11 x 12 inches (27.9 x 30.5 cm) Framed: 11 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 2 inches (29.2 x 31.8 x 5.1 cm). Photo by Andy Romer, courtesy of the artist and Charles Moffett.

C'naan Hamburger, Theatre Is The Domestication Of An Audience, 2023 Egg Tempera, pigment and ground steel construction plate on panel 14 x 18 inches (35.6 x 45.7 cm) Framed: 13 3/4 x 18 1/4 x 2 inches (34.9 x 46.4 x 5.1 cm).Photo by Andy Romer, courtesy of the artist and Charles Moffett.

C'naan Hamburger, Vanitas, 2023 Egg tempera, pigment and ground Manhattan Schist on panel 28 x 39 inches (71.1 x 99.1 cm) Framed: 29 3/8 x 40 3/8 x 2 inches (74.6 x 102.6 x 5.1 cm). Photo by Andy Romer, courtesy of the artist and Charles Moffett.

Khalilah Birdsong (b. 1977, Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is a visual artist who creates large-scale abstract paintings and installations. Birdsong has exhibited with galleries in Atlanta, Georgia, Cincinnati, Ohio, New York, New York and Hamburg, Germany.

She has had solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Japan and Italy. Birdsong’s paintings are in private and corporate collections around the world, including commissioned works. In 2019, Khalilah was named by Contemporary Art Curator Magazine (London, England) as “100 Future Contemporary Artists in the World”. Birdsong was invited to participate in the XIIth Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy where she exhibited four large-scale paintings and installation work in the fall of 2019. In 2020, Birdsong was awarded a Hambidge Fellowship for the Creative Arts & Sciences. She currently lives in London, England where she recently completed her Masters of Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Khalilah Birdsong, Standing in Sacred Neutral, 2023 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas 63 x 83 x 1.5 in (160 x 210.8 x 3.8 cm) Inches.

Khalilah Birdsong, The High Place, 2023 Acrylic on canvas 67 x 67 x 1.5 in (170.2 x 170.2 x 3.8 cm) Inches.

Khalilah Birdsong, The Weathering, 2023 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas 63 x 83 x 1.5 in (160 x 210.8 x 3.8 cm) Inches.

Sara Stern is an interdisciplinary artist from New York City. Her recent projects prod histories of urban development with speculative fiction. Stern has exhibited and screened her work in the US and internationally, at venues including SculptureCenter (Long Island City, NY), Anthology Film Archives (New York, NY), the Museum of the Moving Image (New York, NY), The Jewish Museum (New York, NY), Ortega y Gasset Projects (Brooklyn, NY) and the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (Singapore). Stern received a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard College and an MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. She is the recipient of a Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Grant, the Fountainhead Fellowship in the Department of Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University, and several residencies at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. In recent years, Stern has participated in The Watermill Center Artist Residency Program (Water Mill, NY), the Art & Law Program, the Object Movement Residency at The Center at West Park (New York, NY), and the Artist Residency at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center (West Rutland, VT).

Installation view, Sara Stern, "Study for a Scene", 2024, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Adam Liam Rose. (Center: “The window felt shattered,” 2024, two-channel video (rear and front projection, color/sound), mirror floor, windowed partition, 11:49 min, looped. Right: “Curtain Call,” 2024, Kiln-formed glass, single-channel spotlight video projection, pulley, custom mount, dimensions variable. Left: "Beckett's Chew (Where Credit is Due)," 2024, cast glass, single-channel rear projection (BW/silent), custom mount, 59 sec, looped.)

Sara Stern, “Curtain Call,” 2024, Kiln-formed glass, single-channel spotlight video projection, pulley, custom mount, dimensions variable.

The window felt shattered (2 min excerpt) from Sara Stern on Vimeo.

Excerpt from "The window felt shattered": "The window felt shattered", 2024, single-channel version of two-channel video installation, color/sound, 11:49 min, looped. Credits for The window felt shattered: Director, Editor: Sara Stern, Mime: Bill Bowers, Violin & Viola: Pauline Kim Harris, Sound Design, Mix, Recording, Engineering, Mastering: Kevin Ramsay, Theremin: Sara Stern, Sound recording at Harvestworks - New York City, Excerpt from Dongmae by Pauline Kim Harris, Lauren Cauley, Violin, Annaliese Kowert, Violin, Pauline Kim Harris, Viola, Andrew Yee, Cello, John-Paul Norpoth, Bass, Recorded live at The Stone - New York City (2019). Several lines of text adapted from Naomi Klein's Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023.

Elizabeth Heyert , photo credit Nina Subin

Elizabeth Heyert is an American photographer known for her experimental portrait projects. Formerly a world-renowned architectural photographer, Heyert established her reputation in the art world with her groundbreaking series THE SLEEPERS, THE TRAVELERS, THE NARCISSISTS, and THE BOUND.

Heyert's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and numerous private collections. THE BOUND, Heyert's limited edition artist's book of photogravures, was acquired by the Beinecke Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Yale University. Photographs from her latest series, METAMORPHOSIS, were featured in Personal Structures at the 2022 Venice Biennale. A book of those photos will be published in 2023.

A short list of her other photography books includes THE TRAVELERS (Scalo), the award-winning book from her series of post-mortem photographs; THE OUTSIDER (Damiani) a conceptual portrait project shot in China; THE SLEEPERS (Sei Swann); THE NARCISSISTS (Silvana); METROPOLITAN PLACES (Viking Studio), a classic anthology of 20th century design which she wrote and photographed; and THE GLASS-HOUSE YEARS (Allanheld & Schram), a history of 19th century portrait photography.

Heyert graduated from the Royal College of Art, London. A native New Yorker, she lives in Greenwich Village, and has a studio in the Chelsea arts district.

Elizabeth Heyert, Man Flying Over a City Cyanotype, 39 x 28.3”, edition of 3

Elizabeth Heyert, Man at the Bottom of an Ocean #1 Cyanotype, 39 x 28.3” edition of 3

Elizabeth Heyert, Bound #11 Gelatin silver print, 60 x 47.25”, edition of 5