It's a Process

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with painter Stephen Maine, who lives and works in West Cornwall, Connecticut, and whom I recently visited in his studio (though we spoke remotely for this interview). We explore his idea of the “color chord,” how he made peace with colors he once avoided, and his use of plates—a method he invented that is as much about streamlining as it is about surrendering control. We also discuss his ideas of mimesis and residue, the shifts in his work over time, what makes a painting truly satisfying, and the pleasures of discord and the off-kilter.I float the idea that his work might be involved in a kind of psychedelic transcendence (though he’s not convinced), but we have a very lively conversation and find a lot of points of interest and connection. I am reminded of innards, intestines and digestion by the marks in some of his most recent large scale work, and of some image of creation itself. We also touch on his enjoyment of funk music, and how it may or may not  be some kind of parallel sensibility to his work.Stephen’s work is currently on view in What’s That Sound Everybody Look What’s Going Down, a group show at Private Public Gallery in Hudson, NY, through October 5th. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!https://www.stephenmaine.com/https://privatepublicgallery.net/https://twocoatsofpaint.com/2023/02/stephen-maines-hands-off-abstraction.htmlFunkadelic, (Not Just) Knee Deep:https://youtu.be/diLayOqVYUs?si=S6BelNO-Tjb9fluF

Rufus Tureen is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, performance, and time-based media. Drawing from experimental theater, trance practices, and visual art, he creates psychologically charged works that explore altered states, symbolic systems, and perception. Tureen’s work has been exhibited and performed internationally, including with Essex Flowers Gallery in New York. He earned his BA in Art Semiotics from Brown University and an MFA in Painting from Hunter College (CUNY). Recent highlights include a presentation at NADA New York 2025.During this conversation, we talk about:Marlon Brando, Stella Adler, and Sanford MeisnerActing experience and impulsesThe relationship between acting and paintingTrusting yourselfFolk art and lack of self-consciousnessConfidence vs egoComedy vs seriousnessPerformance artZen painting and calligraphyDoing lessPaul Dano vs Adam DriverArtists and personasHis various characters including The Olde Man and The LizardAnd much, much more!Links:The Lizardhttps://vimeo.com/255604287The Olde Manhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/EoS3gbeYZaURufus’s Acting Reelhttps://vimeo.com/1085090372Ningbo China TV Spothttps://vimeo.com/943339239One-Eyed Jack’shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtFvRGMzCsAlan Watts - Zen in a Paintinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOmpXAn1_cs

Raymie Iadevaia is a painter based in Los Angeles, CA. We had a long, rollicking conversation, much like the saturated hills of Raymie’s paintings. We discussed his recent solo exhibition, Hearafter, at The Pit in Palm Springs, CA, his creative process, and various other aspects of his work, including:The balance between serious play and solemnity in making artHow the work often unlocks more questions than answersThe concept of "the landscapist’s soul"Inspirations from Pierre Bonnard and Maya DerenThe influence of board games, particularly CandylandSpeed and compositional format in his paintingsThe sense of journey within his worksThe use of animal forms, character, and narrativeThe poignant and bittersweet origins of the title HearafterThemes of mortality and a quote about consciousness from the Gospel of ThomasPaintings as time machines, and how the time of year and day influence his workCalifornia as a characterDrawing as a daily practice and an engine for the workAnd much, much more!https://raymieiadevaia.com/home.htmlhttps://www.instagram.com/raymieiadevaia/?hl=enhttp://www.the-pit.la/raymie-iadevaiahttps://www.jackbarrettgallery.com/raymie-iadevaia-nesting-in-deep-time

