On Traditional Art Careers and Making Useful, Spiritual Things: "Meet Her Hands" with Ceramicist and Sculptor Angel Oloshove
Angel's pieces will be on display at the Elisabet Ney Museum through August 8. The next and last artist in this series is illustrator and designer Neta Bomani (August 10).
This summer, we're producing our second Meet Her Hands production with the Elisabet Ney museum. This series features three self-identifying women, Texas-based artists in discussion about their work, their inspiration and their hands (hence their process).
Photos by Tess Cagle. View more photos on the #bossbabesATX Facebook.
The Vibe
Elisabet Ney Museum
On July 20, we gathered on the banks of the Elisabet Ney Museum, the former home of sculptor, Elisabet Ney, to interview the second artist in Meet Her Hands 2017, Angel Oloshove. As the sun set, attendees enjoyed an intimate exhibition of the artist's work, a Q&A with the artist herself and cider provided by Argus Cidery.
The Interview
A Q&A between Angel Oloshove and Women & Their Work Gallery Program Director Madeline Taylor
Angel studied Painting and Drawing at California College of the Arts. She then worked as a toy designer in Tokyo, Japan and began working in ceramics in 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. She continued as a studio technician at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston until 2014. She currently lives and works in Houston, Texas.
A few highlights:
On making accessible, functional art for other people:
Doing functional pottery is a way of staying engaged with the material... I want to be able to have work that's more accessible to people to whom it speaks to.
I want to have my fine art work be catalysts for the person who's looking at it: a transcendent, intimate personal feeling... while I want my pottery to be something that someone can interact with every day.
When I make the work and it's done, I don't even feel like it's mine. I just feel like the hands that made it
On her inspirations:
I'll fill up a sketchbook with contoured forms, while I'll be looking at the world for textures that are very luxurious and visually sumptuous and delicious. And slowly they'll come together.
On the color purple:
I just have a lot of specific memories of being at the farm [in Michigan, where we grew up] and picking tomatoes in the dirt and her feet in the dirt. And I remember that her toenail had this mauve nail polish. And that's the color I associate with her, my mother.
On her synesthesia:
Certain color combinations or textures will make my mouth water or my eyes tingly.
On facing criticism/skepticism at her medium:
I'm just gonna show up and do my work.
The Exhibition
featuring select sculptures by Angel Oloshove
Angel's pieces will be on display at the Elisabet Ney Museum through August 8. The next and last artist in this series is illustrator and designer Neta Bomani (August 10). You can catch the recap of the first artist in this series, Roshi K., here.
On Multimedia Approaches to Art and Representation: "Meet Her Hands" with Roshi K
Roshi's pieces will be on display at the Elisabet Ney Museum through July 18. The next two artists in this series are ceramicist and sculptor Angel Oloshove (July 20) and illustrator and designer Neta Bomani (August 10).
This summer, we're producing our second Meet Her Hands production with the Elisabet Ney museum. This series features three self-identifying women, Texas-based artists in discussion about their work, their inspiration and their hands (hence their process).
The Vibe
Elisabet Ney Museum
On July 6, gathered on the banks of the Elisabet Ney Museum, the former home of sculptor, Elisabet Ney, to interview the first artist in Meet Her Hands 2017, Roshi K. As the sun set, attendees enjoyed an intimate exhibition of the artist's work, a Q&A with the artist herself and cider provided by Argus Cidery.
The Interview
A Q&A between Roshi K. and Noel Hollis
Roshi lives and works in Austin, Texas. The vibrations and culture of every city, old and new, impact the flavor of Roshi’s work. She enriched her natural talents by studying Art Foundations at Virginia Commonwealth University and Animation at the Arts Institute of Austin. The main influences on Roshi’s aesthetic include anime, manga, Japanese history, the history of the African Diaspora, mythology, linguistics, cymatics, quantum physics and the natural elements. Noel Hollis, Roshi's close friend and fellow activist, interviewed Roshi to explore her process and practice. A few highlights:
On the way her identity influences both her style and subjects:
"You've got your average all American girl next door, but I'm your brown girl next door."
