https://greystate.org Grey State Mon, 01 May 2023 02:12:44 +0000 https://greystate.org en https://greystate.org/about Mon, 14 Nov 2022 06:33:23 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/about GREY STATE &nbsp; operates&nbsp; a&nbsp; virtual&nbsp; space exhibiting the works of early-career and emerging international artists. We develop educational resources and plan to organize workshops and digital residencies, all of which will be available for free to the public. By fostering community and providing representation, we support underrepresented artists advance their careers and better engage their audiences. Grey State works for and with people who may face financial struggles and legal complexities within a predatory and impersonal art market. We hope to engage creators in a meaningful dialogue and spark collaboration across all borders. WE BELIEVE THAT Art is an effective vehicle for collective imagination and change. Art is an integral fabric to the project of weaving healthy, dynamic, and just communities. National, legal, and financial barriers should not prevent people from pursuing their passions, artistic or otherwise. WE ENVISION A WORLD WHEREArt making exists beyond borders and is accessible world-wide. International emerging artists share the same resources and opportunities afforded to US citizens. Art is open to the general public, regardless of location, nationality, and wealth CO-FOUNDERS <img width="500" height="500" width_o="500" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e13f789762a127f362d4ddd4d822a0698ecd0be120970ebedd98b27c4e8a0a20/01_Sulay-3D-Animation-2.gif" data-mid="161071583" border="0" data-scale="60" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/e13f789762a127f362d4ddd4d822a0698ecd0be120970ebedd98b27c4e8a0a20/01_Sulay-3D-Animation-2.gif" /> sulay ranjit b. kathmandu, nepalcreative directorKnown as sulaya (सुलय), Sulay is an interdisciplinary artist interested in interrogating issues of consciousness, identity, and power through a critical practice that entails painting, sculpture, photography, installation, social media, and sound. More recently, Sulay has been invested in exploring the politics of attention and the liminal experiences of diasporic bodies in space. “Through GREY STATE, I hope to employ the virtual realm as a space to engage artists and foster a community conducive to supporting those that are often underserved.” <img width="500" height="500" width_o="500" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0ff6f243c751c9026560816873e86d7aa84e2937407ea74c5325ee1b027774f5/01_Simon-3D-Animation-2.gif" data-mid="161071587" border="0" data-scale="60" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/0ff6f243c751c9026560816873e86d7aa84e2937407ea74c5325ee1b027774f5/01_Simon-3D-Animation-2.gif" /> simon keefer b. new york, united statesadministrative directorSimon doesn’t make art, but he believes that art has a unique ability to express humanity; he sees no higher human activity than the creation of art. He believes that art has the potential to shape the world while expressing something perfectly unique. “My intention with my involvement in GREY STATE is to support even a small group of artists as they encounter the treacherous and alienating market/world of fine art.” <img width="500" height="500" width_o="500" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b436e37e18cec219a09d56c593d8920cc197f6316d8711f0fc262941ee000026/01_Masha-3D-Animation-2.gif" data-mid="161071584" border="0" data-scale="60" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/b436e37e18cec219a09d56c593d8920cc197f6316d8711f0fc262941ee000026/01_Masha-3D-Animation-2.gif" /> masha morgunova b. saint-petersburg, russiaart director Masha is a multimedia artist working with painting, sculptural installations, and polaroid photography. In her recent projects, she is exploring how being exposed to the suffering of the world can shape our individual and collective state of being human. “I hope that our initiative sparks a sense of comradery and initiates a cultural exchange between artists and art admirers alike.” var scrollYPercent = 0.5; var scrollYPx = document.documentElement.scrollHeight * scrollYPercent; window.scrollTo(0, scrollYPx); $(document).ready(function() { if(window.location.hash) { $('html, body').delay(200).animate( {scrollTop: $('#cofounders').offset().top + 250}, 1000); }}); https://greystate.org/exhibitions-2 Mon, 01 May 2023 02:12:44 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/exhibitions-2 Current <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ed1a8cc3f89416178b468e10816860b5676d5046992b08e0b8c254057c6fc631/Sublimation_Exhibitions-Page.jpg" data-mid="177231425" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ed1a8cc3f89416178b468e10816860b5676d5046992b08e0b8c254057c6fc631/Sublimation_Exhibitions-Page.jpg" /> Archive <img width="758" height="754" width_o="758" height_o="754" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9481aca812a588b8f9ca1b19d4b6c2863e0af4d27a4d8fb1f9209c36173d72f8/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-7.56.10-PM.png" data-mid="177230394" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/758/i/9481aca812a588b8f9ca1b19d4b6c2863e0af4d27a4d8fb1f9209c36173d72f8/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-7.56.10-PM.png" /> <img width="1280" height="1280" width_o="1280" height_o="1280" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a3efe5812f32336988b72a7d4eb377b5f2031dbcddb26247e9892f62452d9316/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-9.34.22-PM.png" data-mid="177230395" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a3efe5812f32336988b72a7d4eb377b5f2031dbcddb26247e9892f62452d9316/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-9.34.22-PM.png" /> <img width="1270" height="1272" width_o="1270" height_o="1272" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/64350d89a35854acc69694d86f7725971a98e47cab3177a0f884b8145f7c603c/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-9.38.08-PM.png" data-mid="177230397" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/64350d89a35854acc69694d86f7725971a98e47cab3177a0f884b8145f7c603c/Screenshot-2022-11-16-at-9.38.08-PM.png" /> var scrollYPercent = 0.5; var scrollYPx = document.documentElement.scrollHeight * scrollYPercent; window.scrollTo(0, scrollYPx); $(document).ready(function() { if(window.location.hash) { $('html, body').delay(200).animate( {scrollTop: $('#archive').offset().top - 50}, 800); }}); https://greystate.org/sublimation Thu, 27 Apr 2023 23:11:48 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/sublimation ::selection { color: #b01515; } h1::selection { color: green; } <img width="1024" height="648" width_o="1024" height_o="648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fc44003ef7a2f08df4836570e024473b7f83f141c520588abc0b8fcfa8c658a0/Sublimation-Title-Image-3.jpg" data-mid="177184748" border="0" data-scale="65&quot; " data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fc44003ef7a2f08df4836570e024473b7f83f141c520588abc0b8fcfa8c658a0/Sublimation-Title-Image-3.jpg" /> May 1 - July 1, 2023 Sublimation—a two-person exhibition of works by Dylan Zarate and Shaan Ken Rao—is a meditation on the multifaceted nature of contemporary existence and the tension amongst humans and the ‘natural’ world at large. Two elements around which this exhibition revolves—fire and water—bear a duality that finds resonance with the human experience: they are forces that simultaneously possess nurturing and destructive potentials. By referencing natural elements and using intentionally manipulated images, Sublimation examines what it feels like to be a person, community member, and artist at the beginning of the 21st century, touching on experiences of division, isolation, and grief. Dylan Zarate's multi-media works, infused with a strong dramaturgical and surreal presence, echo times of intense internal upheaval and turbulence; Zarate uses movement and distorted, obscured imagery to reveal a necessity for reclamation of self in times of severe detachment from nature. Shaan Ken Rao’s work draws on the isolation he experienced while grappling with addiction, and now investigates his sense of self, which he is rediscovering as he builds clean time in recovery; he strives to humanize addiction, normalize recovery for all addicts, and raise awareness about the opioid epidemic. Now is a time of environmental and social cataclysms; although at times the future seems grim, we believe that destruction may encourage regrowth and rebuilding. Taking part in this process, art can aid in catalyzing habits to collectively ponder and contemplate, helping to cultivate a mindset of unison rather than discord. Enter Exhibition Read More DYLAN ZARATE <img width="983" height="983" width_o="983" height_o="983" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fcaae2a3cb96f7ba911321945457d70571dc76b1589c47dae73ee0a03eea36af/Headshot-by-Anderson-Matthew.png" data-mid="177185437" border="0" data-scale="21" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/983/i/fcaae2a3cb96f7ba911321945457d70571dc76b1589c47dae73ee0a03eea36af/Headshot-by-Anderson-Matthew.png" /> Dylan Zarate is a multimedia artist currently residing in the Greater Los Angeles area. His work focuses on the transience of identity and the boundaries in which one exists, presenting these concepts through an absurdist lens and working primarily in sound, image, and video. As a soundscape creator, he works under the mononym DNZ and has self-released two albums, “Dramaturgy" and “Puzzle,” on his imprint, Information &amp; Entropy, in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In 2021, Zarate, alongside collaborators Anderson Matthew and Rachel Jones, published the photo-book “Apocalypse Veil.” His video work has shown internationally, with the short film, “Everybody Dies,” playing several festivals in Europe and America. <img width="1964" height="1964" width_o="1964" height_o="1964" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9495c767cbfad1bac5343fb3d88858590ccd50af5abc4c707e97429206afe7e2/Dylan_Screenshot.jpg" data-mid="177208143" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9495c767cbfad1bac5343fb3d88858590ccd50af5abc4c707e97429206afe7e2/Dylan_Screenshot.jpg" /> Still from All Things Change, (2021/2023) STATEMENT My work aims to understand the intersections in which reality exists and how this reality can shape identity, both collective and individual. In this search for understanding, there is also a desire and longing that is present in the work to transcend the trappings of said reality. Informed by my own lived experience, as well as my inclination for both sociological and psychological observation, the art serves as a personal documentation of the world as experienced by me. As an artist, I work in several mediums, including but not limited to: sound, video, image, and sculpture. I work primarily in a stream-of-consciousness manner. Most pieces I create begin without a clear concept of what the finished work will look like and they are only complete when the final product feels like it has been fully realized and presents itself. Working in this way allows me to tap into the subconscious, which creates the dreamlike nature and surreality of my work. SHAAN KEN RAO <img width="923" height="923" width_o="923" height_o="923" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/60ff1b18a814ef1cf7d0b66470892c1c34a1a3ea3e78f758478fcc76b29c1b53/Shaan_Headshot.jpg" data-mid="177217935" border="0" data-scale="21" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/923/i/60ff1b18a814ef1cf7d0b66470892c1c34a1a3ea3e78f758478fcc76b29c1b53/Shaan_Headshot.jpg" /> Shaan