Episodes

  • Gyöngy Laky - Sculptor

    Gyöngy Laky - Sculptor
    Sep 24 2024
    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Emily chats with Sculptor & Fiberworks Center founder Gyöngy Laky...Ging shares her incredible journey from being a refugee from Hungary to becoming a pivotal figure in textile arts. She talks about her initial inspiration, work at Fiberworks Center, and a teaching stint at UC Davis. Ging also discusses how her experiences and background influenced her unique approach to textiles, incorporating natural materials and cultural anthropology insights. The episode concludes with Ging reflecting on her artistic milestones and the significant impact of the Bay Area's creative environment.About Artist Gyöngy Laky:Gyöngy Laky's sculptural forms are exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States. Internationally, her work has been included in exhibitions in Canada, Denmark, Sweden, England, Holland, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Italy, Columbia, Philippines, Japan and China. Laky has participated in the US Federal Art in Embassies Program in Bangkok, Thailand; NATO, Brussels, Belgium; and Poland. In addition to one-person exhibitions in the U.S., she has had solo exhibitions in England, Denmark, Hungary and Spain. She is also known for her outdoor site-specific installations which have occurred in the US, Canada, England, France, Austria, Bulgaria and Italy.A past recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Award of Distinction, 11th International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland; and Award for Artistic Excellence, Women in the Arts, The Women’s Foundation, San Francisco, CA, Laky was also one of the first textile artists to be commissioned by the Federal Art-in-Architecture Program. Her work is in many permanent collections including the San Francisco MOMA, The Smithsonian’s Renwick Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum, the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu and others (see “Collections”). In 2002-03, she was one of a team of three to develop a comprehensive Arts Master Plan for the new state-of-the-art, US Federal Food and Drug Administration campus being built in Maryland. In 2003, a book, “Portfolio Series: Gyöngy Laky,” was published by Telos Arts Publishing, UK, and the Bancroft Library at UC, Berkeley, released her oral history. Her personal papers are in the Smithsonian Institution‘s Archives of American Art, Washington, DC. Laky’s art has appeared in numerous books, magazines and catalogs in the US and abroad. April 2008, the New York Times Magazine commissioned her to create titles for its environmental issue (the titles received an award from the Type Directors Club).Laky was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944 and emigrated to the United States as a small child. She graduated from Carmel High School and completed undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley (1967-1971). Postgraduate work followed with the UC Professional Studies Program in India. Upon her return, she founded the internationally recognized Fiberworks, Center for the Textile Arts, in Berkeley, with accredited undergraduate and graduate programs. As of 2005, Laky is Professor Emeritus of UC, Davis, (chair, Dept of Art mid-1990s). She joined the faculty at UCD in 1978 and soon after initiated establishing the independent Department of Environmental Design. In the early 1990’s she developed a graduate program.Visit Gyöngy's Website: GyongyLaky.comFollow on Instagram: @Gyongy.LakyFor more about Fiberworks Center for Textile Arts, CLICK HERE. --About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWilFollow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast--CREDITS:Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson. Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 LicenseThe Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions. For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Wanxin Zhang - Ceramic Sculptor