On being an activist and painting the mundane:
"Art and activism go hand in hand, but we also need to have the narrative that we've led the normal lives, too. I feel like it's my duty with murals to put brown people up on a wall so that people can walk by and see representation from within their own communities. It's not just important to put a brown girl on a wall, but it's also important to show young girls that they can pursue a creative career, too."
On her inspirations:
"One of my biggest inspirations besides visual art is music...but another one of my favorite things is nature. I like to go to the woods and reconnect with water."
On street art and being a muralist:
"Walls scream out to me all the time... but if I responded to every wall I'd be in trouble."
The Exhibition
featuring select watercolor and multimedia works by Roshi K.
Roshi's pieces will be on display at the Elisabet Ney Museum through July 18. The next two artists in this series are ceramicist and sculptor Angel Oloshove (July 20) and illustrator and designer Neta Bomani (August 10).
#bossbabesATX: A Mini HerStory
Over the last two years, our mission, team and community have grown. To demonstrate what the last two years have meant to us, we created a lil video to show you who we are and where we're headed.
Over the last two years, our mission, team and community have grown. To demonstrate what the last two years have meant to us, we created a lil video to show you who we are and where we're headed.
Watch below:
Directed and produced by Illyana Bocanegra
Meet June's URL Resident Artist: Vy Ngo
Vy Ngo's creative life — or rather, her life more generally — is defined by dualities.
A pediatrician by day, the self-taught, first generation American born Vietnamese artist enters creative zen mode at night, allowing emotional instinct to guide her through painting.
“Having two different passions in life makes me feel whole, because I feel like I’m studying the human experience on all levels. ”
Vy Ngo's creative life — or rather, her life more generally — is defined by dualities.
A pediatrician by day, the self-taught, first generation American born Vietnamese artist enters creative zen mode at night, allowing emotional instinct to guide her through painting.
Further, her work is bisected by two modalities — a series of expressive, colorful and cultural portraits, each one individual in itself, and a breadth of abstract pieces that connect with the viewer on a gut level.
More than just an outlet for expressing the creative side of her identity, Ngo's artwork is the flipside to her pediatric work — a way of studying human culture, identity and experience where medicine allows her to study human physicality and health. And while medicine is her "quote unquote day job," her two passions and two careers intersect — each one bringing a needed perspective to the other in a way that makes her feel whole.
Below, she discusses how her work both painting and helping people interact to give her two different ways to connect with human rawness and vulnerability.
You can currently view her work at the People's Gallery 2017 exhibit at Austin City Hall; Strangers from Home at the Asian American Resource Center through June 24; and at Kiki Nass Boutique through August 10.
Lost in Thought, Currently at the Asian American Resource Center
How do you know you're an artist (besides the obvious)?
Becoming an artist is more about how you get there and how that defines you from that point on. For me, it wasn't like I knew I wanted to become an artist early on in life. But I was always creative — I drew a lot, obsessively and was very active in art class because it was a way for me to balance out my academics. It was like my escape and the place I felt most like myself. When it got to the point where I was trying to decide what career I wanted to pursue, it was between design, architecture and medicine. Of course, practicality wise, medicine seemed like the better choice. I also enjoyed working with kids since I was young, so being a pediatrician was just a natural choice for me at the time. I dedicated myself onto that path, which is a very, very long arduous course within itself. Which as a result, put my creative side on the breaks for over 20 years. Once I was established in my professional career and had a family, I started to realize that there was a part of me that was missing and that side of me was wanting to come out. It felt like if I continued to suffocate the creative side of me any further, I wasn’t sure how I would be emotionally — I felt like there was this big hole. It just came to a head for me. Of course, as soon as I tapped into that place, it was like I was an artist my entire life and I'd just been absorbing my life’s inspirations, observations and interactions. Once I started, I couldn’t stop and it's become a defining part of my life. It's more that I found myself again as an artist and now I'm on this journey of defining myself even further through my work.
Photo courtesy of Elkk Social
It sounds like it really functions for you as an outlet, as well as a part of your identity.
