I’m back in NYC and happy to be in my studio again. I am working on some new pieces, mostly mixed media and some painting. I’m also working on my business, Distill Creative, mainly focusing on connecting real estate developers and artists.

I’ve gone to some interesting shows that I wanted to share.

Charlie Scheips: Inventions Fugues Flowers at Richard Taittinger Gallery

JANUARY 9 - 31, 2020

This show was actually not interesting and rather underwhelming. I didn’t think the work was particularly strong and I was just really confused. They did have drinks and jazz at the opening, so I appreciated that. One highlight is that they had some work by other artists in the basement and I got to see this piece by Pascale Marthine Tayou, who also did the giant plastic bag tree and other large-scale plastic bag work.

Sammy Bennett at Deer Studios NYC

JANUARY 10, 2020

This was such a random treat! My friend and I went to see Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris and she said her friend was having a show that night so we went and made it before the end.

The work was both kinetic and fantastical. I loved the colors and surprise of what you would see when you twisted the blinds. I also really liked the use of a very lame and recognizable material — those cheap vertical blinds that you see in like a motel or crappy apartment. This work helped me visualize how to move one of my works by just literally laying them out next to each other to paint across. It’s a stupid easy thing, but his work helped.

Hans Haacke: All Connected at the New Museum

OCTOBER 24 - JANUARY 26, 2020

I really liked this show, well most of it. It is always nice to see the work of an artist who paved the way for much of today’s status quo. It puts you in your place. Nothing is original, everything has been done. It’s a good reminder.

The surprising part of this show was the weird science fair work on the top floor (was it the third floor?). I mean, I really felt like I accidentally took the elevator to the wrong educational institution. Maybe all the work on that floor together is what made me feel like a second grader on a field trip? I think a lot of this work is older, so perhaps this very work inspired science museum installations as we know them today?

There’s something about his work that feels very familiar. This is probably because it has influenced so many other artists whose work I now see, and also inspired the very way exhibitions are setup.

Anyway, Haacke is a pioneer and I am very thankful for his institutional critique work and also wish I got his kinetic work.

Below is just something I saw while out with friends in St. Pete’s.

Linnéa Sjöberg: Upwards Through The Ceiling at Company Gallery

DECEMBER 13 - FEBRUARY 2, 2020

I wish Company had said ‘we are on the third floor’ on their instagram, because I walked around the block trying to find it. I realize it says so on their website but still.

I loved this show! It was very inspiring for me and also made me jealous. How did Linnéa create such wonderfully intricate work?! Why haven’t I completed all the work I have in my head?!

I don’t love Linnéa’s style, but I do love her artistry and craftspersonship. Her exhibit for some reason gave me permission to just go for it — use all the things, put all the things together, make all the things, do all the themes. It was refreshing and really fun to look at and dissect.

Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla at El Museo del Barrio

NOVEMBER 20 - MARCH 22, 2020

I am so glad I got to see this exhibit! It was amazing. I only even found out about this because there was a piece in the NY Times (Zilia Sanchéz’s Island Erotic Forms by Jillian Steinhauer) and I happened to see it. I, probably like many other people, did not even know about Zilia’s work and I feel really upset that she is not as well know as her contemporaries since she’s been working for over 50 years making gorgeous abstract, sculptural work. The way she forms canvas and uses that as the structure of her work is amazing. I almost want to write her and see if I can study with her, but I’m sure I’d be like one of hundreds of people.

She’s an inspiration to me because not only has she always been a working artist — like did other jobs to be able to make art it seems via her biography (which was on the wall!), but she has collaborated with other artists, particularly latinx artists, on other projects like literary magazines and feminist zines. She was born in Cuba, lived in New York, traveled often to Europe, and now lives and works in Puerto Rico.

This exhibit inspired some new work I did, mostly drawings and paintings but I’m still thinking about the structural aspects of her work.

Marcia Resnick at Deborah Bell Photographs

NOVEMBER 16 - FEBRUARY 1, 2020

This was another find by my in-the-know friend who suggested we go here after El Museo del Barrio. We walked up all the stairs in this charming building in the Upper East Side and found ourselves in the most delightful gallery. Photographs were up on the wall and some art books were on a small table in the center of the room.

Marcia’s work is hilarious. It is tactile — her pencil (I think it’s pencil) handwriting on the prints is precious. I have so many questions about her Re-Visions series but mostly I wish I could be Marcia’s friend, on Twitter — oh wait, I can! Here’s her profile. This show was excellent and I am so glad we went.

I also started NYC Crit Club weekly a few weeks ago and it has been fascinating and intimidating and wonderful. If you are an artist in New York City, I highly recommend checking them out!

Books I’ve read this year so far:

• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1951) (no, I have not seen the film, should I?)

• Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956)

• Chromophobia by David Batchelor (2000)

• Cartucho by Nellie Campobello (1931) — I just started this so I’m not actually done yet.

Alright, time for real studio time.

-Stephanie