    Wanxin Zhang - Ceramic Sculptor
    Sep 10 2024
    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Emily chats with Ceramic Sculptor Wanxin Zhang...Wanxin discusses his journey from studying art in China, his move to America, and the influence of prominent Bay Area artists on his work. He shares how artists like Robert Arneson and Viola Frey helped shift his perception of ceramics from craft to fine art. Wanxin's sculptures, which blend historical references with contemporary culture, are showcased in several prestigious museums and galleries. He recounts his early inspiration from his mother and the pivotal moment he decided to move to the U.S. Wanxin also talks about how changing his medium from metal to clay allowed him to express his identity and cultural heritage more profoundly.About Artist Wanxin Zhang:Wanxin Zhang was born and educated in China. He graduated from the prestigious LuXun Academy of Fine Art in Sculpture in 1985. In 1992, after Zhang established his art career as a sculptor in China, he relocated to San Francisco with his family and received his Master in Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University. Zhang had been on the faculty of the Academy of Art University, Department of Art Practice at University of California, Berkeley and California College of The Art in Oakland, and the San Francisco Art Institute. Zhang's sculptures represent a marriage between historical references and a contemporary cultural context; they carry messages of social and political commentary. His work is deeply influenced by the Bay Area figurative movement and artists such at Peter Voulkos and Stephen De Staebler. As a studio sculptor and educator, Zhang was the first place recipient of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant in 2006 and the Joan Mitchell Grant in 2004. His sculptures have been shown in San Francisco, Santa Fe, Miami, Seattle, Palm Desert and New York City. In 2007, his pieces were part of the 22nd UBE Sculpture Biennial in Japan; in 2008, his sculpture was selected by the Taipei Ceramics Biennial in Taiwan; and in 2013, he was part of the Da Tong's 2nd International Sculpture Biennial in China. Zhang had his first solo art museum show at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in 2006, with solo museum exhibitions following at the Arizona State University Art Museum, Boise Art Museum in Idaho, Fresno Art Museum in California, The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art in Michigan, Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington, and Holter Museum of Art in Montana. His works have been selected to be included in Confrontational Ceramics by Judith Schwartz, and can be found in major art magazines such as "Art News," "Art in America," "Sculpture," and "American Ceramics." Zhang has many public collections, and his private collectors are located both nationally and internationally. In 2012, the San Francisco Chronicle picked Zhang's exhibition at the Richmond Art Center to be one of the Top 10 Exhibitions in the San Francisco Bay Area.Visit Wanxin's Website: WanxinZhang.comFollow Wanxin on Instagram: @WxZhang25For more about M is for Water at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, CLICK HERE. For more about the Spirit House exhibition at Stanford University, CLICK HERE. --About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWilFollow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast--CREDITS:Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson. Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 LicenseThe Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions. For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    16 mins
  • REPLAY! Esteban Samayoa - Charcoal Artist

    REPLAY! Esteban Samayoa - Charcoal Artist
    Aug 27 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    This week, we're taking an end of Summer break and revisitng a 2022 interview with Oakland painter Esteban Samayoa. Esteban shares his artistic journey starting from childhood, his growth in Oakland, and his diverse body of work. The discussion covers exhibitions featuring outdoor charcoal drawings, vibrant color paintings reflecting his Mexican and Guatemalan heritage, and installations exploring his recent conversion to Islam. Esteban emphasizes breaking barriers for artists of color, portraying community life, and highlighting the beauty of family and friends in his art. Emily also mentions the upcoming episodes and exhibitions featuring various artists.

    About Artist Esteban Samayoa:

    Esteban Raheem Abdul Raheem Samayoa grew up in Sacramento and started drawing when he was three years old. His only formal art class was at Sacramento City College, where a teacher showed him how to use charcoal, which became his favorite medium.

    A few years ago, to push himself, Esteban moved to Oakland. One gallery offered him a show, then another, and now he has a solo show at Pt 2 gallery, Ain’t No Dogs in Heaven.

    Visit Esteban's Work and Pt.2 Gallery by CLICKING HERE.

    Follow Esteban on Instagram: @wulffvnky

    Follow Pt.2 Gallery on Instagram: @pt.2gallery

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    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Margot Norton - Curator

    Margot Norton - Curator
    Aug 13 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Today, Emily chats with BAMPFA Chief Curator Margot Norton.

    In this Episode, Margot discusses her background, including her move from New York to Berkeley and her previous roles at the Whitney Museum and the New Museum. She describes an upcoming exhibition titled 'To Exalt the Ephemeral,' which focuses on impermanent art. She shares the transformative potential of museums, her inspiration from artists like Pepón Osorio and Eva Hesse, and her experience working with UC Berkeley students. The exhibition highlights experimental materials, memory, photography, and ends with a video installation by Joan Jonas. Then of course, "Three Questions" with Margot sharing her curatorial career and inspirations.