It is an outlet, but it's not just that. I'm starting to see the interactions between all the different parts of my life. When working with people and taking care of them in their most vulnerable time of need or the most precious parts of their lives, there is a rawness to it and a humanity that I'm able to express in my creative work. Then my creative work feeds into my medical profession as well by helping me get in touch with my own vulnerability allowing me to connect with people in a deeper way. So I feel like it's not necessarily just an outlet. It was maybe initially, but now it's become a part of how I process all the different aspects of my life, with my kids, with my career, with my art. It's interchangeable at this point.
Yellow, 2016
Do you see expressing that rawness and humanity in your portraits as a way of connection with the human experience?
Human interaction and people and culture have always fascinated me. I'm a first-generation American born Vietnamese artist. Growing up in a small rural town where you were kind of like the outsider and looked different from everyone around you, you're thrust into that. You can't ignore it and you can't help but be intrigued by what makes everyone different — what life paths people choose, what makes them who they are. With me being in the healthcare industry, human interaction is such a crucial part in understanding people. I've always been intrigued by people, their faces and the stories that they tell and I think that's why portraits for me is such a real place of connection. To be able to portray the emotions of a person and their life experience through creation of art is the most intimate form of connection as well as expression.
Blue, People's Gallery 2017
Though your portraits are all by you, and all have the same style generally, they also all have their own unique bent to them. Does each person's distinct story require a different way of expressing it?
Of course. I love that you can tell the portraits and work are all mine yet still distinctive. I want to put my creative stamp on each piece while still giving each portrait their own individual story. The colors, the emotions, the composition— it's all very personal to that person, that face or that culture.
Nebulus, 2016
Are these people that you know? Where are you sourcing the subjects of your portraits from?
Some of my portraits are of people that I know and some of them are strangers. For example, my recent series Strangers from Home is based on Vietnam and the cultural identification I have with the people there, as well as my disconnection with them being a first-generation American citizen. I consider my work “cultural portraits” because I am trying to express them as reflections of different cultural identities, histories, and experiences. I want to understand their story as well as express my own personal views of the world through their eyes.
Hearing that, I understand more why you call yourself a creative anthropologist. With your work, you seem to be tapping into the culture of people's stories and how that informs the identity you present of them.
Yeah, absolutely. In my “day job”, I had to learn and study the human body, genetics, human physiology and how they relate to disease or health and their environment and their diet — all those things that are very scientific. But as an artist, I'm taking all those studies one step further and studying the human psyche and our relationships with each other, our history, and our upbringing. I see our identities within our cultures and within our society. Having two different passions in life makes me feel whole because I feel like I'm studying the human experience on all levels.
Queen, People's Gallery 2017
In addition to these portraits, you also have abstract work, which again, you can tell is in your style, but is different from your portraiture. How does it tie in to the portraiture? What's the connection?
When I was younger, I drew portraits a lot. The human face was always something that was natural for me to work with. Abstract work is something I've always admired because you can get lost in it and because it becomes such an internal conversation. With abstract work, I'm engulfing myself in my own internal journey and I have let go. With portrait work, there's some control because you know where you want to go and what you want the portrait to look like. With abstract pieces, you have no idea where it's going to end up. You have a general idea of what you want to convey, the emotionality, the palette and the movement, but the part of abstract painting that I'm drawn to is the process itself. Finding myself along the way, bringing up more questions within myself and ultimately making decisions that aren't necessarily guided. It's truly trusting the process and the journey. It's amazing because with portraits, people can connect with them because you're looking at someone face to face — it's like a human conversation. With my "abstract memories”, for the viewer or artist, it's a dialogue of spirituality, psychology or emotionality that's not tangible. It's very personal because it triggers something inside of them. It may not necessarily be my intention with the painting, but that's what they're feeling. So to me abstract work is an even deeper human connection and it's nice to have that balance. You know, with me having two different passions and two different careers, it just makes sense — I live in this duality all the time.