Raychael Stine is a painter who lives and works in Albuquerque, NM. She received her BFA at UT Dallas in 2003, and her MFA at UIC in Chicago in 2010. Raychael is currently an Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of New Mexico, where she has taught since 2013. Raychael and I are currently showing alongside each other in a 2-person show titled The Tenderness at Emma Gray HQ in Los Angeles (on view through October 5th) which features new paintings which were all made with paint that was gifted from the studio of the late and wonderful painter Susan Rothenberg. In this episode, we talk about the amazing story of how the paint came to Raychael, how she came to share the paint with me, the impact of Rothenberg on both of our work, Raychael’s process and inspirations, of which dogs are a big part of,  as well as music, color, and light. Other topics include hiddenness and surprise, animals as a doorway to love, sensuality, and feeling, following your instincts, painting the interconnectedness of things, intellect vs physicality, handling criticism, a defense of tenderness and Celine Dion, Howard Hodgkins, and the ruinousness of irony.The title of the show “The Tenderness” comes from a quote by Rothenberg: “In the paintings where it's there—the tenderness—I work for it. I'm not afraid of it. If I could put my bleeding heart in there, I would.”The Tenderness at Emma Gray HQhttps://emmagrayhq.com/the-Tenderness-Raychael-Stine-Jennifer-SullivanRaychael Stine websitehttps://raychaelstine.com/home.htmlSusan Rothenberg: Emotions, Art21https://youtu.be/PPOkhiIWHHg?si=gIbZ-yZizdtuDisoOral history interview with Susan Rothenberg, 1987 May 22-June 2https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-susan-rothenberg-12631Susan Rothenberg interview by Grace Glueck, July 22, 1984https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/magazine/susan-rothenberg.html

Sean Cairns is a painter, living in Dallas, Texas. He just closed a solo show at 12.26 Gallery in Dallas, titled Wearing Away The Mountain. We had a really great conversation about many things including why landscape may be the hardest genre of painting, using the element of surprise, not working from a formula, the freedom to be yourself in your work, spirituality as a process, nature as inspiration, why painting can never die, Andrei Tarkovsky and what I call a “cinematic” quality in his work, and “going off script” / making up your own reality.https://gallery1226.com/Sean-Cairns

New logo, new theme song, new attitude! We’re returning to the world of podcasting after a very long absence! I share my thoughts on the future of the pod and also do my first solo episode discussing my love of the German painter Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) and the wonderful and moving survey of her work currently on view at the Neue Galerie in NYC. Also, special thanks for the cool new re-design of the podcast logo, theme song, and audio assistance by the amazing Kiara Larrabee!!https://www.neuegalerie.org/modersohnbecker2024

For the season 2 premiere of It’s a Process, I talk to artist Whitney Hubbs! We talk about the release of her new book Say So, her 2020 solo show Animal, Hole, Selfie, and her performative process. We also talk about influences, working with vulnerability, relationships to the audience and vanity, having fun in the studio, Polanski’s Bitter Moon, sorting and editing, the intimacy of making a book, the transformations of midlife, grappling with mortality, sexuality, and failure, having a trusted support system of friends, thinking about death, new work,  the role of the studio, letting things happen, making autobiographical work, and growing up in LA in the presence of Hollywood.http://www.whitneyhubbs.com/https://www.situations.us/whitney-hubbsSay So book: https://shop.selfpublishbehappy.com/products/say-so-by-whitney-hubbshttps://bombmagazine.org/articles/character-studies-whitney-hubbs-interviewed/

Zuriel Waters is a painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. We talk about his current solo show Bug City at Left Field Gallery in Los Osos, CA. We also talk about going from all face to all feelers, jazz as a metaphor, figures without a ground, painting as problem solving, giving himself a deadline, escaping narrative, creating a progression, playing the saxophone, sewing paintings, from the practical to the aesthetic, learning to love Murray and Mondrian, holding yourself accountable, painting for mistakes, choosing colors that are inevitable, doodling as a starting point, utopia as an end game, and making things that you can live with.http://www.leftfieldgallery.com/bug-city-zuriel-watershttp://zurielwaters.com/index.htmlhttps://www.maakemagazine.com/zuriel-waters

Susumu Kamijo is a painter who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He currently has a solo show on view in Tokyo, Japan at Maki Gallery titled Beyond The Hills, and is also in a group show at Venus over Manhattan in NYC. We discuss his moving to the US at age 16, why talking to writers is better than painters, how poodles entered the work and how they have changed, mixing opposites, the poodle as an entranceway to his world, the intensity of De Kooning, feeling like your work is dorky, the absurdity of choosing to paint poodles, feeling the capacity to encompass the fucked up part of you, performing comedy in the past as a challenge, painting as an expression of the subconscious, letting unexpected things happen, finding joy in the studio, using meditation but trying not to be cringe about it, the earlier years, the importance of friends in his development, having faith that he would be able to make it as an artist, finding inspiration in other peoples death, his mentor relationship with Denzil Hurley, and a story about Susumu’s MFA experience.Susumu Kamijo - Beyond The Hills, Maki Galleryhttps://www.makigallery.com/exhibitions_en/4910/https://www.jackhanley.com/artists/susumu-kamijoAkira Kurosawa - Dreamshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcXk_PLrHp8In Memoriam – Denzil Hurleyhttps://art.washington.edu/news/2021/07/01/memoriam-denzil-hurley