    About Curator Margot Norton:

    Margot Norton is the Chief Curator at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). She is formerly the Allen and Lola Goldring Senior Curator at the New Museum, New York. She organized the 2021 New Museum Triennial Soft Water Hard Stone, co-curated with Jamillah James. Norton joined the New Museum in 2011 and has worked on a number of exhibitions, curating and cocurating presentations by Carmen Argote, Diedrick Brackens, Sarah Lucas, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Pipilotti Rist, Mika Rottenberg, Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, and Kaari Upson, among others. In 2017, she curated the Eighth Sequences Real Time Art Festival in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Georgian Pavillion at the 2019 Venice Biennale with artist Anna K.E.. Before she joined the New Museum in 2011, Norton worked as a curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum, New York. She has contributed to and edited numerous publications and exhibition catalogues, and regularly lectures on contemporary art and curating. She holds an MA in Curatorial Studies from Columbia University, New York.

    Find more from Margot HERE.

    Follow Margot on Instagram: @MargotNorton

    To learn more about BAMPFA's Exhibit, "To Exalt the Ephemeral" CLICK HERE.

    --

    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily is a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Alma Landeta - Multidisciplinary Artist & Educator

    Alma Landeta - Multidisciplinary Artist & Educator
    Jul 30 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    On this Episode, Emily chats with Alma Landeta, an artist whose work centers on queer and trans representation. Alma shares their background, including their education at the Maryland Institute, their move to Oakland, and current residency at the Palo Alto Art Center. They discuss their unique approach to portraiture, aiming to build a reflective relationship with their subjects. The episode also highlights Alma’s involvement in the LGBTQAI+ community through various projects, including a mural at the San Francisco LGBT center and a show at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Alma reflects on their inspirations, upbringing, and the significant impact of an influential college teacher. Alma also shares insights on their journey towards embracing their identity as an artist and how they aim to provide hope and comfort to marginalized communities through their work.

    About Artist Alma Landeta:

    Alma Landeta (they/them) is a mixed-race, Cuban American, queer multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work seeks to build community through the exploration of intersectional identities. They make art about the importance of bodily autonomy for queer and trans people through drawings, paintings, and installations.

    Landeta received a Masters of Arts from MICA. They have shown work nationally and internationally through solo exhibitions, group shows, and artist residencies. Alma was the 2022 Homebody Fellow at Ma's House, and 2020-2022 Latinx Teaching Artist Fellow at Root Division. They sit on the Board of Directors as Studio Artist Representative for Root Division.

    Visit Alma's Website: StudioLandeta.com

    Follow Alma on Instagram: @Alma.Landeta

    For more info on Alma's exhibits: Resonantly Me and the 2024 King Artist Residency

    --

    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Suchitra Mattai - Multi-disciplinary Artist

    Suchitra Mattai - Multi-disciplinary Artist
    Jul 16 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    In this episode, Emily chats with south asian multidisciplinary artist Suchitra Mattai. Suchitra, born in Guyana and now based in Los Angeles, discusses her journey and the influences behind her artwork. She details her move from a background in statistics to a career in art, highlighting how her work addresses themes of memory, labor, migration, and colonization. Suchitra shares insights about her solo exhibit, 'She Walked in Reverse and Found Their Songs' at ICA San Francisco, which explores her ancestors’ forced migration and personal history through installations made of used saris. The episode also includes discussion about how she combines different materials to tell stories and reconcile her multicultural experiences. Additionally, Suchitra talks about the impactful art pieces and places that inspire her creative process.

    About Artist Suchitra Mattai:

    Suchitra is a multi-disciplinary Guyanese American artist of South Asian descent. She received an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Recent projects include group exhibitions at the MCA Chicago, Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the MCA Denver, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and the Sharjah Biennial 14 and solo exhibitions at the Boise Museum of Art , Roberts Projects, and Kavi Gupta Gallery. Upcoming projects include solo exhibitions at the ICA San Francisco (San Francisco), the Tampa Museum of Art (Tampa, FL) , the National Museum for Women in the Arts (Washington, DC) and Socrates Sculpture Park (NYC, NY). Her works are represented in collections which include Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, the Nasher Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Joselyn Museum, the Tia Collection, the Perez Collection, the Shah Garg collection, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

    Visit Suchitra's Website: SuchitraMattaiArt.com

    Follow on Instagram: @SuchitraMattaiStudio

    For more about her exhibit, "She Walked In Reverse And Found Their Songs" at the ICA San Francisco, CLICK HERE.