This interview has been edited for clarity. Follow Vy Ngo's work on Instagram @vjngo_art or see more at vyngostudio.com.
Meet Cristina Fisher, Event & Content Manager of Space24Twenty
Programming, event production, blog features, social media, and photography — Cristina Fisher runs it all for Space 24 Twenty, Urban Outfitters' shared space featuring events tailored to the Austin creative community.
Photos by Briana Purser; Location courtesy of Jessie Katz
As the Events and Content Manager for Urban Outfitter’s Space 24 Twenty, an event venue housed within the retailer’s shared space on Guadalupe, Cristina Fisher steers the ship. Programming, event production, blog features, social media, and photography — Fisher runs it all for the space, allowing for a kind of creative control that lets her tailor the space to the Austin scene and to morph the venue into a place reflecting the artistic interests of the community at large. At the same time, Fisher operates in that arts community herself, indulging a creative passion for photography that both fulfills her need for a creative outlet and gives her an authentic understanding of the kind of events will connect with Austin audiences.
Since opening in December 2015, Space 24 Twenty has hosted yoga practice, a dance party, an indigo dye workshop, a craft fair, a vintage fair, and, of course, multiple live music showcases. Recently, Fisher introduced several pop-up food events to the space to tap into the Austin’s other prized sensory experience (the first being auditory).
Below, Fisher talks programming for the space, the Austin creative community, and how she balances her creative job with her creative passion.
Follow Cristina on Instagram here and catch the space at our 2-Year Anniversary Fundraiser this Friday.
On getting connected in the Austin creative community:
It's worked out pretty organically. Many times, I'll host an event with someone who introduces me to someone else who ends up being a great candidate to work with. I've been building on a lot of a lot of introductions for these events in addition to reaching out to artists that I've always wanted to have the opportunity to work with. Space 24 Twenty in general feels like a great platform for creatives to host to a larger audience.
On the platform a space like Space 24 Twenty can give artists:
It's a good space for the community to learn about other local creatives that they might not have come across already. For me, it's important to really think about that reach when working with these super talented individuals — that is, to give them the opportunity to access a new audience.
On the creative control she has running the space:
As a whole, it's been really fun having ownership on something. I've been lucky to have a ton of creative freedom on the events and content that I'm curating here, so it feels like the Space is not only a reflection of the community, but a reflection of me as a person. Running the space from a 360 view has challenged me to explore new skills that I wasn't as comfortable doing previously.
On balancing her creative job with her creative side hustle:
I've had a hard time balancing the two because I am now doing something as my full time job that I was previously just doing as creative outlet [photography.] It takes time management to know that it's okay to take a day completely off to focus on myself and my own creative endeavors.
With that said, having photography as a hobby has been essential in helping me with ideas for the Space and vice versa. At the end of the day, personal and work life influence each other a lot in this role.
On what she appreciates about the Austin creative community:
Austin is unique to me in that it doesn't feel completely intimidating or competitive to do something creative. It's in this really cool sweet spot right now where it's growing in size, but still small enough to allow for your own niche idea or skill (i.e. Bossbabes ATX) to turn into something super recognizable. It seems like creatives in Austin don't feel the need to conform, and aren't afraid to embrace their own style or aesthetic. Keep Austin Weird, right?
Recap: SOCIAL GRRL Spring '17
SOCIAL GRRL is a biannual meet-up produced by #bossbabesATX for self-identifying women in marketing. With curated conversation, the mixer aims to prioritize both professional and personal connections.
About SOCIAL GRRL:
SOCIAL GRRL is a biannual meet-up produced by #bossbabesATX for self-identifying women in marketing. With curated conversation, the mixer aims to prioritize both professional and personal connections.
On May 11, 2017 at Infinite Monkey Theorem, we hosted our Spring '17 edition of SOCIAL GRRL, kicking it with mingling, wine and industry-focused networking prompts.
The night's discussions were led by:
Meredith Gonsalves is a social media guru and content strategist with experience working on digital content strategies for Fortune 500 brands such as Wells Fargo, Western Union and Morningstar Inc. She's currently a Social Strategist at Deloitte and Digital Marketing Instructor at General Assembly.