Clinton King is a painter living and working in Brooklyn, NY. We talk about his recent solo show Free Radical at Allouche Benias Gallery in Greece, and a residency at Fores Project in London over a bottle of rosé. Other topics include Jungian analysis, alchemy, working with shadow, introversion vs extroversion, abstraction as a universal and a way to communicate the unknowable, having breakthroughs, Clinton’s hypnotic meme video, connection and response, art as a living thing, dreaming of the new work, the vastness of the unconscious, putting obstacles in your own way, aging, death, and chain reactions, the balance of opposites, making an art out of transitions, working with liminal space, live tarot card readings!!, and why Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 is the best movie of all time.https://www.clintonkingart.com/https://allouchebenias.com/exhibitions/free-radicalhttp://www.foresproject.org/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/julie-curtiss-clinton-king-1788015Cymaticshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmsfuj1Rk9cJudd / Marfahttps://chinati.org/Fred Sandbackhttps://www.fredsandbackarchive.org/John Dee's spirit mirrorhttps://www.bl.uk/collection-items/john-dees-spirit-mirror#Donald Duck in Mathmagic Landhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqnN72OlqAKubrick’s 2001 and the meaning of the monolithhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSo6s_xrj4c

Cheryl Donegan is an artist who lives and works in NYC. We talk about work/life balance, taking it to the next level, the pain of transitions, the relationship between painting and video, the ongoing influence of indirect methods of childhood picture making, mediated and temporary, finding your native experiences and attractions, asking questions about painting through video, Alice Neel and morbidity, how does painting let the digital into it’s body, intervening on the ready made, Home Depot materials, the desire for control vs letting go, being an artist’s artist, indulging in formative memories, starting from scratch and moving towards beauty, what people do when they get over themselves, art and aging, Yoko Ono, Gena Rowlands, being too much, Raster Stars, Bresson’s Mouchette as the original punk, little book of martyrs, tracksuits, junkspace and irrational geometry, colorforms, step by step breakdown of her recent painting process, Cezanne and Zola, how painting seduces the digital, artists books as a way of thinking through motifs, and learning to paint with emotions.https://cheryldonegan.com/https://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/cheryl-donegan-scenes-commercialshttps://www.aspenartmuseum.org/exhibitions/141-cheryl-donegan-grlz-veilshttps://camh.org/event/cheryl-donegan/https://davidsheltongallery.com/artists/detail/cheryl_doneganMatthew Chambers - MONTANA WILDFLOWERS I IMAGINE I'LL SEE IN THE SPRINGhttps://www.praz-delavallade.com/exhibition/matthew-chambers-2017Imi Knoebelhttps://ropac.net/artists/52-imi-knoebel/Yoko Ono - Cut Piecehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ3dPwa2tICassavetes / Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUNRbcVCqt0&t=1sCassavete / Gena Rowlands - Opening Nighthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMMjcxilG8w&t=5sRem Koolhaas - Junkspacehttps://www.readingdesign.org/junkspaceCheryl Donegan - EAI video workshttps://www.eai.org/artists/cheryl-donegan/titlesJackie Saccoccio, obituaryhttps://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jackie-saccoccio-dead-abstractions-1234578300/

