Interview with John U. Abrahamson
q)What is your name?
a)John U. Abrahamson
q) Where do you live and work?
a)San Francisco, California, USA
q)What is your creative process like?
a)Late at night, I wrap myself around a feeling that I need to express then dive into the canvas most of time with little or no forethought as to the image itself. I start with a blank canvas and paint it black. Jet black. I then scratch in a base image that calls out from the void and wipe away the black until the image is revealed using the white of the base canvas as highlights.
q)What is your favorite medium?
a)Oils.
q)What is your current favorite subject?
a)All the dark little corners of the psyche that no one wants to shed light on. Currently, my own mortality and finality of death.
q)How long does it take for you to finish a piece?
a)Depends. Works on canvas or wood can take up to 3 or 4 weeks. Works on paper HAVE to be completed start to finish within 12 hours time, otherwise the paint dries and I can no longer manipulate the black paint.
q)What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?
a)H.R. Giger, from my childhood on, Saturno Butto and Lucian Freud.
q)Can we buy your art anywhere?
a)Yes, there are several galleries that carry my work but the best way is to contact Les Barany at lesbarany@aol.com
q)Anything that people should know about that we don’t?
a)That my mother abandoned my sister and I when we were 5 and 7 years of age. I mention this because the work of mine that seems misogynistic refers to this alone.
q)What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
a)Never be satisfied, never listen to anyone except your own intuition.
q)What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
a)The knowledge that the answer to whatever artistic quandry I may face is there and simply needs to be found. That and a shower. I do all my best thinking in the shower.
q)How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?
a)Dark, traditional, rough, figurative, sacreligious, sexualy charged, and not work for those that are easily offended.
q)What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
a)I found my voice DESPITE art school. My training was through examination of the masters works and then trying to figure out how to do the same thing.
q)Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
a)5 realy good brushes and ivory black. Now adays a computer as well.
q)Who are your influences?
a)Motherwell, H.R. Giger, Francis Bacon, and the literary figure of Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost.
q)What inspires you to create?
a)That welling up of emotions from within that if they did not have a canvas to explode upon would simply consume and ultimately kill me and I do not mean that in a metaphoric sense.
q)…your contacts…
a)
jua@johnua.comhttp://www.JohnUA.com
Interview with Martin Skauen
q)What is your name?
a)Martin Skauen
q) Where do you live and work?
a)I live and work in Berlin. At the moment I have an artist residency at the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien.
q)What is your creative process like?
a)It is like mentally putting together a story or constructing an image that makes my heart beat faster. Then its finding balance through adding or substracting elements, so that the image or story reaches a perfect ambivalence
q)What is your favorite medium?
a)Drawing and video.
q)What is your current favorite subject?
a)Faith, devotion and the misunderstanding of power.
q)How long does it take for you to finish a piece?
a)It depends on the size, one day to six months.
q)What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
a)Accepting that I will never totally understand my work.
q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?
a)Jorunn Hancke, my girlfriend.
q)Can we buy your art anywhere?
a)That would be through my galleries: Galleri MGM and Laura Bartlett Gallery.
q)Anything that people should know about that we don’t??
q)What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
a)Keep working and not comparing own work with anybody elses.
q)What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
a)That usually when its frustrating the work ends up stronger.
q)How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?
a)Classic old school detailed figurative pencil drawing. I often use video to make new stories out the drawings, filming straight off the drawing (no animation). The videos have soundtracks made by myself and my band.
q)What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
a)Well, I went to the art academy for 4 years and prior to that 2 years of artschool. It would be wrong to say that that didn’t do anything, but I think learning to shake off all the information and the notion of being tought how to make art made things easier. I didn’t make drawings at all before two years after ended art education. I think all those years of school, experimenting and even running an artist space for several years helped build up what I’m doing now.
q)Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
a)My imagination.
q)Who are your influences?
a)No one in particular. There are so many people and things that has an influence on me, what I do and how I think. Its hard to drop names.