Kreasha (Kay) Williams is a teen advocate, transformational speaker, and full time creative. In 2016 she co-founded, The Wantabes, a Creative Agency that puts together perspective changing campaigns, projects, and initiatives for girl-centric companies all over the world.
Claire Winslow is the President and Senior Strategist at Best Practice Media, a boutique social media marketing agency in downtown Austin.
Alexa is the Communications and Policy Initiatives Director at NARAL Pro-Choice Texas. She also served as a communications associate for the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Leslie Lozano is a freelance stylist, social media and marketing coordinator at NaturallyCurly.com and performer. Originally from Rio Hondo, Texas (a tiny town in the Rio Grande Valley), Lozano moved to Austin in the summer of 2014 to pursue styling, after becoming very restless during her college years. Leslie is one of the co-founding members and sits on the Board of Directors at #bossbabesATX.
Other details:
Peep the discussion Qs, and check out the photo recap here.
Want in on the next one? Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop on events. Tickets for SOCIAL GRRL Fall' 17 will be released in September.
Safe Spaces: The Mall
When Lindsay Eyth, design brain behind The Mall, a trailer-cum-boutique parked behind the Museum of Human Achievement, set out to brand the space, she hoped to capture the spirit of hope and wonder those giant shopping centers inspired in us as tweens.
When Lindsay Eyth, design brain behind The Mall, a trailer-cum-boutique parked behind the Museum of Human Achievement, set out to brand the space, she hoped to capture the spirit of hope and wonder those giant shopping centers inspired in us as tweens.
Originally conceived of as “The Mall of Human Achievement,” Eyth immediately connected with the idea of ‘the mall’ when she and Zach Traeger of the Museum of Human Achievement first began considering a collaboration between the museum and Eyth’s own brand, Eythink.
Inspired by archival photos of dead malls, she designed the interior, and the brand, to give off those loud, colorful vibes so recognizable to anybody who remembers when malls were still popping (RIP). Inside The Mall is a carefully curated — pointedly cute, she says — aesthetic only aided by a deliberate selection of merchandise that wouldn’t quite fit anywhere else. It’s whimsical and fun and a little bit irreverent, as any mall should be.
“I wanted it to be really extra,” she says of the space that she says is like a tween sister to her own brand, Eythink — a tween sister who’s “wilding out.”
Like MOHA, its collaborative partner, The Mall — as Eyth and Traeger see it — really nails in its unique voice and follows through, down to the kitsch color block tiles on the trailer floor and to the nostalgia-inducing cafeteria tables located nearby. There’s really no other place like it in Austin, and that’s *like totally* by design.
“It’s not really like other spaces in Austin, so it could be off putting,” says Eyth. “I think there’s a volume level that people are comfortable with in Austin and it’s hard to crank past that once that precedent is set. Anything more than that feels so loud.”
With The Mall, she hopes to challenge that comfort level and to perhaps make people consider why certain aesthetics are deemed more respectable or appropriate than others.
The space also gives Eyth and many other local artists the platform to be loud, where previously they had trouble stocking more than a few products in stores around the city. The Mall now stocks more than 40 different artists and brands.
Customers have noticed the space’s singularity, as well, stopping in to pick up gifts or specific items unique to The Mall.
“It’s really cool to see people identify this place as a place with something specific that they can’t get elsewhere,” says Eyth. “It makes me feel proud.”
Long Live the Babes: craftHER Market Spring '17 Recap
With a full day of panels, a killer venue and 💥kickass attendees💥, more than 2600 folks attended craftHER Market Spring 2017. Didn't make it out? No worries—we've got you.
Last weekend, we hosted craftHER Market Spring '17, our second-ever pop-up space for self-identified women to sell their goods. With a full day of panels, a killer venue and 💥kickass attendees💥, more than 2600 folks attended. Didn't make it out? No worries—we've got you.
This year, we showcased more than 100 vendors (!!!), featuring a wide variety of makes, from furniture to wall hangings to leather works. You can check out our full lineup here.
