Interviews
Tapes’n’Tales: Emiliano Ponzi
“It’s possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language to endow those things – a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring – with immense, even startling power […]”(Raymond Carver, A Storyteller’s Shoptalk, 1981). An artistic oeuvre that can be interpreted as the expression of a stylistic research that aims to explore the complex and stratified field of everyday life through the use of an ordinary language that is essentially plain and devoid of any visual-narrative frills. Qualities like linearity, humour and a refined unpredictability mark the work of the already well-known Italian artist and illustrator Emiliano Ponzi. Read the rest of this entry »
Soldier of a Secret Kingdom: STEPHEN APPLEBY-BARR
Religion, Science, Philosophy and Superstition. Toronto-based artist Stephen Appleby-Barr demonstrates an exceptional ability to (re)create and, above all, manipulate early modern European historical references with infinitesimal doses of humour and intrigue. His ideal vision, inextricably linked to the old masters of the painterly tradition such as Rembrandt, Velázquez and Sargent, continues to evolve and reinvent itself by exploring the connections between classical aesthetics and contemporary art. Read the rest of this entry »
Exhibit Openings: Interview w/Elzo Durt + 108
Haunting geometrical compositions, vibrant colours and a sparkling labyrinth of art pieces ranging from a bizarre and provocative surrealism to a gloomy and abstract minimalism were some of the hallmarks of the double solo show recently opened at Doppelgaenger, in Bari, and featuring works by Italian artist and musician 108, aka Guido Bisagni, and Elzo Durt, Belgian illustrator whose swirling psychedelic graphic style is often associated with posters and album covers designed for the likes of Thee Oh Sees and Jack of Heart. Read the rest of this entry »
Tapes’n’Tales: SHARMILA BANERJEE
The fresh cartoon-style of Berlin-based illustrator Sharmila Banerjee plays with an unconventional and psychedelically-structured observation of our own individual personalities in the natural environment. As demonstrated in the evocatively titled “Human Nature” – the artist’s new solo exhibition currently showing at Inuit Bookshop as part of the Seventh edition of the BilBOlbul International Comics Festival in Bologna – Sharmila Banerjee’s work encourages both reflection and examination of humans’ complex and powerful behavioural dynamics. Read the rest of this entry »
The Hidden Pain of Youth: SIMON HENWOOD
An enduring and constantly growing commitment to experimentation and (self-)analysis. In a career spanning over twenty years, British multi-disciplinary artist Simon Henwood has applied his dark and lively imagination to a rich and diverse range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, music and animation. Read the rest of this entry »
Coyotes in My Backyard: TRAVIS MILLARD
Founder of the Fudge Factory Comics publishing company in 1997, Los Angeles-based artist Travis Millard marvellously combines social and political irony with absurdity in his theatrical yet overtly bizarre and hilarious pen and ink drawings on paper. Primarily influenced by skateboarding graphics, horror movies, punk rock and comics, Travis Millard has always been exploring and experimenting with new ideas, mediums and techniques as a means to convey humour and to provide for a low-key satire built around a series of open-ended sketches on common things. Read the rest of this entry »
The Alchemy of Love and Fire: NEIL KRUG
Self-annihilating ennui, protest, the feeling of total freedom that brings us closer to the final redemption. It could be a scene from the late 60′s dramas about teenage idealism or disillusionment . A stirring yet static suspension from the glimmering surface of the world we live in. It is precisely this loose allegory about the quest for spiritual enlightenment through the aesthetics of the visionary and psychedelic experience that American artist Neil Krug employs in his playful and sophisticated photography and filmmaking. Read the rest of this entry »
The Vision of a Dum Dum Girl: MALIA JAMES
François Truffaut once wrote, “The film of tomorrow appears to me as even more personal than an individual and autobiographical novel, like a confession, or a diary. The young filmmakers will express themselves in the first person and will relate what has happened to them. It may be the story of their first love or their most recent; of their political awakening; the story of a trip, a sickness, their military service, their marriage, their last vacation…and it will be enjoyable because it will be true, and new […] The film of tomorrow will be an act of love.” No art form captures the fragility and authenticity of life quite like photography and filmmaking and Malia James’ work can be seen as an unpretentious celebration of the fullness of love in its most universal form. Read the rest of this entry »
Cross Paths: AIDAN BAKER and MATT SMITH
As one of the most intriguing contemporary composers, Toronto-born and Berlin-based Aidan Baker’s path could be summed up as perpetually challenging; whether releasing under his own name, or under the moniker Nadja (which started as a solo project and later evolved into a duo with bassist Leah Buckareff), each record can be treasured not just for its own value but as part of a bigger quest for sound sculpting and, ultimately, for approaching the very idea of music. Read the rest of this entry »
Tapes’n’Tales: JOHN CASEY
Human instinct cannot be destroyed but can only be transformed into other states, altered reflections, distorted perceptions of ourselves. The idea of transformation which forms the basis of Oakland-based artist John Casey’s work is subtly internalized and provides for a meaningful symbolic representation of the state of duality we constantly experience in the world and within our own selves. Read the rest of this entry »
The Future Is Bright: THE FRESH & ONLYS 
Better Than Something: Interview with Ian Markiewicz and Alex Hammond 
Filming The Music: AG ROJAS 
The Alchemy of Love and Fire: NEIL KRUG 
Drenched in The Rain of Dreams: Dimitri Drjuchin 
I CAN SEE FOR MILES: The Art of Jacob Escobedo 