Amanda Friedman is an artist living in Brooklyn, NY. We met for the first in person interview at her studio and talked about current and recent work, and her solo show Everyday Drawings and Pyramids at Grifter. We also talk about her studio check in forms, “tending the garden”, everyday drawings, the slippage of mark making, going towards color and beauty, making plays (which are also paintings), Helen Rides and beat poet Helen Adams, the last live performance of her play, witchy women and desire, singing, make your own art world as a way to avoid cynicism, working for the Rosemary Mayer estate, cult figures and counter culture, how different kinds of work and found objects leads into other work, light castles and bones, transformation, ceramics, glove paintings, making things that hold themselves, art as a mirror, figuring out what the art is, Paul Thek, Andrei Rublev, using rules as an anchor point, Leonora Carrington, and paintings as keepers of secrets.https://amandabfriedman.com/https://g-rift-er.com/The Kenning Anthology of Poets Theaterhttps://www.kenningeditions.com/shop/the-kenning-anthology-of-poets-theater-1945-1985/Helen Adam readings/recordingshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BC9rsdSdlw&t=4shttps://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Adam.phpCurrent Rosemary Mayer exhibition http://www.gordonrobichaux.com/rosemary-mayer.htmlA Great Wagon - Rumihttps://onbeing.org/poetry/a-great-wagon/Amanda’s uncle, Kinky Friedman:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinky_FriedmanLeigh Ruplehttp://www.leighruple.com/Peter Doighttps://www.michaelwerner.com/exhibitions/peter-doig2/selected-works?view=sliderPaul Thekhttps://www.frieze.com/article/paul-thek-2Andrei Rublevhttps://www.criterion.com/films/300-andrei-rublevLeonora Carrington article/show https://www.artforum.com/print/202104/chloe-wyma-on-the-tarot-of-leonora-carrington-85247 https://www.gallerywendinorris.com/exhibitions-collection/leonora-carrington-the-story-of-the-last-egg

Paul Mpagi Sepuya is an artist who makes photographs. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. We spoke about his solo show Stage at Document in Chicago, which is on view through May 29, 2021. We also spoke about the studio as a stage, creating the conditions for a photo, using play and pleasure but not getting stuck in it, finding ways to complicate portraiture, the breakthrough of using a mirror, the process of collaborating with friends, photography and desire, art and eroticism, relationships between the image and the viewer, and Fassbinder.https://documentspace.com/exhibition/paul-mpagi-sepuya/https://www.paulsepuya.com/https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/paul-mpagi-sepuya

Jonathan Allmaier is a painter who lives in the Bronx. We talk about the work in his solo show The Howling Wind at James Fuentes Essex (on view through May 2, 2021). We also talk about the writing he does about his process, paintings as personhood, being a student of your work, starting over after moving to NYC, seeing the painting as a space or an object, dissolving the mind-body problem, Pearl Blauvelt, experiencing time through color, the influence of baseball and fatherhood, using the form of painting and altered objects/images as forms of painting, making versus showing, inanimate objects are people too, painting with and without a brush, the stubbornness of being an artist, Paul Thek, and including the space between the paintings.Jonathan Allmaier - The Howling Windhttps://50.62.71.108/exhibitions/2021/essex-the-howling-windJonathan Allmaier websitehttps://allmaier.wordpress.com/https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/jonathan-allmaier-2Pearl Blauvelthttps://kerryschussgallery.com/pages/exhibitions_past_3.php?page=1https://www.moma.org/artists/28566Alfred Adler - The Courage to Be Dislikedhttps://www.amazon.com/Courage-Be-Disliked-Phenomenon-Happiness/dp/1501197274Thich Nhat Hanh - Clouds In Each Paperhttps://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=222Nathaniel Hawthorne - The House of the Seven Gableshttps://www.amazon.com/House-Seven-Gables-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486408825Iching Online (I love to ask it questions)https://www.ichingonline.net/

Clare Grill is a painter who lives and works in Queens, NY. We talk about her beautiful solo show There’s the Air at Derek Eller Gallery, currently on view through April 24, 2021. The conversation also covers her way of collaborating with studio light, “changing the choreography”, the differing speeds of painting and drawing, making work that feels urgent, learning to look at the painting itself, complicated artifacts, drawings as a database, making abstract paintings in a field of feeling, the bones of a painting, working without a plan, becoming a painter, spending time with your work, and leaving room for not knowing or being in control all the time.Clare Grill - There’s the Airhttps://www.derekeller.com/exhibitions/clare-grillhttps://claregrill.com/The Brontës’ Secrethttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-brontes-secret/480726/I Had a Miscarriage by Shaina Feinberghttps://cupofjo.com/2019/07/miscarriage-story/