Our market's also a little different than most. We offer tables to other markets and community resources, so makers have the opportunity to connect with organizers beyond our market. We also produce industry-specific panels, each centering on issues and important topics within the maker community. Take a peek at this spring's panels and learn more about the speakers we featured.
See that wall hanging on the stage? That's a screen-printed, 5x5 reproduction of a piece made by our featured artist this month and one of the market's speakers, Xochi Solis.
Speaking about the stage—we've got woman-owned Party at the Moontower Rentals to thank. Both the stage design and the market's lounge were sponsored by Moontower. You can learn more about them here.
Last but not least, we have to recognize the talented and dedicated team at Fair Market. Without their support, we would not be able to produce this market with low-cost booth rental fees for all of our vendors. (Thank you!)
PS: Our vendors set up in a storm. The weather cleared when we opened, but they were real troupers, proving once again that come hell or high water women are tough AF.
Interested in vending at the next craftHER Market? Applications reopen in late August. Sign up for email updates here. Would you like to become a craftHER Market sponsor? Shoot an email to thebabes@bossbabes.org, and we'll send along information on fall market opportunities.
Meet April's URL Resident Artist: Xochi Solis
By layering color and texture, paint and imagery, Xochi Solis' complex works are pure expression of "mood and vibration" — obscured renderings of the everyday source material from which she derives inspiration and raw material.
“I am continually researching and making work to find the voice that was never taught to me. I believe there is an authentic message that lies deep within my DNA that I hope to infuse my work with.”
We were meant to be side by side, 2016
Xochi Solis' paintings emote.
By layering color and texture, paint and imagery, the native Austin artist's complex works are pure expression of "mood and vibration" — obscured renderings of the everyday source material from which Solis derives inspiration and raw material.
Lately, the referenced shapes of her pieces have given way to actual imagery taken from books and magazines that focus on the Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicanx, or Latinx experience. Just like the other materials used in her work, these images (of "a snippet of an arm outreached picking flowers in Xochimilco, a dense ball of corn masa, the brown weathered skin of a campesino") are buried in each piece, giving them a larger meaning as part of a finished whole than they might have had as an individual piece.
It's a similar process to the one used to form an identity, or an authentic, cultural voice — what she describes as the constant theme of her work as an artist.
Below, she tells us more about that process, plus gives us a playlist peek at the music that pairs best with her creative moods.
I sing the praise of never change, 2017
How do you know you’re an artist? (Besides the obvious!)
I am the daughter of an artist and an educator, a child of the 80s brought up with the Sesame Street mantra that my unique creative ideas were something to be valued and respected. I always had a deep awareness of my surroundings, both physically and emotionally, and my natural response to these observations was to make something. The belief in both my vision and the need to express that vision is at the root of my identity as an artist.
Will you describe your process?
Whether working small on illustration board or large scale with site specific installations, each work is a construction beginning with paint. Paint is either directly applied on my work surface or on clear plastic. This is followed by a collection of materials including: hand-dyed paper, vinyl, plastic, cork and images from books and magazines. First, I recall observations made of organic forms found in the everyday — an unusual pebble, plant leaves outside of my studio or found on a walk, funny clouds or even curves of my own body. In reference to these observations I begin pulling materials together that fit that shape or forms a mood and vibration. Once a healthy stack of paper and painted plastic swatches are gathered I establish a stacking order. Each layer is contingent on the previous and each additional layer increases the complexity of information. Through my technique, I am able to provide a textural experience beyond the flat painted surface. Over the last two or three years I have been incorporating more and more found imagery into my work. So much so that the designation of being a collage artist has sprung up in conversations with critics and curators. However, because of my training as a painter and the fact that no work is ever complete without paint I still think of my works as paintings.
The artist at work
From where are you sourcing the materials that you use in your work — which books and magazines? Are those books and magazines important to the work or just raw material?
Found images entered into my compositions as I began exploring how the shapes in photographic images could substitute the gestural shapes and expressive surfaces found in nature and artistic mark making. At first I became interested in the speed that these surfaces could lend to the process of making my work but as of late, I have been increasingly drawn to images that are connected to storytelling and identity.
