the Studio Visit - 1/8
On Friday, February 20th, we hosted our first studio visit of the year, in the company of 4 artists we look up to.
And it was a blast!
For 3 hours we sat in the company of brilliant artists and makers, making us confident in sharing our work and being seen. Thanks again for coming !
Attending artists included a writer-poet, a painter-party designer, a graphic novel illustrator and a fashion scholar-sculptor.
What we did
For 3 hours, we showed our latest work, followed by a collage book mini-workshop.
With collective memory as a guiding thread, we explored collage’s many techniques: digital compositions (Tarot, KD), cut and paste (Calendar Collages, VD), collage-based drawings (Danse Macabre Tryptych, KD, Birthday Drawings, VD).
The process
We gladly opened up on:
Our latest work: Karolina’s digital collage Tarot deck, artist portraits, and Villa Empain painting. Virgile’s daily calendar collages and collage-inspired drawings.
Our approach to image-making: Cut-outs, digital editing, drawing, fixing, scanning, archiving — a succession of task that mirrors traditional photography’s developing process
An invitation to participate: A hands-on collage workshop for all attendees
Artists we reffered to
Justine Kurland (b. 1969)
Kurland's SCUMB Manifesto directly inspired this workshop. The American photographer and artist famously cut out 150 photobooks by male photographers and reorganised them into 150 photographs.
Website: www.justinekurland.com/
Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971)
Afro-American Artist, painter and collage maker, known for her empowered portraits of Black women and celebrations of queer life. Currently the subject of a major retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris, All About Love. We celebrated the exhibition in an article: https://www.demodema.com/news/show-review-mickalene-thomas-at-the-grand-palais
Website: https://mickalene.herokuapp.com/works
Insta: @mickalenethomas
Wangechi Mutu (b. 1972)
Kenyan-American artist, whose mixed-media collage portraits explore notions of identity, colonialism, and the body.
Insta: @wangechistudio
Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955)
Afro-American painter known for his monumental depictions of Black life.
Louisiana Channel interview: https://channel.louisiana.dk/video/kerry-james-marshall-paint-it-black
Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980)
Polish Art Deco painter of the 1920s, associated with the School of Paris.
Website: tamaradelempicka.org/ (Tamara de Lempicka Estate)
Mequitta Ahuja (b. 1976)
Afro-American painter, known for her compelling self-portraits and mastery of painting across many styles.
Website: www.mequittaahuja.com/
Insta: @mequittaahuja
Emilio Isgro (b. 1937)
Italian artist. known for his erasure drawings and works of art.
Website: www.emilioisgro.info
The result(s)
a better understanding of what Demo Dema is working on at the moment, both together and separately.
a lively conversation between practicing artists about the medium of collage and related techniques
a collage workbook distributed to all attendees for continued experimentation
One artist recorded the voices of the other attendees, as part of an ongoing sound archive project.
References
for art history references: Obelisk Art
Website: www.arthistoryproject.com/
for women in art: AWARE
"AWARE's primary scholarly mission is to rewrite art history with gender parity. It is long overdue to position women artists on equal footing with their male counterparts and bring their work to wider recognition."
Website: awarewomenartists.com/
for interviews of contemporary artists: The Great Women Artists.
Website: www.thegreatwomenartists.com/
What’s next?
As we want to make this a recurring event, we’re planning on having our next studio visit in March. Artist featured, location and date will be announced son.
We look forward to seeing you then!
Demo Dema