Ken Rao is a multi-disciplinary artist born in New York City to a Japanese mother and Pakistani father. Shaan earned his BFA in Photography from Parsons in 2022. Since then, his work has been a part of numerous exhibitions in New York, including his first solo at All St Gallery in Manhattan. In addition to visual art, Shaan is a musician that goes by the name DINHO DINHO; in the last three years he has put out 3 albums on all streaming platforms. Shaan currently lives and works in NYC. STATEMENT In the last few years, I’ve been able to build up substantial ‘clean’ time from the drug addiction that once led my life. My recent work ponders these newfound perspectives about what causes someone to go into addiction, and what brought me into mine. The work addresses the lack of resources available to most addicts and the challenges our own government throws at those trying to get clean, all while most of society doesn’t even see addicts as full humans. Several pieces like (Parenthesis) and Scream investigate the role trauma can play in fueling addictive behavior, and the importance of therapy and medicine when in recovery. Other works, for example At Odds, get at the social disconnect addicts face in their lowest moments, while ones like “the future” get at the deadly nature of addiction and give an insight to the mental landscape of an addict. There are many things to cover when looking into the nature of addiction. That being said, my multi-disciplinary approach about the addict’s experience can help humanize us and get people to advocate for laws that strive to help addicts recover, as opposed to the traditional documentary images that aim to either glorify the addiction or make addicts look like a foreign species that has gone beyond repair.&nbsp; <img width="1886" height="1884" width_o="1886" height_o="1884" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7ca615f0093b7acf1fba453023f313d49d4629a979cfa8f7c6955aa7d1208bf6/Shaan-Sublimation-Still-Pill-Morph.png" data-mid="177229368" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7ca615f0093b7acf1fba453023f313d49d4629a979cfa8f7c6955aa7d1208bf6/Shaan-Sublimation-Still-Pill-Morph.png" /> Still from Pill Morph, 2021 <img width="4342" height="1776" width_o="4342" height_o="1776" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8017c6440f657f3c77a6e8382a9295d1075cb615f05b3a12adaece90cac6efca/S-reenshot-2.jpg" data-mid="176957084" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8017c6440f657f3c77a6e8382a9295d1075cb615f05b3a12adaece90cac6efca/S-reenshot-2.jpg" /> https://greystate.org/semblance Thu, 17 Nov 2022 04:20:14 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/semblance ::selection { color: #516056; } <img width="1080" height="240" width_o="1080" height_o="240" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/69b66a52fbde476237e80e209313d1998c042970ab911487c25146159125604a/semblance.png" data-mid="161061425" border="0" data-scale="53" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/69b66a52fbde476237e80e209313d1998c042970ab911487c25146159125604a/semblance.png" /> 13 May 2022 - 13 July 2022 We are proud to present the very first GREY STATE exhibition featuring ⅔ of our co-founders—Masha Morgunova and Sulay Ranjit—who have a history of collaboration in various forms of expression, including photography, painting, and video. semblance explores broader themes of identity and perception. Although manifested through different media and styles, each work in this exhibition attempts to interpret and depict a relationship between reality and its reflection(s). We hope this exhibition offers some insight and clarity into Masha's and Sulay's respective art practices.Masha’s recent work investigates the German term Weltschmerz (world-pain) that describes a feeling of melancholia associated with the weariness of the world. She currently explores this topic through figurative paintings using inversion of color, which allows her to create a contemplative, desolate, and uncanny simulacrum of reality with which we are familiar. Sulay’s recent works, often taking sculptural form, probe the notion of a fragmented consciousness; he imagines immaterial fragments coming into material being as whole objects/experiences. Read artist statements <img width="2986" height="1044" width_o="2986" height_o="1044" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9a87ba39b18a9879085b1fd28dfdaa2cd83dd2b24f83409479d5d16fb1defb79/semblance-archive-1.jpg" data-mid="161062165" border="0" alt="screenshot of semblance showing works by Sulay Ranjit and Masha Morgunova" data-caption="screenshot of semblance showing works by Sulay Ranjit and Masha Morgunova" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9a87ba39b18a9879085b1fd28dfdaa2cd83dd2b24f83409479d5d16fb1defb79/semblance-archive-1.jpg" /> <img width="950" height="967" width_o="950" height_o="967" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ce4b89cf107bf8740877b50143cf8065914bb3164e605556b7292f3abc785584/w-bw-filter-2-gif-new939393.gif" data-mid="168606693" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/950/i/ce4b89cf107bf8740877b50143cf8065914bb3164e605556b7292f3abc785584/w-bw-filter-2-gif-new939393.gif" /> “ We came to form a close personal and artistic friendship while sharing a studio space as college students. Over the years, we have seen each other's practice evolve, both independently and collaboratively. The works assembled within this exhibition may seem vastly different, but they share a deeply rooted interest in human experience. Today, although physically separated by over twelve thousand kilometers, we are excited to virtually come together in semblance. ” Waiting for the Summer Rainconsists of figurative oil paintings that explore how we interact with ourselves, our past and present, navigating a sense of sentimentality in response to the current state of the world. This series contains inversion paintings, meaning that the colors in them are flipped to their opposites to create an uncanny version of the world with which we are familiar. Inversion here serves as a symbol of a deep inner imbalance caused by an amplified Weltschmerz (World-pain)—a German term that describes a feeling of melancholia associated with the weariness of the world and it’s apparent distance from the idyll. With pressing environmental, political, and social issues, as well as incessant contact with media, I believe that such melancholic apathy is a relevant phenomenon in a contemporary cataclysmic world. In Waiting for the Summer Rain, I am compelled to explore how being exposed to the pain of our world—whether past (e.g. historical atrocities), present (e.g. ongoing wars and conflicts), or future (e.g. climate crisis)—can affect individuals and shape our collective state of being. The painted figures, radiating blue light, are shown in contemplative positions, each preoccupied with their own quiet internal turmoil. Deriving inspiration from William Gass’ and Maggie Nelson’s written meditations on blue, I am determined that this color embodies the desired connotations to portray a contemporary Weltschmerz - solitude and contemplation, grief and longing, emergence of life and its fading. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Masha Morgunova Sulay Ranjit &nbsp; fragment(s) What is it to experience an amalgamation of immaterial fragments that have endured, transcending histories and permeating the fabric of present space and time? Through my works included in this exhibition, I probe the notion of a fragmented consciousness and how it is experienced as a seamless singular in the present. A number of sculptural works in this series come to form as physically whole objects through the fusion of disparate elements. This body of work represents my recent attempts at creating a kind of language that forces the audience to view fused fragments, so as to form conceptual links between the fragments as relational and formative towards a supposed whole. Disjoint body parts then become a commonly accessible motif — I explore anthropomorphic tendencies for their immediacy in terms of generating senses of memory, and of conveying immateriality through material forms. My non-sculptural works exhibit similar ideas as well. In particular, I Smell Like Curry points to an instance of a fragmented self and the affective dimension that it inhabits as a brown body moves through euro-american spaces in an allegedly post-colonial world. Liminal experiences of the self are intriguing, and I believe that their study is pertinent to more inclusive and robust interrogations of identities, social dynamics, and structures of power embedded therein. In the end, I want to let my works continually generate their own meanings, both for the viewers and for myself. Some of these works were conceived as early as 2020, and continue to be adapted for virtual display environments in response to physical, material, and spatial limitations. <img width="1869" height="1840" width_o="1869" height_o="1840" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4ebc61b3e65e0c01f0dcaeb54119af8ff9ba1992e851dc7664bd317df7497575/semblance-archive-5.jpg" data-mid="161175987" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4ebc61b3e65e0c01f0dcaeb54119af8ff9ba1992e851dc7664bd317df7497575/semblance-archive-5.jpg" /> <img width="2983" height="1592" width_o="2983" height_o="1592" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/774aee994e82ba0ccb4c88ddfca8e4b66cf2d48be09c4aa89dd0b267939bea02/semblance-archive-4.jpg" data-mid="161175983" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/774aee994e82ba0ccb4c88ddfca8e4b66cf2d48be09c4aa89dd0b267939bea02/semblance-archive-4.jpg" /> https://greystate.org/in-zenith Mon, 14 Nov 2022 06:56:24 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/in-zenith ::selection { color: darkgreen; } h1::selection { color: green; } <img width="829" height="238" width_o="829" height_o="238" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/449f8a08558e8f4093cc50e0b8200125085e8ebf65453fa4b8c0acaf67f44706/IN-ZENITH_website-writing.png" data-mid="170833873" border="0" data-scale="10" data-no-zoom data-icon-mode src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/829/i/449f8a08558e8f4093cc50e0b8200125085e8ebf65453fa4b8c0acaf67f44706/IN-ZENITH_website-writing.png" />17 June 2022 - 17 August 2022 We are thrilled to present our second exhibition—IN ZENITH—composed of works by Misha Davydov. Misha Davydov (b. 1998, Moscow, Russia) works in photography and installation to investigate the tensions between object and representation, the material aspects of the photographic medium, as well as the constructed nature of reality. Davydov's works have been exhibited in a number of venues in Portland, Oregon, including Blue Sky Gallery, Well Well Projects, and Converge45. This summer, they have solo shows at Space Place Gallery in Nizhny Tagil, Russia; and at after / time collective gallery in Portland, Oregon. Their photographs have also been featured in publications by Booooooom and fifth wheel press. They hold a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Lewis &amp; Clark College and will be attending UC Irvine starting Fall 2022, where they are pursuing a Master of Fine Arts. <img width="2531" height="1059" width_o="2531" height_o="1059" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ad90900742cdaa7d8ca761ca9397413c07cf976626912eb73a6e63720448c280/In-Zenith-image.jpg" data-mid="170835093" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ad90900742cdaa7d8ca761ca9397413c07cf976626912eb73a6e63720448c280/In-Zenith-image.