For a recent project for the Denver Art Museum, the curators prompted me to consider the weight of the images I use as cultural signifiers. This led me to seek out books and magazines which referenced aspects of Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicanx or the broader Latinx experience. Like my previous works, these found images are often buried or abstract in the final composition but nevertheless they are there. A snippet of an arm outreached picking flowers in Xochimilco, a dense ball of corn masa, the brown weathered skin of a campesino, these images have started entering my work as I further explore my latinidad. What started out as cheap, raw materials are now far more complex and hold more meaning. I look forward to seeing how far I can push the medium.
Madness from the quiet jungle, 2016
Where do you find inspiration? From what artists or other works?
Color wise, my first loves are found among natural objects like pecans, fresh mangos, succulents, crystals, algae on the surfaces of pools, etc. I get excited about shapes and colors found within the pages of books and magazines, but also the internet and social media feeds full of images of fur and leather and high fashion makeup. I am continuously thinking of color, both in my work, my home and as ornament. It is such a constant that I have developed a real intuitive sense of what sort of combinations will work. Above any other activity, travel has had the greatest effect on my practice. It is my greatest source of inspiration. Being set on edge by a new place and environment makes my surroundings that much more vivid. Travel leaves an indelible mark on my mind that leaps out when I return to my studio to channel it. The real undertaking is to push beyond my trained sense of color and be open to chance occurrences and experimentation that take the inspiration many steps further!
Looking at other artist’s work is also informative, especially those that focus primarily on color and shape like Ellsworth Kelly or Monique Prieto. Longtime loves have been: Hans Arp and his wife Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Cy Twombly, Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Joan Jonas, Yvonne Rainer, Bas Jan Ader, Imi Knoebel, Eva Hesse, Robert Motherwell, Lynda Benglis, Helen Frankenthaler. New and recent loves: Jaime Carrejo, Elena Damiani, Johanna Tagada, Lydia Hardwick, Stacy Fisher, Fiona Curran, Kaarina Haka, Cyprien Gaillard, and Christine Sun Kim.
Here where the tree leaves have prisms, 2017
You share your time between Austin and Mexico? Do either or both locations inform your work?
I am a native Austinite with many many generations of my family living in this land we call Texas today. I have seen many changes during my 36 years. Through family members, I have learned even further how the city has taken shape into the metropolis that we recognize today. As I grow and I am nurtured by this city artistically, I recognize that its identity is more than the outside perspective of the “Live Music Capital” or home of SXSW. Now more than ever, with communities of color being further marginalized, I believe it is important to be visible as a female artist of color and to further activate my role as a visual arts leader in my Austin community.
While I am very busy with studio projects and work in Austin, I do act as a visual arts leader in my role as a member and board president of the collectively run art space MASS Gallery. I also spend my time spinning records with the Chulita Vinyl Club and managing the Austin chapter.
In Mexico, my use of time is the exact opposite. In Mexico, I am a quiet stranger, a curious visitor and I give myself the space to meditate on my surroundings in a deep and open way. I have built it into my practice that at least once a year I set up a small mobile studio to work for a few weeks in Mexico. These annual self-guided residencies have really informed my work in remarkable ways. For example, my colorways are more vibrant and the resulting compositions have become more nuanced and intense.
In a way, my whole cultural existence and that of my family has been between the United States and Mexico. Now that I have committed myself to working in this liminal space with intent, I feel very energized about what it will reveal in my work.
How long does it usually take you to finish a single piece?
I don’t enjoy belaboring over one work and prefer to make lots of works in a quick period of time, automatically and naturally responding to the materials at hand. Some weeks I reserve for research and material collecting and other weeks I’ll spend days religiously going to the studio and end up making 10-15 works in the span of 4-6 days.
The artist, Xochi Solis
From looking at your blog, it seems like music is an important component to your work. What is the connection for you?