    --

    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Alison Saar - Sculptor & Printmaker

    Alison Saar - Sculptor & Printmaker
    Jul 2 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    This Episode, Emily chats with Los Angeles based sculptor & printmaker, Alison Saar. She was visiting the Bay Area recently working with Arion Press on their recent production of Octavia Butler's Kindred.

    They dive Alison's artistic journey, influences, and her recent project illustrating Octavia Butler's 'Kindred' for Arian Press. Alison reflects on her upbringing in a creatively rich environment, heavily influenced by her artist parents, Betty and Richard Saar. She discusses her techniques, particularly her affinity for woodcuts and linoleum blocks, and the importance of texture in her work. The conversation also touches on Saar's interest in African and Indigenous art, her spiritual connections, and significant influences such as Elizabeth Catlett. The episode concludes with insights into Saar's favorite creatively inspiring places in Los Angeles and her experience of continuously making art from a young age.

    About Artist Alison Saar:

    Alison credits her mother, acclaimed collagist and assemblage artist Betye Saar, with exposing her to metaphysical and spiritual traditions. Assisting her father, Richard Saar, a painter and art conservator, in his restoration shop inspired her learning and curiosity about other cultures.

    Saar studied studio art and art history at Scripps College in Claremont, California, receiving a BA in art history in 1978. In 1981 she earned her MFA from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1983, Saar became an artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, incorporating found objects from the city environment. Saar completed another residency in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1985, which augmented her urban style with Southwest Native American and Mexican influences.

    Saar’s style encompasses a multitude of personal, artistic, and cultural references that reflect the plurality of her own experiences. Her sculptures, installations, and prints incorporate found objects including rough-hewn wood, old tin ceiling panels, nails, shards of pottery, glass, and urban detritus. The resulting figures and objects become powerful totems exploring issues of gender, race, heritage, and history. Saar’s art is included in museums and private collections across the U.S.

    Visit Alison on the web by CLICKING HERE.

    Follow Alison on Instagram: @Alison_Saar

    Learn more about her Kindred project with Arion Press HERE.

    --

    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    17 mins
  • Héctor Muñoz-Guzmán - Painter

    Héctor Muñoz-Guzmán - Painter
    Jun 18 2024

    Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Today, Emily features a conversation with Oakland based painter Héctor Muñoz-Guzmán. Hector discusses his life and artistic journey, including his upbringing in Berkeley, education at Parsons School of Design and Rhode Island School of Design, and the challenges he faced with his health. He shares insights into his artwork, including his first solo show 'Tocando Tierra' in Los Angeles, which represents men in his life and himself at different stages. Hector also talks about his experiences teaching at Creative Growth in Oakland, working on a mural with artist William Scott at SFMOMA, and his forthcoming studies in the MFA program at UC Berkeley. The episode highlights Hector's deep connection to his culture and community, and how these influences shape his artwork.

    About Artist Héctor Muñoz-Guzmán:

    Hector spent his foundation year at The Parsons School of Design and a year in The Rhode Island School of Design’s painting department. He was a finalist for the Tournesol Award at The Headlands Art Center and has received the Berkeley Individual Artist Grant. His work has been exhibited at Fall River MoCA, Bureau Gallery, Movimiento De Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA), Good Mother Studio, and Part 2 Gallery. He published an art book with Sming Sming Books. He works as an artist instructor for William E. Scott. He currently lives in Oakland, CA.

    Héctor’s work has been published in Juxtapoz, 48 Hills, Mousse Magazine and Graphite Journal “POCKET” at the Hammer Museum.

    To learn more about and purchase his book, Brown Eyes From Russell Street, CLICK HERE.

    For more about his exhibit in Los Angeles, Tocando Tierra, CLICK HERE.

    Follow on Instagram: @HectorFMunoz

    --

    About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:

    Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women’s Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.

    Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWil

    Follow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast

    --

    CREDITS:

    Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson.

    Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    The Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions.

    For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com
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    14 mins