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="2250" width_o="1500" height_o="2250" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c2ae89b4aa4879a1d1c9b40d752e96de753bbe09f3dcb4fcb9b2ba7a20174688/gif-Misha-s-face.gif" data-mid="168728647" border="0" data-scale="46" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c2ae89b4aa4879a1d1c9b40d752e96de753bbe09f3dcb4fcb9b2ba7a20174688/gif-Misha-s-face.gif" /> “ These photographs are the evidence of the summer's hottest days. When the sun is at its zenith, directly overhead, any trace of the observer's presence disappears from view. In these moments, the world around might appear still and silent, but it continues being described by the shadows it casts.&nbsp;” Misha Davydov mishadavydov.com In Zenith opens virtually at Grey State Gallery on June 17th, 2022. For the second exhibition at the online gallery, Portland-based artist Misha Davydov (they/them) presents a compelling suite of images from a larger body of work. The show's unique hosting territory via an online platform allows for a multi-sensory experience. As gallery “visitors” make their way around the rendered space, they experience autonomy in choosing how to navigate the gallery and experience each piece. The work on view is almost purely photographic – while thematically the images displayed here are outliers in terms of the artist’s conceptual and sculptural background, the root explorations of time, belonging, and identity span across their multiple disciplines. Text by Luiza Lukova Simplified, the word “zenith” can be described as the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer. However, here, it is recontextualized as an all-encompassing state of being. The addition of the preposition “In” to the title of the exhibition has the power of locating both artist and viewer in positions of grandeur and voyeurism. This body of work, in its multitude of dimensions, emphasizes the act of observation within the constructed reality of Grey State. Clicking backwards and forwards, left and right, the audience is, for a moment, suspended in another world and dissociated from their own self. Just as we the viewers experience this phenomenon within the synthetic space, so too does the body of the photographer – their viewpoint within the photographs comes to be obsolete. As a result of their framing, the subjects in the photographs are given the breadth of space to be on their own. <img width="2000" height="3000" width_o="2000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4f90d078de8522afee0eac7539998d43da503f605ea909dc848601f7c6695e5/IMG_4439_edited.png" data-mid="168732403" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c4f90d078de8522afee0eac7539998d43da503f605ea909dc848601f7c6695e5/IMG_4439_edited.png" /> The shots on display are evidence of the hottest days of summer, when the sun is at its peak. There prevails a universality here wherein, at certain points of existence and location, a collective “we” is subject to the exact same conditions of the sun – directly overhead and scorching. Yet, despite the omniscient viewpoint of the image maker, any trace of their presence, even their shadow, disappears from view. Rendering each image in black and white has the observed effect of neutralizing some of the intensity of the high sun setting. This further serves to emphasize the deep shadows caught and stretched in the work. In these captured moments, the world appears silent and frozen in time but remains described by the shadows cast within the frames. The natural landscapes displayed for In Zenith are of a straightforward composition. Barren scatterings of rocks, a chain strewn over a rubbled landscape, a towel resting over a dried branch make up a large portion of the topography. Davydov is able to tap into the dynamism of these occasions through a hyperfixation on perhaps otherwise overlooked details. The artist brings to the foreground and to our attention the minutiae of this exhibition – the manner in which time and climate have notched a lone piece of driftwood; mysterious trails and forms scratched through the sandy, arid earth; the ridges in a paddle shaped petal of what appears to be a banana leaf; a lone tree, half in view, atop a hilly viewpoint. Considering again how these images were made, not a single trace of human presence can be noted in these works. The observer has extricated themselves from the realized process to allow for this environment to flourish on its own. There is only one literal body in all of the photographs chosen for the exhibition, that of an individual's back sitting amidst high grasses. In this photo, the viewer is looking at the center frame which happens to be the top of the subject’s head, as if the audience here too is the sun at its zenith. Davydov’s interest in photography resides in the multiplicity of its nature; it can create a record, reveal something an eye cannot see, or even construct reality. The complexities of their chosen medium acts as a bridge for them to process their own experience in the world, sorting through layers of identity and collisions of cultures. Raised in Russia, and having lived in the Netherlands and the United States, Davydov’s creative process is a segway into channeling their formative experiences within a cultural context so radically different than the one they were born into. Thus, the irreversibility of time, unreliability of memory, and any attempts to mitigate their differing, often contradictory, identities all serve as driving factors for their making. <img width="3024" height="1089" width_o="3024" height_o="1089" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f888d59a6b1073c052222b02ba450b12840edbe714b2d2de34f6ceefbab83a2d/Compressed-In-Zenith-Newsletter-Screenshot-min.jpg" data-mid="168731146" border="0" data-scale="65" data-no-zoom src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f888d59a6b1073c052222b02ba450b12840edbe714b2d2de34f6ceefbab83a2d/Compressed-In-Zenith-Newsletter-Screenshot-min.jpg" /> In the center of the Grey State gallery is a composite 3D object constructed of two images by the artist. The work stands as the only sculptural piece displayed within the gallery and adds a compelling element to the exhibition as a result of our being able to circumnavigate it in its entirety. The intrigue deepens when the audience observes that the images are identical, only one is reproduced in its negative inverse. Where the shadows of the foliage on one side loom dark and heavy on the mesh screen, its reversal on the other side of the object depicts the image flipped and in the positive, the cast leaves now appearing a bright white. Little else is given to help the audience identify and place this work in a known context. This serves to reinforce the notion that ambiguity is the main value of representation for In Zenith. For the artist, prioritizing the disparate parts and the incongruities at play within these images allows for a more authentic experience with their work. &nbsp; Within their primary practice, Davydov seeks to deconstruct the hierarchies between the seemingly dominant and subservient terms, such as a negative and a positive, an original and a replica. Their dominant images are those that are hard to place and raise questions about the world outside of the frame fragmenting it. This process is then performed and multiplied, ultimately redefining the relationship between a practice and its outcome. In such close examination of the attributes of the photographic medium, the disparity and coalescence between an object and its representation, as well as the potential of the latter to be objectified, are at the forefront of any viewer’s experience. For In Zenith, these commonalities converge to present Davydov’s hybrid forms as crafting new terrains (both digitally and spatially) that are malleable and constantly emerging. In line with the introspective nature of the artist’s process, this exhibition invites viewers to actively challenge their own predetermined expectations and reinterpret the enigmatic environments presented to them. <img width="3024" height="1476" width_o="3024" height_o="1476" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1d43b128727d44c2444f2cf11c16d624de5afcbc563ceb3988b42ea612db5bcd/Screenshot-2022-06-14-at-11.16.14.png" data-mid="170834548" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1d43b128727d44c2444f2cf11c16d624de5afcbc563ceb3988b42ea612db5bcd/Screenshot-2022-06-14-at-11.16.14.png" /> https://greystate.org/residue Thu, 27 Oct 2022 01:49:17 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/residue ::selection { color: yellow; } .gallery_image_caption { color: yellow; text-align:center; } .button a { color: black; } .button:active { color: #fdfdfd; } .button a:hover { } //active button link highlighting $(document).ready(function(){ $('.button a').click(function(){ $('.button.active').removeClass('button-active'); $(this).addClass('button-active'); }); }); /*$(document).ready(function(){ $(".text").select(function() { $(".text").addClass('Noisy-text'); }); $(".text").on("blur focus keydown mousedown", function() { $(".text").removeClass('Noisy-text'); }); });*/ RESIDUE Residue explores the complex ways in which identity is formed and experienced in relation to personal histories—past, present and future. Each of the four artists demonstrates how our existence is shaped by a wide array of fragments that come together to inform our present-day consciousness. Reflecting on his own experience being labeled as an outsider in Japan and Ireland, Shane Keisuke Berkery’s voyeuristic nostalgia of his paintings draws on photographic fragments of his grandfather’s life and the people around him, as a means of exploring Shane's experiences and his identity in relation to his grandfather's.