Art Career

“I don’t know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.” -Banksy

We live in a time when oversharing has become the norm. Whether it’s the daily motion of our lives, our celebrations, our defeats, our good deeds and even our dinner plates, sharing seems to validate our actions in a way that simply experiencing them does not. The consequences of this compulsion to broadcast a curated version of our lives are widely debated. The questions become, is it necessary to expose our innermost lives, and is it perhaps harmful to carefully choose the angles from which we share them?

Dona Nelson discussed her show, ReFiguring, One Painting at a Time (1977-2022), which ran until December 17 at Thomas Erben Gallery in Chelsea. The title refers in some ways to Nelson’s process and to the idea that abstraction eliminates the figure. ReFiguring speaks to the idea that there are figures in the paintings and that figures look at the painting. There is a sculptural element to Nelson’s paintings, which can be viewed on two sides. Nelson finds that by making one side, something happens on the other, obligating her as the artist to respond to that. To hear more about this, listen to the complete interview.

Chason Matthams joined us about a month after his show, Glimpse, closed at Magenta Plains Gallery. The subject matter jumps around, but one connecting thread is that each work tries to catch an ephemeral moment, capturing the quality of a moment passing. We discussed the pandemic period, which Matthams says didn’t affect his day-to-day like it did many others. A naturally solitary individual, he also, like many artists, spends much of his time alone in the studio. To hear more about this and about his recent exhibition, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket

Perhaps there is something to be said for simply doing rather than also sharing.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews is here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Dona Nelson recently re-read Landscape and Power edited by W.J Thomas Mitchell. Chason Matthams The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist.

Deadlines:

The World of WearableArt Awards Show is back again. New Zealand’s largest theatrical production is accepting submissions for this event that reaches over 60,000 people each year. Learn more about eligibility and details at the website. Deadline for submissions is March 2.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

 

 

Being ready for what’s next can feel challenging. Life moves quickly, and sometimes it can feel as though we don’t have time to process the here and now before it’s time to move on. Working artists are in the perhaps unenviable position of needing to line up what comes next long before what is happening has concluded. This is part of the job, but it doesn’t have to be entirely overwhelming. A little bit of forethought and some planning each day can go a long way. Here are some opportunities to help you line up what comes next.

Jackson’s Painting Prize is accepting submissions. Begun in 2016, this competition has grown exponentially with 2023 potentially their biggest year yet. First prize is 6,000 GBP and 1,000 GBP in Jackson’s art materials. There are 15 other awards available as well, so check out the website for more information and see if this is the contest for your art. Deadline is March 1.

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is hosting an open call for grant applications. Expanding Perspectives is aimed at artists exploring exchange and networking through collaborative work. To learn more about these one-time grants, visit the website. Application deadline is March 1.

The World of WearableArt Awards Show is back again. New Zealand’s largest theatrical production is accepting submissions for this event that reaches over 60,000 people each year. Learn more about eligibility and details at the website. Deadline for submissions is March 2.

Praxis Center believes in artists. We know that the road can feel difficult at times, but we also know that with the right resources, you can find success. Our students demonstrate again and again the power of knowledge when it comes to conquering the art world. Don’t wait a day longer, join Praxis today and see how far it can take you.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

 

 Cover image credit: Pro Helvetia

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” -Marcus Aurelius

Worry. It drives many of us, keeps us awake at night, interferes with our ability to live our lives fully. The unknown is perhaps our greatest enemy, something that we can in no way understand or predict, and yet something we must go through. It can be difficult, almost impossible seeming, to let go of our worries and relax. And yet we soldier through time, meeting the unknown every second of every day, whether we are sitting on our sofa or adventuring to places we have never been.

Allison Jae Evans joined us to discuss her recent show, Hung Up, at Peninsula Gallery. The title is layered, referring to the collage-like way the show itself was hung as well as the motif of the show, the image of a phone cord running around the walls on which the works are hung. The cord is painted on the wall along with two hands playing a sort of cat’s cradle game with it. While there is an element of romantic obsession, the intention was to create a space that was part brothel, part phone sex booth (a construct created by Evans), part disco and part noir horror. To hear more, listen to the complete interview.

