STORIES FROM THE COLLECTION Edward Boccia, American Artist and Teacher The artist’s trust has donated two late works to the Art Students League’s collection. BY  ROSA JH BERLAND OCTOBER 7, 2022   Edward E. Boccia in his studio, St. Louis, 1960 Edward Eugene Boccia was born in 1921 to Italian parents in Newark, New Jersey. The artist began taking classes in 1940 at the Art Students League of New York, studying briefly with Gordon Samstag whose murals of vernacular scenes would have a decided influence on the young artist. When looking at the drawings made in the 1940s, it is immed ..read more

  I have long been interested in the stories of artists, these narratives reveal the making of self and art and objects, a molding of experience, sometimes through the vagaries of fog or the rush of fire. Such conversations are rich in ideas, intimacy and beauty, from quiet moments to ecstatic sharing of vision, joy and even struggles and pain. These moments are a gift for any curator.     It is with great delight that I share the most recent memoir and art book featuring the life and practice of American artist Will Roger. It was a honor to be invited to write about Will’s wo ..read more

An excerpt of my essay from the recent book on the contemporary art practice of Kuzma Vostrikov and Ajuan Song. A New Genre of Narratival Portraiture: Kuzma Vostrikov and Ajuan Song’s Photographic Series Absolutely Augmented Reality     Imagine a painterly yet hallucinatory sequence of places that appear as if constellations from a dream-filled night. In these images, one finds extraordinary fictional creatures suspended in movement and laid out in articulated areas of color and enigmatic symbolism. This is Absolutely Augmented Reality, a series of photographs created by artist ..read more

Over the last two years I have worked closely with the artists of Aleph Contemporary, London. It’s been such an exciting and enriching experience to get to know each artist and interview them about their technical process, concepts and the evolution of their work. In these conversations, the story of making, creativity and struggle become poetic wanderings, rigorous theoretical exchanges and new discoveries. Here is one such example written about the delightful simple beauty of artist Jacopo Dal Bello.    Berlin based artist Jacopo Dal Bello is a contemporary master. From paintings ..read more

Dutch artist Marcelle Hanselaar’s work has a complex yet direct narrative that seems to exist between the unexplained and tangible. The artist’s oeuvre includes etchings and paintings and her distinctive style incorporates the sculptural quality of the great masters, through the lens of graphic neo-expressionist practice.   Marcelle Hanselaar At the Oracle of Limbo 4, 2019, oil on canvas   Shadow, line, and a sense of the plastic are composed within eerie scenes of displacement. A perfection of pigment and control in composition and placement create sense of haunting memory and as we ..read more

  I am delighted to announce today’s release of the new book of photographs by American artist Bryan Sansivero entitled American Decay: Inside America’s Forgotten Homes. The book features my essay and a splendid selection of Sansivero’s mysterious and evocative images. It was such a pleasure to collaborate with Bryan on this exciting project.   The book is published in limited editions and may be purchased on the artist’s website here.   All Copyrights belong to the Artist Bryan Sansivero ..read more

In a series of majestic and beautiful black and white narratival and portrait photographs of his Jersey City community, American artist Duquann Sweeney’s images are a celebration of African American identity, culture and community.     Sweeney’s style includes experiments with shadow and light, sharp contrast, a revealing of deep tones and a way of cropping the image that allows a sense of portraiture and movement to emerge and is focused on “an African American aesthetic.” The artist’s work is a “counter narrative” to the negative stereotypes and story lines that pervade our societ ..read more

Chickasaw artist Isabella Falashoka’s beaded works are a recollection of shared artistry and intimate exploration. Within there is an expression of a connection to the natural world as well as childhood memory and visitation. This is artistic practice that involves intricate months-long crafting of singular images that fluidly represent a collection of narratives. If Falashoka’s story begins as a series of interwoven images and experiences it is because this sense of the nonlinear is intrinsic to her practice, embodied in two recent complex beaded images that speak with many voices –Nashob ..read more

This is a splendid discussion hosted by Hanna Payne between Jo Baring, Director of the Ingram Collection and my co-curator Vivienne Roberts, Founder, Aleph Contemporary. Jo discusses the themes and sensibility found in some of the paintings included in the contemporary show. Vivienne and I curated this show REFLECTIONS featuring 48 paintings by four accomplished emerging artists – Ben Westley Clarke, Oliver Dorrell, Joana Galego, and Paul Newman. Jo’s sensitive take on the technique, approach and mood of a selection of paintings from the show captures the powerful character of these artists ..read more

The Beauty of Hope -The Contemporary Paintings of Katrina Berg At times beauty is forged through suffering. If creativity is an illumination then so is hope. It is this longing for peace that artist Katrina Berg expresses in her story of becoming a painter. This was a process that unveiled her true heart and artistic vision too long obscured by her experiences of trauma. Berg’s paintings have a simplicity and quietness, color is pure and added in a tactile manner creating a balance between abstraction and figuration. Studies of landscape and botanical images are intersected by geometric bands ..read more