&nbsp;Peihang Benoit&nbsp;references pictures of her mother traveling with the China Youth Corps and juxtaposes those images with moments of her present life encountering natural landscapes, flattening different points in time into one plane and showing how these moments congeal into her apparently unified identity. Billy Dietz’s paintings explore the tension between natural desire and the structural discipline of Catholicism, impacted by his religious upbringing in North Dakota; he creates and explores the character of Father Mark, a recently ordained Catholic Priest, who wrestles with the profound inner tension of penitence, shame, and undeniable lust. Ningxia Zhang’s sculpture touches on the futility of the perceived permanence of the digital and juxtaposes it against the natural world and its law of impermanence; her work invites us to reflect on how our identities are being processed differently with the advent of new technologies. This exhibition encourages us to listen to each other’s stories, enriching our understanding of ourselves and the world(s) around us. Today is the history of tomorrow. Let us be mindful of the decisions that we make today so that the legacy and identities we create for future generations are shaped by compassion, respect, and peace. Read more Get prints <img width="1909" height="685" width_o="1909" height_o="685" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/deae6e31981f49e3b180a1647e8dbbc028e7a6abda6661e20f8f82263aabf029/sssss.jpg" data-mid="158928137" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/deae6e31981f49e3b180a1647e8dbbc028e7a6abda6661e20f8f82263aabf029/sssss.jpg" /> SHANE KEISUKE BERKERY PEIHANG BENOÎT BILLY DIETZ NINGXIA ZHANG SHANE KEISUKE BERKERY STATEMENT “In one stream of work I take inspiration from photos that my late granddad on my Japanese side took back in the 1950s and 60s. Because these photos are almost all candid shots, they create a sort of reverse portrait of my granddad, from his point of view, capturing his lived life through all those who surrounded him that made him who he was. I also take pictures, using old analogue cameras handed down to me from said grandfather as well as one from my dad. I too take photos of those who surround me, continuing on what my grandad did. What I am trying to achieve through painting is twofold. One is to build a reverse portrait of myself through my eventual œuvre, like the one that I see of my granddad in his pictures. The second is the pursuit of conveying presence. By capturing with the camera and studying through paint, I think about the question of identity, my presence here and the presence of the painted figure in the painting. At the very core of my practice is the compulsion to always improve and innovate my vision and painting skillset. I approach each painting as practice and research rather than a final product, and I actively resist falling into a formulaic mode of working. I think this shows in my work and creating the variety in vision is an important concept in and of itself.” <img width="1928" height="1425" width_o="1928" height_o="1425" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/099af63e8eca1cd04ad24d3fdba7d4f99e8fb53f0468718325ad4e78802c55a1/Archive-Image2.png" data-mid="174727810" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/099af63e8eca1cd04ad24d3fdba7d4f99e8fb53f0468718325ad4e78802c55a1/Archive-Image2.png" /> <img width="1356" height="1360" width_o="1356" height_o="1360" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/de42e0f0366b47e37f538db770b485b6d03578764d0b20ab81efa789bd05695f/Boat-to-Outerspace.png" data-mid="178704527" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/de42e0f0366b47e37f538db770b485b6d03578764d0b20ab81efa789bd05695f/Boat-to-Outerspace.png" />Boat to Outerspace (2022), detail <img width="492" height="629" width_o="492" height_o="629" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a3440a949de21e0428294cf38779c929503361df7dde6453d1d108e83f1e5b97/ArchivePhoto1.jpg" data-mid="174211902" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/492/i/a3440a949de21e0428294cf38779c929503361df7dde6453d1d108e83f1e5b97/ArchivePhoto1.jpg" /> ARTIST BIO Shane Keisuke Berkery is an Irish-Japanese contemporary artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His cultural background has been a major influence on his work and is a frequent theme in his paintings. <img width="1286" height="1286" width_o="1286" height_o="1286" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/edb968bf4e3bd760fd8f625db2020969c7600e8d464d69ef03e4bbbdf2162607/image.jpg" data-mid="174211903" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/edb968bf4e3bd760fd8f625db2020969c7600e8d464d69ef03e4bbbdf2162607/image.jpg" /> PEIHANG BENOÎT <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8142955e09c05daf057abddc2dc1401b0edbea6b8e4c54d49f90239a5369018f/Peihang_Images.jpg" data-mid="173944817" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8142955e09c05daf057abddc2dc1401b0edbea6b8e4c54d49f90239a5369018f/Peihang_Images.jpg" /> ARTIST BIOPeihang Benoît holds both BA and MFA degree in Fine Art at National Taiwan Normal University, and received another MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts. Her work has been exhibited in many countries such as UK, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, and Germany. She currently lives and works in Paris with her family. <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e8c13ceae8bfd344c326bb5c66e0532235792279796943d1dcf473dd970a3876/Peihang_Painting.jpg" data-mid="173944818" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e8c13ceae8bfd344c326bb5c66e0532235792279796943d1dcf473dd970a3876/Peihang_Painting.jpg" /> Youth Activities 7,&nbsp;2021 "For her latest body of work titled “Youth Activities”, the artist’s mother’s personal archive served as a direct inspiration.&nbsp; The mother’s family migrated from China to Taiwan during the Chinese civil wars of the 20th century. The found black&nbsp; and white photographs Benoît’s mother as an active, politically engaged young woman. In her most recent series,&nbsp; Benoît merges her mother’s evidences and experiences as a migrant woman who lived in the isolation of patriarchy&nbsp; with her own personal reality navigating through similar power structures in a globalized anonymous world. By&nbsp; comparing these two specific historical and personal reference points, her paintings open up a space beyond binary&nbsp; thinking through disorientation: The paintings’ settings can’t be located, a sense of time vanishes, self-reflection sets&nbsp; in. Occasionally, fragments become visible, recognizable, understandable for Benoît, but also for us as the viewer,&nbsp; others remain blurred." Text by Nora-Swantje Almes <img width="1624" height="1624" width_o="1624" height_o="1624" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6e35a7a38dd7db14ecd18f1fb97376509e5fafdd97bb24e194ad6fab7d0076bd/Peihang---Youth-Activities-verticaql---Gallery-View-copy.jpg" data-mid="174222158" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6e35a7a38dd7db14ecd18f1fb97376509e5fafdd97bb24e194ad6fab7d0076bd/Peihang---Youth-Activities-verticaql---Gallery-View-copy.jpg" /> <img width="10292" height="7397" width_o="10292" height_o="7397" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3fa756eb3b45a8d8a51926bb78c6bf5c438b40dfae6e28c0be135b79858e0f2e/10-arhcive-PNG-copy-3.jpg" data-mid="174728440" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3fa756eb3b45a8d8a51926bb78c6bf5c438b40dfae6e28c0be135b79858e0f2e/10-arhcive-PNG-copy-3.jpg" /> BILLY DIETZ <img width="441" height="617" width_o="441" height_o="617" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff8e7460cca5100592c3c2206a1b9e062451c2f904195c3ffc2a692d28fe75ab/Billy_Detail.jpg" data-mid="174226055" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/441/i/ff8e7460cca5100592c3c2206a1b9e062451c2f904195c3ffc2a692d28fe75ab/Billy_Detail.jpg" /> The Kiss, 2022 (detail) BIO "Billy Dietz is a visual artist based in San Antonio, Texas. In his paintings and drawings, he depicts mental images from the mind of a fictional Catholic priest named Father Mark. He earned his BFA in Visual Arts from the University of North Dakota and his MFA in Studio Arts at the University of Tennessee. Dietz’ work has been exhibited at the North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks, ND), Bemis Center for Contemporary (Omaha, Nebraska), Collar Works (Troy, New York) and 6 ft Ap’Art Gallery (New York, NY), amongst others." <img width="1241" height="1934" width_o="1241" height_o="1934" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7c4d97507bcb3ee1d6f81496ad57374390e624baa6b12f1b286101b214eaf95a/Billy---the-Kiss-no-boarder-copy.jpg" data-mid="174226054" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7c4d97507bcb3ee1d6f81496ad57374390e624baa6b12f1b286101b214eaf95a/Billy---the-Kiss-no-boarder-copy.jpg" /> The Kiss, 2022 STATEMENT Father Mark is a recently ordained Catholic Priest, who feels plagued with lustful thoughts for a parishioner. I paint his guilt-ridden psyche, where he abstracts these musings and tries to transcend earthly longings. Between the two motivations pertinent to the construction of Father Mark’s character—a musing on a forbidden sensual union and a fog of shame—sits imaginative play. The paintings explore a particular merging of figuration and abstraction ripe with drama. Thus, in this theatre-like production the viewer and I enter a space where private, vulnerable moments are both revealed and obscured. Oil paint is amorphous; being able to allure and repulse. It can mimic blood, dirt, or even candy. Akin to the Catholic belief in transubstantiation, the conversion of bread into body and blood, I use oil paint in my work as if it were both flesh and stained-glass. To further connect the&nbsp; divine with&nbsp; natural&nbsp; elements,&nbsp; I&nbsp; make&nbsp; my abstract bodily forms glow by starting with luminous saturated colors then layering earth tones. The paintings employ large spills of blood-like paint and small figures embedded within that resemble illuminated manuscripts. I have built a surreal world inspired by the Catholic imagination that indulges in the pleasures of paint. The imagery recalls Catholic stained-glass windows, Boschian creatures, amorphous surreal forms, and parceled bodies turning back into paint. I create as if the paintings and I were in an intimate, physical conversation with one another. Desire drives the work, but in the end the story is told by the paint. <img width="1483" height="1483" width_o="1483" height_o="1483" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8bef1d3e8776b63efe24c92682a0e6a43a38e67df112a6bc44cfdf6118180b7b/Billy_Gallery.jpg" data-mid="174226056" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8bef1d3e8776b63efe24c92682a0e6a43a38e67df112a6bc44cfdf6118180b7b/Billy_Gallery.jpg" /> NINGXIA ZHANG BIONingxia Zhang is a Chinese-born artist and designer living and working in New York City. In her practice, she reconstructs her personal histories via performances and installations, where she weaves movements, objects and sounds from different time and space into new narratives. With a focus on digital media, such as web and virtual reality, her work encourages the engagement and participation of a wider audience. Ningxia was a resident at School Of Visual Arts Summer Residency Program: Contemporary Practices in New York (2021). She received a M.Sc in Computer Science from Stanford University (2014), a B. Eng. in Software Engineering from Fudan University in Shanghai (2012), and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from University College Dublin, Ireland (2012). <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1ee7f258be72e08292ece0dcc4f6f8b939c56610bd3b223176982bec039d3b00/01_Ningxia-Slide.jpg" data-mid="174228611" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1ee7f258be72e08292ece0dcc4f6f8b939c56610bd3b223176982bec039d3b00/01_Ningxia-Slide.jpg" /> System Disintegration, aerial view <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/693095cbc0ef6e8a73073cf5f6e070a32ba1c0a01a0ca18aac89a3e19a79e19f/04_Ningxia-Slide.png" data-mid="174228612" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/693095cbc0ef6e8a73073cf5f6e070a32ba1c0a01a0ca18aac89a3e19a79e19f/04_Ningxia-Slide.png" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a793bca08d5d50530e0ffca44f45ae761a86ab3b470c82269d07bc357b43578a/05_Ningxia-Slide.png" data-mid="174228613" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a793bca08d5d50530e0ffca44f45ae761a86ab3b470c82269d07bc357b43578a/05_Ningxia-Slide.png" /> System Disintegration, virtual sculpture, 2022 STATEMENT“In engineering, the process of bringing together components to make a larger functioning system is called system integration. In the natural world, however, organisms die and disintegrate into simpler organic or inorganic matter. In today’s fast-paced life permeated by technology, we seem to be lost