q)What inspires you to create?
a)War, ignorant people, stupidity, thinking of death, women in burka, nature, Jesus, music, movies, strippers, money, family, presidents and dreams.
q)…your contacts…
''CoSMIC Crystals&DIRTY PigS''
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Interview with Leah Tinari
q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.
a)I am 31, I live in the East Village in NYC my studio is eight blocks away from my apartment. I grew up in the Bronx, New York as well as New Jersey. I went to the Rhode Island School of Design to study painting. After college I moved to NYC and have been here every since. I am 100% Italian American, I have two brothers and one sister. I love going to farmer's markets and I love to spend the evenings cooking with my husband Marty. I like to read and I like martinis. I am a painter and illustrator.
q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?
a)I always planned on being an artist for as long as I can remember.
q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?
a)I work in acrylic on canvas and I work in gouache on paper. I prefer acrylic because it is very immediate, it dries rapidly and allows me to work quickly and in layers. I can be very impatient when it comes to my paintings so it is fantastic when a section that I just finished painting can be dry in minutes. I also like to work in gouache because it is somewhere between watercolor and acrylic, it is more forgiving than acrylic. Meaning you can rework a color with some water unlike acrylic once it is dry that is it. Gouache also looks very velvety to me.
q) How would you describe your style?
a)My personal style or my painting style? Well... maybe I can sum up both in one answer... contemporary, bold, celebratory, witty, sometimes debaucherious and very much influenced by my surroundings.
q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?
a) I work from photographs that I take. At the starting point, composition, narrative and expression are the basis for creating my drawings. Once I make a drawing I will then go into the full scale painting. I know excatly what every painting will look like at the end even before I start it . I do not leave room for chance or happy accidents. I have a clear vision and the painting doesn't evolve during the process.
q) What are you working on at present?
a)I just finished a series of square paintings for a show and they were based on photos taken from a masquerade ball I attended with a group of friends in NYC. They are being shown at Gallery Nulu through May. Right now I am working on a few commisions but I am also working on some drawing for my first short animation that will be featured in a movie directed by Rebecca Miller.
q) What about recent sources of inspirations?
a)My sources of inspirations are definitely my friends and family. I consider it my social realism, my day to day and night to night shananagins. Though my work will also be informed by other abstract elements. One of my last bodies of work was really inspired by water, splattering and dripping and bubbles and being submerged in water.
q) What are some of your obsessions?
a)Oh No! where to begin? Listening to soap operas while I paint, painting, pork, ikura... actually anything Japanese, good gossip, saddling up to a great bar, Mara Hoffman, Christian LouBoutin shoes, horror films, fishing, the ocean, taxidermy, Costa rica ... I could go on forever.
q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?
a)I show with Mixed Greens Gallery here in NYC, Gallery Nulu in Louisville Kentucky, Peter Miller in Chicago and Real Art Ways in Conneticut. My hope is to expand to the European market. I would love to show in Italy as well as Germany. I am currently trying to find a gallery in Japan.
q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?
q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?
a)Dedication and inspiration. Work really hard and constanly look for inspiration.
q) Who are your favorite artists?
a)I have always loved Alice Neel, Ben Shawn, David Hockney, Ralph Staedman, Mike Kelly, Egon Schiele, Sigmar Polke, Neo Rauch, Henry Darger
q) What books are on your nightstand?
a) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, The Pillars of the Earth. This Way North, Atonement .
q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?
a)Libations, good times and travel.
Interview with Ricardo Morales Hernández
q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.
a)27, Puertorrican , Christian, married with children, only son, teacher and artist.
q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?
a)All my hopes had someday gone and irremediably I take the artist carreer.
q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?
a)Photography and drawing. Is just the best to spread the message of my work.
q) How would you describe your style?
a)My style is an everlasting process to my journey back home.
q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?
a)Sure. First I read a passage of the Bible. I get inspired. Very high. Then I go to work.
q) What are you working on at present?
a)I’m showing two series of new photograpy series called; from my observatory and believe it.