Rachel Mica Weiss discussed her show, Slippery Yolk, at Carvahlo Park. The show incorporates quite large-scale sculptural works, including one piece, Collar, made from pigmented plastic resin poured into a mold to create a chain that is then shaped into a circle. The work is held taught in a perfect circle, interacting with gravity in a novel way with every tendril pulled in just the right way to make it hold this shape. The intended effect is to block viewers’ movement while creating a portal to gaze through that denies any sort of reflection. To hear more about the pieces in this show, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket

It is up to each of us how we meet the unknown.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews is here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Allison Jae Evans found herself reading Hot, Cold, Heavy, Light, 100 Art Writings 1988-2018 by Peter Shjeldahl.

Deadlines:

The Leica Street Photo competition invites photographers to submit their work to the twelfth edition of one of the largest and most important competitions dedicated to street photography. This year the winner receives a Leica SL2-S camera and a voucher worth 1,000 to purchase a lens. To learn more and to submit your entry, visit the website. Deadline is January 30.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

 

 

Taking chances can feel uncomfortable, but it’s how we get ahead in life. Not every chance you take will pan out the way you hope, but that is no reason not to keep trying. After all, the only chance you definitely won’t succeed in is the one you never take. As an artist pursuing a career doing what you love, consciously stepping outside your comfort zone is part of the job. So take those chances, do it regularly, and don’t worry about succeeding every time.

Communication Arts invites entries for their illustration competition. This is an opportunity to introduce your work to the world. Winners are selected by an international jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators and the winning entries will be distributed worldwide. For more information and to enter, visit the website. Deadline for submissions is January 27.

The Leica Street Photo competition invites photographers to submit their work to the twelfth edition of one of the largest and most important competitions dedicated to street photography. This year the winner receives a Leica SL2-S camera and a voucher worth 1,000 to purchase a lens. To learn more and to submit your entry, visit the website. Deadline is January 30.

Leipzig Festival of Lights 2024 announces a call for artists. In their own words:

For the 35th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution on October 9, 2024, the Leipzig Festival of Lights is looking for outdoor artistic projects to be presented along Leipzig’s inner-city ring road – We are looking for projects that artistically take up the historical events of autumn ’89 in public space, reflect them in the current context and make them emotionally tangible.“

For more information and to take part, visit the website. Deadline is January 31.

Praxis Center is there to hold your hand as you take chances in your art career. Whether you are an emerging artist or an established artist looking for new horizons, we have the tools and resources to help you along the way. Join today and see how far Praxis can take you.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats.”

-Albert Schweitzer

Many of us share our time on this planet with animals. These companions offer comfort, company, a refuge from the travails of the wider world. And yet our relationship with animals is complex. We humans tend to believe our status sits high above the rest of earth’s living beings. And so we take without giving, soothing our consciences that this is how it has been ordained, that the planet’s treasures have been set down merely for our use. But what if we stepped back, re-examined our relationship with those things that fall outside the human realm, which indeed is much of the planet whether we care to admit it or not. Would we, perhaps, discover that our position is not nearly as privileged as we have been led to believe?

Kathryn Spence sat down with us to discuss, among other things, her fall 2022 show, Kathryn Spence at P. Bibeau. The space itself suited the work in the exhibition, small object pieces that relate to each other that Spence had been working on for the last two years. This theme of the objects she creates relating to each other is a common one in her work, and Spence explains that the relationship between is as important as the objects themselves, which, in turn, makes the space an important part of the overall installation. To hear more about this, including how native plants influence her work, listen to the complete interview.

Paul Pfeiffer just closed a show, Red Green Blue, at Paula Cooper Gallery. In 2019, Pfeiffer facilitated a live performance of the Red Coat Marching band, who perform during football season in Georgia. He had been filming them for years previously when the opportunity arose to bring them to NYC to perform live in Amazing Grace/RGB at the Apollo Theater. This recent exhibition saw the band return for the opening and features single-channel video of close-up footage of band members and directors as they play live during football games. To hear more about this and Pfeiffer’s other work, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket

It is time for humanity to begin the hard work of rearranging our perception of place in the world.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews is here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Two books about the importance of native species this week – one comes recommended by Kathryn Spence, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy. Additionally, and especially for those in the western U.S., SUBURBITAT: A guide to restoring nature where we live, work and play by Jim Tolstrup.

Deadlines:

Applications for the 2023-2024 Fine Arts Work Center Writing and Visual Arts Fellowship are currently open. A total of 20 selected artists will receive seven-month fellowship with a monthly stipend. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is February 1.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.