in the immediacy technology engenders and the urgency of attention it demands. When we create devices, software and digital content, we are caught in the illusion that they assume a permanent existence. If we switch the perspective to a macro timeline, we’re instead faced with our organic nature, our mortality, the inevitable disintegration of our bodies and re-integration with nature, while the industrial objects will take much longer to go through the same process. In this work, these realities are pieced together to invite the viewer to reflect on the legacies we leave behind, digital or physical, the meaning and significance of the ceaseless production and consumption, and our relationship with nature. Personally, these are the questions I pondered on when working in Silicon Valley producing software and services that claimed to ‘change the world’ and ‘make a dent in the universe’.” <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8eb0b085bed0a84ac1798cbf105a5f1c9a3d9f113e1562fd16966abef6f31f28/My-Only-Sin.png" data-mid="177934768" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8eb0b085bed0a84ac1798cbf105a5f1c9a3d9f113e1562fd16966abef6f31f28/My-Only-Sin.png" /> My Only Sin, virtual sculpture $(window).on('load',function(){ $(window).delay(500); { $("#billy-section").hide(200); $("#peihang-section").hide(200); $("#ningxia-section").hide(200); } }); $(document).ready(function(){ $("#shane-button,#shane-name").click(function(){ $("#shane-section").show(250); $("#peihang-section").hide(500); $("#billy-section").hide(500); $("#ningxia-section").hide(500); $("html, body").animate ({ scrollTop:$('#billy-button').offset().top - 25}, 800); }); $("#peihang-button,#peihang-name").click(function(){ $("#peihang-section").show(250); $("#shane-section").hide(500); $("#billy-section").hide(500); $("#ningxia-section").hide(500); $("html, body").animate ({ scrollTop:$('#billy-button').offset().top - 25}, 750); }); $("#billy-button,#billy-name").click(function(){ $("#billy-section").show(250); $("#peihang-section").hide(500); $("#shane-section").hide(500); $("#ningxia-section").hide(500); $("html, body").animate ({ scrollTop:$('#billy-button').offset().top - 25}, 750); }); $("#ningxia-button,#ningxia-name").click(function(){ $("#ningxia-section").show(250); $("#shane-section").hide(500); $("#peihang-section").hide(500); $("#billy-section").hide(500); $("html, body").animate ({ scrollTop:$('#billy-button').offset().top - 25}, 750); }); }); https://greystate.org/conversations Mon, 14 Nov 2022 05:49:49 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/conversations Grey State aims to document and amplify artistic voices from around the globe. With Conversations, we hope to provide an international outlet for artists and curators to express how it is to be them in the world: their thoughts, histories, intentions, and visions. <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1191d9df2ba0ed0785c704dc785f5752d9fe6de4b98e376f2ab9aee16ff09c7c/MISHA_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" data-mid="177988694" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1191d9df2ba0ed0785c704dc785f5752d9fe6de4b98e376f2ab9aee16ff09c7c/MISHA_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a38bb7b4ab8a5031cfc814351db6635e78c296e6dafd47677443e6410df96ee0/BILLY_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" data-mid="173291264" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a38bb7b4ab8a5031cfc814351db6635e78c296e6dafd47677443e6410df96ee0/BILLY_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cf75cbc0fecbbbf7757f367ae0839df93e060e6633f2be8bae79f1c366ac2819/NINGXIA_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" data-mid="171368292" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cf75cbc0fecbbbf7757f367ae0839df93e060e6633f2be8bae79f1c366ac2819/NINGXIA_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bebd9289290c1cd2c6d7a57dc004d11945487d0ba664bb44e1b3fdbd8261e04d/SHANE_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" data-mid="171368293" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bebd9289290c1cd2c6d7a57dc004d11945487d0ba664bb44e1b3fdbd8261e04d/SHANE_CONVO_TEXT.jpg" /> https://greystate.org/billy-dietz Sun, 26 Mar 2023 15:58:16 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/billy-dietz BILLY DIETZ Billy Dietz is a visual artist based in San Antonio, Texas. In his paintings and drawings, he depicts mental images from the mind of a fictional Catholic priest named Father Mark. He earned his BFA in Visual Arts from the University of North Dakota and his MFA in Studio Arts at the University of Tennessee. Dietz’ work has been exhibited at the North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks, ND), Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (Omaha, Nebraska), Collar Works (Troy, New York) and 6 ft Ap’Art Gallery (New York, NY), amongst others. <img width="1616" height="819" width_o="1616" height_o="819" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7c8db67f1f61530e6b5dd54d11a7df93eb728d83ddf46ca1494064a15b6a3949/BILLY_INTERVIEW_BANNER-copy.jpg" data-mid="173131628" border="0" alt="Castration Hesitation, oil on canvas, 2020 (detail)&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; " data-caption="&lt;a href=&quot;castration-hesitation&quot; rel=&quot;history&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Castration Hesitation&lt;/i&gt;, oil on canvas, 2020 (detail)&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt; " src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7c8db67f1f61530e6b5dd54d11a7df93eb728d83ddf46ca1494064a15b6a3949/BILLY_INTERVIEW_BANNER-copy.jpg" /> Grey State (GS): How did you come to find art; did art call to you in some sense? I'm curious at what point you approached artistry and what that initial relationship was. Billy Dietz (BD): I had been making art ever since preschool. I remember back then my goal was to make the most imaginative and intense monster I could think of. In middle school I found out about Surrealism and was blown away by how creative it was. I always felt that being creative was such an important and difficult thing to do and was very impressed when I saw people do it well. Ever since then, making things that haven't been seen yet has been really important to me. In that same regard, making things that express emotions or experiences that have not been represented is what I try to do, because I want to add to something. Hopefully there's things to add; so much has been already done. GS: Do you think you're working within a tradition?BD: Yeah, I think I'm working within a tradition. I am not sure what constitutes being part of a tradition or not, but I can say that similar to artists of the Renaissance to the Baroque I am interested in depicting the human condition (especially with its relationship to religion), and investigating the way paint affects the viewer. Whatever the tradition, artists are always working with psychological material whether one is trying to delve into the psyche or not — like Titian's painting of the Flaying of Marsyas is incredibly psychological. He talks about archetypes and the intangible in ways that I'm sure Max Ernst and Dali or Merét Oppenheim were very impressed by and gravitated towards… [feline interruption: attention-seeking narcissistic cat walks across computer] GS: You are working with oil paint, an extremely “traditional” medium in Western art. Why did you choose painting as your preferred way of expression?&nbsp; Was this a conscious choice or was it a completely organic progression? BD: I've always been drawn to the two-dimensional visual arts. Something about sculpture is too real, you know? Whereas painting is transportive. It brings me into this other place. I think it ties into my Catholicism. I shouldn't underestimate the impact of being an altar boy, looking at, let's say the Eucharist, the little piece of bread that the priest holds up, and ringing the bells and feeling really pious and reverent. But I'm also a human being and I'm trying to see this thing as God's body, but it's just a little white wafer. So I feel like the metaphor of “it looks like this, but it's something else”—it's sort of like painting. You go to the side of a painting and it's obviously not three-dimensional. It's clearly an illusion, but you still are transported into this other reality and our minds build from there. GS: Are you into Byzantine art? BD: I was just thinking about that when I was answering this question. Not as much, even though I'm saying these things that make it sound like I would be. Maybe because it's too obviously a painting it doesn't have a certain amount of illusion that lets you come into it. They're not trying to be illusionistic. I think they want your spiritual reverence to do all the work. I appreciate it. But I don't think I would say that's what I connect to. <img width="750" height="972" width_o="750" height_o="972" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee27b61007bdcb8b54bd85a4e2c8383ab4dd3243cb60b2159aa710c6111700ac/Billy_Artwork_3.png" data-mid="173289911" border="0" alt="Under Pressure, graphite on paper, 2020, 12x10 inches" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Under Pressure&lt;/i&gt;, graphite on paper, 2020, 12x10 inches" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/ee27b61007bdcb8b54bd85a4e2c8383ab4dd3243cb60b2159aa710c6111700ac/Billy_Artwork_3.png" /> <img width="750" height="972" width_o="750" height_o="972" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/baa2918214362c0991b8cf853dd7df44db6a791d2641846025cae3202cf3d986/Billy_Artwork_2-copy.png" data-mid="173131632" border="0" alt="Guest Through the Window, graphite on paper, 2017, 30x22 inches" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Guest Through the Window&lt;/i&gt;, graphite on paper, 2017, 30x22 inches" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/baa2918214362c0991b8cf853dd7df44db6a791d2641846025cae3202cf3d986/Billy_Artwork_2-copy.png" /> GS: What do you represent? Do you represent North Dakota? Do you represent this wrestling with Catholic lust that you are depicting through your Father Mark series? BD: Regarding North Dakota, the funny thing is: I'd say yes, I represent it, but I also feel like I totally didn't fit in there. I think that I am very influenced by where I was raised and my religious background definitely affects the way I look through my prism of reality.