Samuel Levi Jones - Episode 79

Jordan Nassar makes elaborate and intricate embroideries alongside impressive wood-inlay works, tile mosaics, and expansive installations, all inspired by the examination of his Palestinian American identity, diaspora and cultural participation. Jordan talks about the clunkiness of language, wanting viewers to feel just as much energy from his work as he puts into it, the exchanges between decoration and Art with a “capital A”, the impact of scale, landing on an ethical equation for how to pay his assistants, care as a gesture and concept, being strategic with professional goals, Akido as part of his daily practice, and the range of ways one can work and live as an artist.View Jordan’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERE

Samuel Levi Jones is a multidisciplinary artist that utilizes law books, history books, medical books, and sometimes flags, as materials to create abstract assemblages that critique ideas around history and systems of power and control. Sam talks about the relationship between deconstruction and repair, how artistic growth can lead to authenticity, books as gestures, abstraction as a vehicle for complexity and optimism, curiosity and surprise as important ingredients in his work and process, collaborating with gallerists and being strategic as a way to keep his practice alive, finding beauty in the madness of it all, and experiencing autonomy and freedom through art.View Sam’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERE

Daniel Gibson makes oil paintings that depict desert landscapes full of flowers and butterflies, plant life, and big open skies. Some works also include figures hiding within the flora or in shamanic poses. Danny talks about deserts and horizon lines, little brother drawing magic, being locked into a painting and chasing the next image, memories and visceral emotional responses in painting, beauty as a Trojan horse, resetting and recovering through drawing, self-awareness and gratitude in the studio, and painting as putting puzzle pieces together.View Danny’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERE

Kennedy Yanko makes abstract three-dimensional work that combines large twisted and crunched metal forms scavenged from scrap yards and thick sheets of malleable acrylic paint that she refers to as “skins”. Kennedy talks about allowing herself and her work to develop and change over time, paint as a sculptural material, looking for the “ugly”, her sculptures having their own ideology, the advantages and disadvantages of working in abstraction, finding and building support networks and community, leaning towards muted and sour colors, fashion as an adjacent interest, the beach as a place for receptivity and expansiveness, and the value of a hard work within a dedicated studio practice.View Kennedy’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERETranscript available on the DC website.

Jesse Wine makes ceramic sculptures that combine body parts like arms, legs, hands, and feet, along with abstract shapes that are deflated, pulled, and stacked. Jesse talks about making sculptures that are self-aware, the expressiveness in our hands, empathy as a gesture, being illusionistic with his surfaces, knowing when to destroy a sculpture, peacefulness as an important ingredient in his studio, a great football match as the ultimate narrative, becoming more optimistic through experience, and the long game of being an artist.View Jesse’s work HEREPurchase “Jesse Wine / Sculpture” HERESupport Deep Color HEREThis episode is presented by R&F Handmade PaintsTranscript available on the DC website.

Celia Pym makes textile-based artwork by repairing items like tattered sweaters, worn out socks, or torn paper pastry bags. Celia talks about the exchanges between making functional and non-functional art objects, finding pleasure in the tactility of her materials, different types of art transactions and preferring to return work to their original owners, damage and repair as driving concepts, how portraiture and body can be seen in garments, interacting with stories about grief, being intentional about contrast and “not matching”, repair work as a political act, being suspicious of virtue, how mending can unstick a stuck feeling, and navigating her emotional life through practicalities and making things.This episode is presented by R&F Handmade PaintsView Celia’s work HEREPurchase Celia’s book “On Mending” HERESupport Deep Color HERETranscript available on the DC website.

Alvaro Barrington makes mixed-media paintings that underscore a reverence for art history and hip-hop culture, craft and handwork, and how and where his own lived experience weaves into the work he is making. Alvaro talks about self-evaluation and how one can be a great painter but a bad artist, innovation and social impact as barometers for successful art, stealing from other artists, paintings as monologues, partnering with multiple competing galleries, debt as a kind of violence, searching for freedom through his paintings, and complete awe and gratitude for being able to live his life as an artist.This episode is presented by R&F Handmade PaintsView Alvaro’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERETranscript available on the DC website.

Matt Rich makes paintings, drawings, sculpture, and installations that center themselves around form and shape, color relationships, and different systems for mark making. Matt talks about time as a resource and the safety of a studio space, the importance of procedure in his practice, colliding intentional and accidental gestures, wanting his work to be unpretentious and light, the influences of writing graffiti as a teenager, color as a mess of ever-changing experiences, ampersand symbols as an aesthetic and conceptual muse, and artistic discontent as a way to drive his work into new places.This episode is presented by R&F Handmade PaintsView Matt’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERETranscript available on the DC website.

Andrew Schoultz makes drawings, paintings, prints, installations, and large-scale murals that reference how history and turmoil follow patterns, and how power dynamics, spirituality, and environment can shape our experience of the world. Andrew talks about comic books and graffiti as early influences, obsessive compulsiveness as a creative asset, handwork and the beauty of imperfection, the connections between skateboarding and art making, style and what can dictate it, how the art market interferes with sincerity, fitness as a powerful force in his studio practice, autonomy as a form of success, and finding a sense of purpose and pride through being an artist.This episode is presented by R&F Handmade PaintsView Andrew’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERETranscript available on the DC website.

Ashley Bickerton makes sculpture, assemblages and painting-like objects that reference the grotesqueness of commodification and consumerism. Ashley talks about how a work of art can hold contrasting meanings, avoiding typecasting and being fluid with his artistic language, pacing an art career and gallery relationships as business arrangements—not friendships, operating on the edge of the contemporary art world, how a harmonious homelife allows him to flourish in the studio, being diagnosed with ALS and researching new ways to make art, mortality and the beauty in each day, and preferring ideas and dreams to the crud and muck of our physical word.  View Ashley’s work HERE Support Deep Color HERE