As a member of the Chulita Vinyl Club DJ collective, I have been spinning records live with them for about a year. As a practice and as a member of a community of Latinx women DJs, the CVC gives me so much life. But my love for music began long before that. My father came from a very musical family and he played in side bands throughout his career as a teacher/school administrator through most of my childhood. There was hardly ever a moment in my household when there wasn’t music playing. I dug through his records curiously since the moment I could walk and began my own music collection in my teen years. At this point I have a little of everything and always hunger for more. I have the same drives and passions for collecting music as I have for collecting books and magazines. Ironically, I began collecting books from thrift stores because they just happened to be in the same place that all the vinyl records and cassette tapes were!
Do you listen to music while working? What kind? What is your studio space like?
ALWAYS! Though lately I also listen to podcasts, too, but that is only when I have a crazy deadline or something. Most of the time, it’s upbeat or nostalgic jammers, but I go through phases. For the longest time all I wanted to hear was Indian Ragas, which I still really love. Listening to music while you are so intently concentrating gives any tune new meaning. All of a sudden you hear timbales you never heard or a track of soft whispering that ebbs in the background giving the song depth. Environmentally, my space is cozy and full. I have tabletops covered with colored papers and my walls have cutouts of big washy paint gestures on paper and plastics. I have stacks and stacks and stacks of books and magazines neatly piled under tables and on benches. In the center of it all is a work table—an inherited table from my maternal grandfather where I complete most of my compositions while teetering on top of a tall stool. I have been in my current studio for almost 12 years and really think of it as home.
A potent shadow and a legend, 2017
Does the type of music you listen to affect the work you’re creating? Perhaps the colors or even shapes?
My work is inherently about color and mood and music plays to those moods, so yep, there’s a song for that.
- For frenzied T.C.B kind of deadline work: 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters
- For slowly moving paint around: Feeling the Space by Yoko Ono
- For concentrated composition making: Chancha Via Circuito’s album Río Arriba
- For picking out bright colors like tangerine and magenta: Rrrr by Matias Aguayo
- For packing work to ship to my gallery: My Autumn’s Done Come by Lee Hazlewood
How has your work evolved from when you first began to present day? How do you foresee it evolving in the next few years? Do you keep constant themes?
Early on in my assemblage making, I slowly began moving away from the constraints of rectangular canvases and began messing around with shaped paintings. At that time, I was really excited about Dadaist painters like Jean Arp and his wife Sophie Taeuber-Arp, who were mixing a lot of non-traditional materials into their painting process.
I was also really drawn to the candy colors and forms of LA-based contemporary artist Monique Prieto. From these inspiration points, I began 'painting' with shaped wood panels and paper. From there my style developed into incorporating found images and a variety of paper sources and eventually I stopped working with wood and focused on light two dimensional materials. In the beginning, like many art students, I was very concerned with making work that was in the vein of what was being taught to me. These examples presented to you by instructors as being examples of work that is “quality” or just “good work.”
A cultural voice is always present in these exemplary works, but for the most part art instructors tend to only talk of “good work” eschewing any political or social implications. It is a constant journey to find and keep your own authentic voice and even more so as an artist of color. As the Cuban American performance artist Ana Mendieta said “It is always about a search for origins” and that is very true in my practice. Instead of imitating work that I have no connection to, I am continually researching and making work to find the voice that was never taught to me. I believe there is an authentic message that lies deep within my DNA that I hope to infuse my work with. Through a process of thinking through my work I hope to transgress against my routine and push my work to places beyond where it is today.
Reminiscing on EMPRESS: A Playlist
We're missing EMPRESS, our SXSW showcase hard! Listen to this playlist, featuring a selection of EMPRESS' artists, and relive the magic with us.
On Tuesday, March 14, we hosted EMPRESS, with Girlfriend, a showcase featuring all-women artists, DJs, collectives and zines on March 14 at Cheer Up Charlie's from noon to 6 PM.
And we're missing it hard! Listen to this playlist, featuring a selection of EMPRESS' artists, and relive the magic with us.
PS: You can review the lineup here.
Curated by Leslie Lozano