&nbsp; I think I've done a decent job at representing what it is like to be raised as a very religious shame-filled Catholic boy with lust and the ideals of reverence and holiness. Also, just the banality of North Dakota: my tendency to act in shocking behaviors towards a lot of people is probably because I was so overwhelmed with how boring everybody was there. And so in a weird way, I am created by their love of hockey and drinking. GS: Let’s talk about literature: to what extent does it impact your work? Do you have any particular examples in mind? BD: The book that keeps coming to mind is Lolita. Nabokov is presenting a particular lens to his reader, and it is so interesting to watch him try to seduce you. I think that all art, whether made by Hitler or by Mother Teresa, becomes fascinating when you look at it and ask yourself: “in what way was reality interpreted?” With Lolita, Nabokov pointed that out to the world, that it is really important to engage with a variety of perspectives and be mindful of how we might be being manipulated. GS: Do you write? BD: Yes, sometimes quite a lot. I've written a couple short stories; I try to keep them within that same vein of first person narrative. GS: In a way, I can see this “first person narrative” structure in your paintings, too. Also, because your work often deals with subjects that have been around for such a long time, I like to think of the artists from the past and how your work relates to and adds to what they were talking about. BD: Thank you. <img width="1496" height="1864" width_o="1496" height_o="1864" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b02cae2312363670aafaf914faf4cd91368853af12ffec7c5b012bec1348f1e1/122_Red_WhiteBorder_IMG_9969_slide2000-cropped.jpg" data-mid="173232494" border="0" alt="Red, oil on burlap, 2020 20x16 inches" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Red&lt;/i&gt;, oil on burlap, 2020 20x16 inches" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b02cae2312363670aafaf914faf4cd91368853af12ffec7c5b012bec1348f1e1/122_Red_WhiteBorder_IMG_9969_slide2000-cropped.jpg" /> GS: When somebody looks at your art, what do you want them to feel? BD: I want the viewer to feel intimate. I want them to feel close to the art and, I guess, close to me. And feel very personal. I want them to feel like something vulnerable is revealed and that they can now also open up and that might be through interpreting the work and interpreting in their own way. GS: You're a practicing teacher, right? What are you trying to give to your students? &nbsp; BD: I teach them hard skills; that's what I focus on. I think teaching those hard skills is really important because drawing is such an intimate way of understanding both the world and yourself. Training one's muscles to draw what they see helps them engage with the world through drawing more fluidly. Although, I don't believe there's such a thing as “a bad drawing.” I also want to teach my students to appreciate beauty. You know, there's a difference between looking at a body with lust and looking at it with a studying gaze. The former takes something away from it, while the latter gives a person a reverence of sorts, it shows them that their body matters. I think there's something really beautiful about that loving approach to other human beings. GS: How do you teach them to look at art? BD: I want to be able to teach my students to appreciate the music of art and not necessarily look at it from critical lenses, technique-wise. I want them to approach any art piece with: “What can I learn from this?” How can it impact me if I let loose any competitive capitalistic ideals of what art should be and just look at it for what it really is? Also, I don't mean to brag, but not that long ago seven of the teachers were brought up to the front and the students were supposed to cheer for their favorite teacher and I won! Then they crowned me and put a pie in my face… That was amazing particularly because I often leave the class too focused on the kids that disrupted the class and forget that there might be many who got a lot out of it. My sister said that perhaps even the kids who had disrupted class like me because one has to feel safe enough to become a problem. That's one way of looking at it, I guess. GS: That’s amazing. How was the pie?&nbsp; BD: Oh, it was actually shaving cream… But on a more serious note, I just want to encourage a way of looking at art through the lens of somebody who made it. I suppose this isn't a traditional way of understanding art and literature because they always want you to take out some kind of truth from the work. I think that they have a human experience and express something—and that's true—but it doesn't mean what they're saying is “true.” That's a really important thing I work with in my own art and try to push forward. In other words, I don't try to make preachy art. Maybe in some roundabout way I am being preachy, although I feel like it's also not tasteful at all to be preachy as a white male right now. GS: Do you want to elaborate on that? BD: When I was much more conservative, I was against the white privilege conversation. But then I opened myself up to other ways of thinking and tried to find truth in that. And now I see a lot of the privilege that I've been given from birth. I want to be self-reflective: I'm a white male, I was raised Catholic in North Dakota. How is this affecting my art and the way I am? I don't think the fact that I am a white male means that I shouldn't be making art or that what I'm trying to say is not important. Staying self-reflective is the best thing I can do. <img width="1263" height="1916" width_o="1263" height_o="1916" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/612beff13d722987a2f8c8694045696051d9d94de67a96104423b6e5c563dc3c/Billy_Artwork_3.jpg" data-mid="173131629" border="0" alt="After the Fall, mixed media and oil on canvas, 2020, 72x46 inches" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;After the Fall&lt;/i&gt;, mixed media and oil on canvas, 2020, 72x46 inches" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/612beff13d722987a2f8c8694045696051d9d94de67a96104423b6e5c563dc3c/Billy_Artwork_3.jpg" /> . GS: Last: What are some of the barriers that emerging artists, like yourself, face nowadays? And what can people do to support arts and artists? BD: I think the biggest barrier for artists is getting their work out there. As for what people can do to support artists: buying art is a great place to start. Artists want to get their artwork out of their homes or studios, they want to have it in a place where it's being appreciated; that's the biggest motivator for them to make more work. It's not about the money, but rather similar to how you want your children to succeed and to be appreciated. Most of my art is bought by friends and they don't necessarily make bigger paychecks than me and that really means a lot to me. And the fact that they put money into it does matter, because now they are invested more than just emotionally but also financially. I'm also sure there are things that can be done better on a city/state level, like bigger or more frequent grants, as well as making the process of applying to such initiatives more human and less political. GS: Thank you, Billy. It was a pleasure talking to you. https://greystate.org/shane-berkery Mon, 14 Nov 2022 16:22:40 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/shane-berkery .gallery_image_caption { color: #e9b294; margin-right: 8.33334%; } ::selection { color: #e9b294; } SHANE KEISUKE BERKERY Shane Keisuke Berkery is an Irish-Japanese contemporary artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His cultural background has been a major influence on his work and is a frequent theme in his paintings. Berkery graduated from the National College of Arts and Design in Dublin, Ireland. He is a recipient of Hennessy Craig Scholarship at the RHA annual exhibition and a winner of the National University of Ireland Art and Design Prize (2015). Berkery primarily works out of his studio in Dublin. <img width="1616" height="819" width_o="1616" height_o="819" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6800c26f5a0de9e78bff227b0bcf1bad0018fc8ba17509b95663ff84070d15df/SHANE_NO-TEXT.jpg" data-mid="171373777" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6800c26f5a0de9e78bff227b0bcf1bad0018fc8ba17509b95663ff84070d15df/SHANE_NO-TEXT.jpg" /> The following is a condensed version of a conversation that happened between Grey State and Shane Berkery on October 21st 2022. Edited for clarity. Grey State (GS): Can you tell me about your initial encounter with art: how did it speak to you, how did it call to you, and how did you come to make art?Shane Berkery (SB): It's kind of like the same old story: I always drew as a kid. My mom studied architecture, and she'd bring me into the studio sometimes. And while she was working, she'd give me some scraps to play around with and I'd be drawing or making these little nonsensical sculptures. When I was younger, I&nbsp; thought I wanted to be a Japanese manga&nbsp; artist. Throughout school I kept up with drawing. For this universal exam that everyone takes, I got enough points to get into medicinal chemistry, but I also put in a portfolio for an art college and I also got in there. At that point, my mom was like: “well, I think you're better suited for art.&nbsp; You've always loved it.” And so I decided to go to art college.” <img width="638" height="814" width_o="638" height_o="814" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4b73df4febca5f4d2c2a5f4a62bfade6603a1ccecd26c6b255cc1737eea9ecc0/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-4.36.49-AM.png" data-mid="161679688" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" alt="Arrangement, 100 x 79 cm / 39 x 31 in, oil on canvas, 2022" data-caption="Arrangement, 100 x 79 cm / 39 x 31 in, oil on canvas, 2022" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/638/i/4b73df4febca5f4d2c2a5f4a62bfade6603a1ccecd26c6b255cc1737eea9ecc0/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-4.36.49-AM.png" /> <img width="1196" height="806" width_o="1196" height_o="806" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/97566a7eb8d72c342916979e95d9ab42a83991b874d2d6503aaf1e63a5811626/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-4.36.59-AM.png" data-mid="161679687" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" alt="from the archive of Shane Berkery's grandfather" data-caption="from the archive of Shane Berkery's grandfather" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/97566a7eb8d72c342916979e95d9ab42a83991b874d2d6503aaf1e63a5811626/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-4.36.59-AM.png" /> GS: Why is it that you chose painting? Have you ever considered working sculpturally? SB: The painting department at my college was the most open and it was also most suited to what I had been doing until then. I was considering going into sculpture, but what deterred me from that was that the sculpture course was incredibly conceptual, it was a lot more about the backup text. I haven't actually done any sculpture in the last six or seven years, but I keep thinking about getting some clay and doing something. GS: Something I remember you mentioning in our previous conversation is that with each painting you're really trying to experiment and create something new. This is very interesting to me: as an artist who has such a high level of technical skill, it would be so easy to just stick to one style and then profit off of it. Could you expand a little bit on your approach to painting? SB: I think a big part of it stems from my experiences of going into other galleries and noticing that artists often find their thing, and then that's the thing that they do. I'm not saying all the artists, but a lot of artists are thinking: “Okay, the style works, it's selling well, I like it. I'm gonna paint more of this so that the collectors know my work and my style.” You just don't see much growth in this approach. In response to that, I myself like to see a variety when I go to see an exhibition. And then also, I like to imagine that I'm always getting better. I think that's the thing that I'm trying to work towards. I'm just always consciously trying to improve. For example: the skill to do realistic rendering, to me, is an important skill to have so I'm always working on that in one way or another. Other than that, it's color, and composition, and a general way in which something is painted. Just kind of working out all the muscles, trying to not get stagnant. <img width="1046" height="1054" width_o="1046" height_o="1054" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f3b8d83b90f4c8caa983a5bd69ad31e37bbfaebf63aacdd3e162ece9342560f/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-5.06.55-AM.png" data-mid="161681455" border="0" alt="Deep Wood, 39 x 39 cm / 15 x 15 in, oil and charcoal on canvas, 2021" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Deep Wood&lt;/i&gt;, 39 x 39 cm / 15 x 15 in, oil and charcoal on canvas, 2021" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f3b8d83b90f4c8caa983a5bd69ad31e37bbfaebf63aacdd3e162ece9342560f/Screenshot-2022-12-12-at-5.06.55-AM.png" /> GS: You mentioned how good it feels to grow professionally and artistically; do you ever feel like you're going downhill instead of uphill? If so, even if they're very brief moments, how do you deal with those feelings?SB: I'm telling my girlfriend sometimes that I feel like I'm getting worse. 