And the drawings I keep working.
q) What about recent sources of inspirations?
a)Nature,Kids,Wife,Music,Politics,The Kingdom of God!
q) What are some of your obsessions?
a)Doing music and doing art.
q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?
a)I had show in few galleries and spaces locally, in US and Europe. I would like to show
in every nation.
q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?
a)
ricardomoraleshernandez@yahoo.com
q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?
a)ART IS NOT A RELIGION. LOOK ABOVE.
q) Who are your favorite artists?
a)Albrecht Dürer, Max Ernst , Duchamp, Alexander Calder, MC Escher , Hiroshi Sugimoto, Paul Cezanne,Andy Goldsworthy , M.K.Ciurlionis, Christo and Jeanne Claude, Pepón Osorio.
q) What books are on your nightstand?
a)No nightstand.
q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?
a)Good strong coffee
q)….your contacts…
a)Ricardo Morales Hernández
www.ricardomoraleshernandez.com
ricardomoraleshernandez@yahoo.com
Interview with Admira Pustika
q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.
a)I'm an Indonesian but currently I'm in Shanghai. I appreciate every chance that I have to travel and see the other sides of the world. I have been doing mostly editorial illustrations for magazines like Playboy, The Jakarta Post and an Australian franchised magazine called Girlfriend. I love my dogs. I miss them a lot. I love to have a good cup of coffee in the afternoon, with some cookies on the side. Of course with the company of good friends.
q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?
a)I remember when I was in second grade, I was impressed by the billboards and I asked my Mother who made them. My Mother told me I should be very creative to do something like that. Then I promised her I want to make those commercials when I grow up. Which I did. But I know I love to draw all my life. I have a wonderful grandfather who is a great influence in my life as well as my creative growth. He always send his grandchildren letters in a form of comics. So I guess that got me instantly. And to draw has always been a passion.
q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?
a)Yes. I prefer to work with watercolor and collage. With watercolor, I feel that my expressive painting manner can be translated well.
q) How would you describe your style?
a)My style is very much expressive, colourful and sometimes humourous.
q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?
a)Of course. For every article, I usually go through it few times until I get the hold of it and the core message. Then I start a few sketches while doing some research of the points of the article which I find interesting. Then when I get the perfect sketches, I start to search for elements I can use for the final artwork. This is my favorite part, I can go scavenging for materials like thread, magazine papers,old boxes, just about anything I can find that will enhance the work itself.
(Image published on''The Jakarta Post'')q) What are you working on at present?
a)I am working for an article about Vegetarianism for magazine.
q) What about recent sources of inspirations?
a)Definitely the Chinese artworks. They are filled with details and wonderful colors. You can tell so many stories in one work. Simplicity is also a must. It's something I'm trying to master for my future works.
q) What are some of your obsessions?
a)To be able to live in Bali! And paint all day surrounded by amazing artist and wonderful scenery.
q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?
a)I have shown my work in Toimoi in Jakarta, GardenAsia in Singapore and I would like to be able to show my work in The Society of Illustrators in New York and MoMA in Japan.q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?
a)Email is always good. And Facebook is the new email.
(Image published on''The Jakarta Post'')
q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?
a)Keep on drawing, shows everybody your works, and don't look down on your works, no matter how mean everybody else can be.q) Who are your favorite artists?
a)I love Yuko Shimizu's work and Ragnar Aalbu has crazy works!q) What books are on your nightstand?
a)I have NYLON magazine always by my side and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Such wonderful book for any kind of question you have in mind.q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?
a)A good cup of coffee. It makes me sleepy afterwards but worth every drop.
q)..your contacts.
a)Admira PustikaEmail: admira@gmail.comFacebook and MSN: buatmira@yahoo.com
Interview with Douglas Alvarez
q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.
