Interview

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).

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.

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.

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.