2021 was a slow year in terms of my productivity and avenues to show; I was kind of feeling a “writer's block” of sorts: I wasn’t feeling creatively inspired. One thing I tried was hypnosis, which actually helped a lot. Negative self-talk was a big part of that kind of block for me, so he [the hypnotist] basically told me to just force myself to repeat a positive phrase over and over again in my head, something like “I am enough.”&nbsp; Eventually, your thoughts turn into beliefs. One other thing: attending exhibitions, socializing with other artists gets me more motivated to work. When you're unproductive, you feel like It's harder to create. I was forcing myself to do stuff and not be too critical about it: I started doing some paintings just for fun, silly things. Such an amalgamation of things really helps me with motivation. GS: In this moment when you have these negative thoughts, you still have a lot of external&nbsp; validation through collectors and generally a good deal of professional success. I'm wondering if that impacts the way that you talk to yourself and if that is a way that can help you get out of negative loop. SB: Oh, I do go back and appreciate the fact that I'm able to do all that. But when you're&nbsp; in that kind of mindset of negative self-talk, you often forget about that. For me, it feels more about the painting itself, a frustration of it not going well: when you look at the painting and at that moment it looks to you worse than something you’ve done before. But I do try to be a bit more objective. GS: Sometimes, it seems to me that in this chase to become better people forget how much you're supposed to enjoy making art, right? I think that one could describe your work as “playful”: you often combine meticulously painted figuration with abstract elements that are much more loose in nature. I find this to be a very attractive quality in your work. I hope you have a show in New York sometime! SB: Oh that would be great. I'm working on some things to hopefully make into a portfolio to kind of try to convince some galleries to have a show with me. Maybe New York? We'll see how it goes. GS: Jack Nicholson portraits? Well, if that doesn't work out, you can always do pet portraits. SB: Yeah, actually, my dad made me set up a pet portrait website while I was in college; he also said that would be a good business idea. It never took off. GS: Is there some remnant of that somewhere kicking around on the Internet? SB: The website was drawmypet.com, but it might have gone to the next person by now. GS: We also wanted to talk to you about social media. I came across your Instagram page at what now feels like the dawn of time (2013?). It never felt like you took Instagram too seriously; it felt fun. How do you navigate that relationship? What do you think of social media platforms right now with how important they’ve become for artists? SB: I don't take myself seriously at all on Instagram. I think it was a positive place there for a while when it felt like a place where everyone just posts their pictures and artists can show their work and get a following from people that like seeing their stuff. It still is an important way to have your work seen and maybe is almost necessary these days and it definitely has brought me opportunities I would not have had otherwise, like this show with you guys! I think it's an awful place as well, definitely not good being able to compare yourself to an infinite amount of other people in so many different ways. And I do feel it’s deteriorating too with instagram trying to be more like TikTok. GS: Who are the artists you look up to? SB: Um, I like, There's an artist called Freidrech Einhoff — I really love his&nbsp; paintings — Marlene Dumas. My favorite painter is well, kind of cliche, but Francis Bacon. Who else? I always forget them when I get asked. I was at a Cecily Brown exhibition in Berlin recently and really like her work as well. <img width="2042" height="712" width_o="2042" height_o="712" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/da17dfb2efdb40878239c15478edda61ff6894d2010d5af2026e79d301f30280/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.23-PM.png" data-mid="161880912" border="0" data-draggable src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/da17dfb2efdb40878239c15478edda61ff6894d2010d5af2026e79d301f30280/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.23-PM.png" /> <img width="2224" height="672" width_o="2224" height_o="672" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/41582b573f6c04594788a9e4e27d2831f8425f47d4e2688939177ec1663ebe41/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.38-PM.png" data-mid="161880910" border="0" data-draggable src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/41582b573f6c04594788a9e4e27d2831f8425f47d4e2688939177ec1663ebe41/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.38-PM.png" /> <img width="2084" height="494" width_o="2084" height_o="494" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2acadbe9c129750d3ffcf8bceeb1830fd9a762ee2109801745f9b3a9717fc8a8/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.47-PM.png" data-mid="161880908" border="0" data-draggable src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2acadbe9c129750d3ffcf8bceeb1830fd9a762ee2109801745f9b3a9717fc8a8/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-6.40.47-PM.png" /> GS: Coming back to Instagram: there's often a certain persona that people develop on Instagram; I think yours is, perhaps, a little bit more ironic at points. Is there a juxtaposition between the social-media Shane and Shane in the professional art space? SB: I've kind of gotten much better at talking about my art over time, but even then, in person, I don't take it too seriously. There's not much pressure for me to be serious. GS: Earlier in our conversation you said “back in Japan” and I would like to come back to that for a moment. You were born in&nbsp; Tokyo, right? SB: Yes, I was born in Tokyo, then moved to America when I was one and then went back to Japan when I was seven, and then moved to Ireland when I was fourteen. GS: Considering how frequently you moved early on in your life, what does home mean to&nbsp; you? And what does belonging entail? SB: Dublin feels like home to me now. What does it mean? I think the question of belonging was more relevant when I was In America and Japan. Or when I first moved here. Yeah, then the question of belonging was something more on my head and something that I got upset about. In Japan, it was a very homogeneous society. I was the only foreigner in the village and in the school. Even though I'm half Japanese,&nbsp; half Irish, the people there thought of me as white. And then, in school over here in Ireland—even now I guess—I'm seen as just Asian rather than anything else. I think people tend to see the parts that are different about you. When I was younger, that&nbsp; was something that bothered me. After school though, when everyone's grown up, I don't know … I feel completely accepted here. I feel like this is my home and I love it. GS: This kind of works for somebody who's dealt with multiple identities before: you have mountains here, you have the beach there, and you have the history over there. It's also interesting how your painting seems to be mirroring the city: you combine a lot of contemporary elements with tradition, too.SB: Yeah, maybe that's where it comes from. <img width="1500" height="1499" width_o="1500" height_o="1499" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3723ac8f4c1cb0d7dbfb16b0803f226bc85c9007c889665b73e2303a987935a7/signal-2022-12-04-205052_002.jpeg" data-mid="168745813" border="0" alt="Upon Reflection, 120 x 120cm / 47 x 47 in, oil and acrylic on reconstructed canvas" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Upon Reflection&lt;/i&gt;, 120 x 120cm / 47 x 47 in, oil and acrylic on reconstructed canvas" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3723ac8f4c1cb0d7dbfb16b0803f226bc85c9007c889665b73e2303a987935a7/signal-2022-12-04-205052_002.jpeg" /> GS: Let’s imagine that you, being fourteen or fifteen, saw your work now. What could it do for a young Shane? What impact would it have on you? SB: If I were to see the stuff that I'm doing now back then, I think it would give me a different perspective, you know? It would show me how to embrace the bits I have and treasure this mixture of things I have in me. That could have definitely helped a small me. GS: I got an impression that you faced social stigma as a result of your multi-ethnic identity.&nbsp; Do you think it posed more concrete barriers, especially when entering an artistic career? SB: To be honest, I think a big part of the fact that my degree show went so well was because I was doing these Japanese things, so I think it's kind of the opposite in a way. Now is a good time for someone like me because the world is opening up in a lot of ways. In my case, it worked to my professional advantage that I was perceived as a bit “exotic” in Ireland. I also wanted to point out that I wasn't ostracized as such. When I was in Japan, I made friends quickly enough and was happy there. Yeah, I wouldn't say I was ostracized and I don't want to sound like a sob story. I guess at that&nbsp; age I just wanted to be like all the other kids, and it was a bit difficult at times when you were being treated as if you're different. Same when I first came here, in school it felt like it was repeatedly brought to my attention that I was Japanese, which wasn’t a nice feeling. Having grown up it’s turned around and I’m happy and grateful for the way I am. GS: That is a very beautiful and inspirational remark. Thank you very much for talking with us, Shane. https://greystate.org/ningxia-zhang Thu, 27 Oct 2022 01:49:17 +0000 Grey State https://greystate.org/ningxia-zhang .gallery_image_caption { color: lightblue; } ::selection { color: lightblue; } @media screen and (min-width:751px) { .mobile-column-left { margin-left: 16.666667%; max-width: 50vw; } .mobile-column-right { margin-right: 16.666667%; } } @media screen and (max-width:750px) { .mobile-column-left { margin: 0 8.333334% 0 8.333334% } .mobile-column-right { margin: 0 8.333334% 0 8.333334% } } NINGXIA ZHANG Ningxia Zhang (张宁夏) is a Chinese-born artist and designer living and working in New York City. In her practice, she reconstructs her personal histories via performances and installations, where she weaves movements, objects and sounds from different time and space into new narratives. With a focus on digital media, such as web and virtual