Fabienne Lasserre is an artist who makes work that is both painterly and sculptural. We discuss her solo show Eye Contact which is currently on view at Turn Gallery in NYC, and a range of other topics including the relationship between material and the immaterial, accepting imperfection, sacredness and playfulness, art as transformation, using transparency to dissolve boundaries, the need for more care in the world, sound and dance, seeing your work through someone else’s eyes, the sensuality of color, Niki de Saint Phalle, and different ways of being a feminist.http://fabiennelasserre.com/https://turngallerynyc.com/Philip Guston talk:https://www.pwf.cz/archivy/texts/articles/philip-guston-talking_2165.htmlNiki de Saint Phalle:https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5111Lynn Tillman - Men and Apparitions:https://softskull.com/dd-product/men-and-apparitions/La Monte Young - Dream House:https://www.melafoundation.org/directions.htmDavid Hammons - Five Decades:https://www.mnuchingallery.com/exhibitions/david-hammons#tab:slideshow;tab-1:slideshowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gagakuhttps://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/niki-de-saint-phalle/niki-de-saint-phalle-room-guide/niki-de-6Niki de Saint Phalle - Daddy, 1973:https://letterboxd.com/film/daddy-1973/

Vlad Smolkin is a painter who lives and works in Baltimore, MD. He also runs CPM, a multifaceted exhibition space. We talk about making art as psycho-spiritual alien shit, taking the long view, the language of abstraction and the synchronicity of found objects, the exhibition as a collaboration, running a gallery as an artist, and the underestimated culture value and power of artists.https://www.vladsmolkin.com/https://cpmprogram.com/https://coustofwaxman.com/Vlad-Smolkin-Faberge-NeckOctober-19th-November-23rd-2019

Glenn Goldberg is a painter who lives and works in NYC. We had a very beautiful and deep conversation about being committed to growth, learning not to hide, art and teaching as a spiritual practice and the influence of his Jewish upbringing, art as a way of enlarging your awareness, making work that is really alive, the awakenings of early success, considering what effect your work will have on others, allowing for inconsistency, creating relatable characters, the importance of sports, and the relentless pursuits of a creative life.https://nyss.org/exhibition/glenn-goldberg/https://brooklynrail.org/2015/04/art/glenn-goldberg-with-phong-buihttp://www.bettycuninghamgallery.com/exhibitions/glenn-goldbergByron Katie: The Work https://thework.com/

Caitlin Keogh is a painter who lives and works in New York. We talk about her current solo show Waxing Year which is currently on view through April 3rd at Overduin and Co in Los Angeles, CA. We also discuss a book called The White Goddess about ancient pagan poetry, Sylvia Plath, collaborating with poet Charity Coleman, making relationships between text and image, ideas about edges, collage as a process, surrealism, making pictures that don’t feel virtuous, Marguerite Duras and Chris Kraus, and her early ballet practice and the continued inspiration it holds for her.Waxing Year solo show:http://www.overduinandco.com/archive/caitlin_keogh/installation.htmhttps://bortolamigallery.com/artist/caitlin-keogh/Red Comet - Sylvia Plath biography:https://www.amazon.com/Red-Comet-Short-Blazing-Sylvia/dp/0307961168/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38CUHUT9S8WY2&dchild=1&keywords=red+comet+sylvia+plath&qid=1615305809&sprefix=red+com%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-1Charity Coleman - three:https://brooklynrail.org/2017/12/poetry/three-colemanhttps://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/magazine/the-life-and-loves-of-marguerite-duras.htmlMaya Plisetskaya - Dying Swan 1959:https://youtu.be/6_9AjAflHNAA Woman Under the Influence - Dying Swan:https://youtu.be/qAmO7GxJQ4o

Seung-Min Lee is a NY-based interdisciplinary artist. We talk about her recent solo show Light White at International Waters in NYC, as well as her early years in Maspeth, Queens, beatnik poetry, NFTs, Morandi, the original season of the Real World, technological fascism, fear of being cancelled, political correctness as a rapidly shifting horizon, and the power of being able to change your mind. https://www.seungminlee.com/Seung-Min Lee -Light White:https://internationalwaters.international/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/consumer-reports-seung-min-lee-11995/NYTimes: The Original ‘Real World’ Cast Reunites, Older but Still Not Politehttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/arts/television/real-world-homecoming-cast.html?referringSource=articleShare