a)I'm a painter from Los Angeles, California. My father is a retired minister/missionary. My upbringing was alittle unusual, especially my early years as a preacher's son. Today, I'm pretty much a law biding citizen even thought I'm still at odds with few things things in society, for example, full-time employment,television, commitments,organized religion, urban encroachment, food products from big corporations and sometimes technology. I reluctantly bought a cellphone five months ago and now I can't seem to live without. It's a new unnecessary dependency.
q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?
a)When I was a kid, I had no ambition. I was content onplaying arcade games, skipping school, fighting and skateboarding with friends. I was horrible in math and had little interest inother classes. I drew pictures in my textbooks but never envisioned myself as an artist. Once I entered university, I decided to major in political science and apply to law school. When I reached a pivotal moment of committing to a law school, my heart begged me pursue art. I followed my heart and disappointed my family.I found stable employment as a graphic designer but my ultimate intention is to paint all the time.
q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?
a)I work with acrylics because it's water based. I dabbled with oils but had all sort of scary physical reactions. My favorite surfaces are masonite and wood because the smooth foundation for shading. My tools range from my fingertips to power tools. I use a jigsaw for my wood cutouts.
q) How would you describe your style?
a)That is a difficult question. I consider my style as neo-folk art with a pinch of impressionism and gently stirred in surreal art themes.
q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?
a)Not really. When an idea creates excitement,I start painting. It's a natural reaction. I usually have music playing and drink beer once in a while.
q) What are you working on at present?
a)I am preparing for my solo show at Monkeyhouse Toys and Art Gallery this April 19th. I am also curating a small group show to accompany my solo. The theme is Having Fun with Animals. I am also participating in the production of a children's book with Terri Tooter Berman and Ally Rossi.
q) What about recent sources of inspirations?
a)Lately nature and animals have become a major source inspiration. Bad, violent prone women continue to inspire me. My art has evolved further into realism so I'm observing my surroundings very closely. My new camera also turned into a source. I try to capture crazy scenes and situations life presents for possible ideas for paintings. Los Angeles is a great place tofind crazy characters. Once I saw a shirtless man wearing bright red pants while holding a cactus. He was singing and dancing on the street. That's free entertainment on the streets.
q) What are some of your obsessions?
a)Wow! Obsessions, huh? Besides painting, I am obsessed with the state of being free. I try to avoid commitments unless it involves art. I'm also obsessed with crazy quantum theories, the Lakers, the flow of positive chi and unexplainable lights in the sky.
q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?
a)I continually show in Cannibal Flower Traveling art show and the Hive Gallery. Other galleries include La Luz de Jesus Gallery,Strychnin Gallery (Berlin),Monkeyhouse Toys, The Grind Gallery, Cactus Gallery,and MF Gallery (New York). The galleries I would love to show one day are CoproNason, Thinkspace, and Corey Helford Gallery.They provide magnificent space to display art and excellent promotional campaigns.
q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?
a)Just e-mail me or contact me through Myspace. If you see me walking down the street, just say howdy. I'm a friendly guy. Oh yeah, I'm also in the phonebook.
q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?
a)First of all, you need to find clarity over what you want out of art. If you simply enjoy creating art as a diversion, personal reflection or stress relief,that's cool and follow your joy. If you desire to one day support yourself as a painter, be patient, find your brush,remain fearless, evolve, heed constructive criticism and be punctual with shows and galleries.
q) Who are your favorite artists?
a)I'm a fan of Gustav Klimt, The Clayton Brothers,Basquiat, Van Gogh, Banksy and Mark Ryden. I once took an illustration class taught by the Clayton brothers.They were very inspirational teachers to me.
q) What books are on your nightstand?
a)I don't own a nightstand but I just finished reading Michio Kaku's PARALLEL WORLDS. I'm about to read Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by good old Nietzsche.
q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?
a)All you can eat sushi bars, Youtube and playing Battlefront on the Playstation.
q)...your contacts...