reality, her work encourages the engagement and participation of a wider audience. Ningxia graduated from Stanford University with a master degree in Computer Science with specialization in Human-Computer Interaction after her B. Eng. in Software Engineering from Fudan University and B.Sc. in Computer Science from University College Dublin. <img width="1616" height="819" width_o="1616" height_o="819" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/25ba10eeec2412e78a466b57cc1aeeccc45f5e38eba1ae64accd531606d8b4b8/NINGXIA_CONVOS_NO-TEXT-2.jpg" data-mid="171379362" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/25ba10eeec2412e78a466b57cc1aeeccc45f5e38eba1ae64accd531606d8b4b8/NINGXIA_CONVOS_NO-TEXT-2.jpg" /> <img width="2810" height="1054" width_o="2810" height_o="1054" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5b87a001770f43dab9b639339a9acd9b8a02fd3deffba71eb82a3fb004faf755/Screenshot-2022-11-14-at-12.22.43-PM.png" data-mid="158996135" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5b87a001770f43dab9b639339a9acd9b8a02fd3deffba71eb82a3fb004faf755/Screenshot-2022-11-14-at-12.22.43-PM.png" /> <img width="1686" height="774" width_o="1686" height_o="774" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/aaae3c4f547609dfd43966998f68ec123818ced92919b876c5ce059aa6cb34d6/Residue-Slideshow_Ningxia-Zhang_System-Disintegration-_3.jpg" data-mid="158987841" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/aaae3c4f547609dfd43966998f68ec123818ced92919b876c5ce059aa6cb34d6/Residue-Slideshow_Ningxia-Zhang_System-Disintegration-_3.jpg" /> Grey State&nbsp; (GS): How does your family’s history impact your personal identity? Ningxia Zhang (NZ): The short answer is that it is still at the core of my identity. I grew up in a small city in central China. My parents went through a lot of turmoil growing up in the 50s and 60s. I’m the 1st generation to have a decent standard of living, quality education and access to the outside world through the media. My father talked a lot about western liberal democracies, even if he had never traveled abroad. Before leaving China at 22, I felt a strong sense of belonging to Chinese culture and my hometown, while simultaneously longed for seeing the bigger world beyond it. Since then I’ve traveled a lot and lived in the west for a decade. I have a complex relationship with my past that I’m constantly dealing with. But there’s no doubt my family’s history is still a core part of my identity. Unlike many of my friends with multicultural backgrounds, my identity as Chinese is unambiguous. It comes with knowing the enigmatic language, which relates to a way of thinking, a kind of poetry, and not to mention the thousands of years of history. It comes with the experience of poverty and living under authoritarian rule. It comes with the excruciating struggle in the fierce competition and ever present anxiety. It comes with an unbridgeable gap between me and my parents, which now physically manifests itself as the Pacific Ocean. GS: What attracts you to the virtual space? NZ: I got familiarized with the virtual space when I worked at Meta. I was attracted to it due to its possibilities to reduce the barriers of viewers accessing art, as well as of artists creating art. The city I grew up in did not have art museums. If one doesn’t live in art capitals like New York or London, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to experience great art in person. In contemporary art, a lot of installations and sculptures actively engage in the space they occupy, and/or are site-specific. Virtual reality offers the opportunity for viewers to engage in these works regardless where they are. Meanwhile, as an emerging artist, I don’t have the resources, such as large studio space, to construct large scale works. Usually only very established artists are able to do so. Virtual reality makes it possible for artists to experiment with space and scale at low cost and low risks, iterate on ideas quickly, and create experiences that might be hard to implement in real life. <img width="868" height="1418" width_o="868" height_o="1418" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e8033a536cb8c320d4250372b2aae3a4c63208c118c7c90cb2d8d525d1ac3e05/Render-1-copy.jpg" data-mid="168744780" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" alt="My Only Sin | Limited Edition 3D Print | clear resin (forthcoming)" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;My Only Sin&lt;/i&gt; | Limited Edition 3D Print | clear resin (forthcoming)" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/868/i/e8033a536cb8c320d4250372b2aae3a4c63208c118c7c90cb2d8d525d1ac3e05/Render-1-copy.jpg" /> GS: To what system(s) are you integral? NZ: By definition, integral means “necessary to make a whole complete”. In a way, I feel any systems I belong to, such as the earth ecosystem, the human society, can exist and be complete without my existence, as an individual. GS: As an emerging artist, have you faced any struggles or barriers in your practice? Were any of them due to your background? NZ: Some of my barriers are practical. I still have a full-time job as a product designer in tech. I have limited time and energy to develop my practice. That’s probably the biggest barrier I have right now. As an artist who didn’t have formal art education, I also struggle to find and maintain a community of artists to share support, discover opportunities, and exchange critiques and ideas. Some other barriers are psychological. It’s probably common for artists to deal with self doubt and its paralyzing effects. Growing up I was discouraged to pursue art, and was once told by my father that I was not creative enough to be an artist. Even if I disagree, that statement still comes to my mind every now and then, especially when I feel blocked or stuck with my art making. GS: What is one thing that people can do to support art and artists? NZ: This is not something I understand very well. I have many friends who are very much outside of the art world. During the 2021 NFT gold rush, a lot of them got suddenly interested, for obvious reasons. It’s always hard to ask people to support art, because they don’t feel the need to. Somehow I feel if we can really invite people to experience art and encourage them to develop their own thinking, they would see the value more. Many told me they are intimidated by contemporary art and concluded that they would never understand. With that attitude, they may miss out on some of the most unique and valuable experiences in life. So perhaps the one thing people can do is to go to see art and be open minded. From there hopefully they can see the value and support the people behind it. <img width="4000" height="3000" width_o="4000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/12734390ab061a3c9cb6a46d4276ca4747f44a5d2612771c3340f4cab18f8581/Ningxia-Solitude-2020.png" data-mid="168745266" border="0" alt="solitude, 2020" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;solitude&lt;/i&gt;, 2020" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/12734390ab061a3c9cb6a46d4276ca4747f44a5d2612771c3340f4cab18f8581/Ningxia-Solitude-2020.png" /> GS: What does home and/or belonging mean to you? What does “community” entail? NZ: I think home and belonging are more about the feelings than the actual place, group of people or institution. I can feel the sense of belonging to a set of memories. I can feel like home when I’m with a really close friend. It’s a feeling that we can develop and it is essential in constructing our meaning and identity. To me, “community” means a group of people that bond over shared values and purposes. Resources, information and emotional support can be shared among the group for members to achieve their goals. (I don’t think cults or crime organizations are included here.) It might be a very idealistic view of “community”. I believe I had experience with such communities before and I’m looking for it now. The society we live in now centers around individuals and nuclear families. There’s a collective feeling of&nbsp; isolation and lack of belonging. GS: Do you consider your art political? NZ: Yes. In fact, I think any art is inherently political. I’m not well-versed in political philosophy by any means. From some shallow reading of Hannah Arendt, I think creating art is an act that creates something entirely new and makes expressions in a form of speech. Through sharing it publicly the art reveals the identity of the creator and adds to the public discourse/narrative. For an individual, the free choice of making such an expression in public space is political in my mind. GS: How do you see yourself in your works?NZ: My works are often very personal, reflecting on my own stories, incorporating images and forms of my own body, meditating on the idea of self etc. I’ve even received criticism from my friends that my art is too “self-centered”. I don’t necessarily think that’s a problem. My lived experience is the only experiential material I know from first hand and I feel most comfortable using it in my art. I’m generally very open to talk about myself and never try to represent a persona that’s not me. I do the same with my art. The viewers can see and experience me in my work. As many of the human experiences are shared, I don’t think the art based on my individual experience is limiting in terms of its representative and resonating powers. <img width="2384" height="2384" width_o="2384" height_o="2384" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d790a0abae1492d70fddddc295ecb9c62cc409d87daf87c59b4abd7a9b78fb78/Ningxia-Video-screenshot.png" data-mid="168745267" border="0" alt="Run Me.program, 2021, Video, 5:48 mins" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Run Me.program&lt;/i&gt;, 2021, Video, 5:48 mins" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d790a0abae1492d70fddddc295ecb9c62cc409d87daf87c59b4abd7a9b78fb78/Ningxia-Video-screenshot.png" /> GS: What do you, as an artist and an individual, represent? NZ: I feel “represent” is maybe a strong word. I stand for my values of authenticity, curiosity, compassion and creativity. Perhaps I can say I, as an individual, represent a persistent attempt to find and actualize my meaning (in an existential sense). GS: What is one thing that people can do to support art and artists? NZ: This is not something I understand very well. I have many friends who are very much outside of the art world. During the 2021 NFT gold rush, a lot of them got suddenly interested, for obvious reasons. It’s always hard to ask people to support art, because they don’t feel the need to. Somehow I feel if we can really invite people to experience art and encourage them to develop their own thinking, they would see the value more. Many told me they are intimidated by contemporary art and concluded that they would never understand. With that attitude, they may miss out on some of the most unique and valuable experiences in life. So perhaps the one thing people can do is to go to see art and be open minded. From there hopefully they can see the value and support the people behind it. GS: What does “grey state” mean to you? NZ: To me, “grey state” means the intermediate state, the state in the middle. It could be where borders and definitions are not defined and thus many possibilities can be born. It could be the limbo, where uncertainties and anxieties are felt. I can also see it as an antithesis to the binary view of the world, which is an idea I find important in Zen Buddhism.