I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists, Curators & Collectors Erika b Hess

This week, The Works member and artist Nicole Lau is joining me to talk about her journey breaking through her mental health struggles to create a thriving professional art practice. 

 

Nicole Lau (b.1992) is a Canada-born Chinese artist currently living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia. As an early career artist established in 2021, Nicole works between Chinese brush and Western oil painting techniques, heavily influenced by her mentors. She is a grant recipient of the 2022 Research and Creation award and 2022 Professional Development award through The Canada Council for the Arts. In 2022, Lau held her solo exhibition “Home Kong” at Matchstick Davie, and participated in a group exhibition titled “Together” at the National Housing Conference in Vancouver, BC. In 2023, Lau will be a part of a group exhibition titled “The Body: Object, Product, Agency” in New York City, NY.

 

Nicole’s practice informs her of her own personal dystopia as she navigates this world with a diagnosis of borderline personality and bipolar disorder. Nicole investigates contemporary issues that involve the acculturation of Chinese immigrants, understanding her internal landscape, and celebrating her history and Chinese identity as a Canadian artist.


 
Links:
www.nicole-lau.com










 
Instagram: @Nicolelauartist  





 













 
I Like Your Work Links:
Radiate and Repeat Exhibition 
Join The Works Membership! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram

I first saw Mikey Yates work in our 2020 exhibition Drowned Neon Rose and I've been following him ever since. 
 
Mikey Yates is Kansas City based painter born in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany. He grew up drawing the various characters that colored his life: Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, Ryu from Street Fighter and Gary Payton from the Sonics. Yates continues this practice today, but instead of strictly rendering fictional characters and sports superstars he paints family members and friends, vivid memoirs of his past, and present day situations. Yates received his BFA from Missouri State University and his MFA from the University of Colorado Boulder.
 
In this episode, Mikey and I talk about how he got involved in the arts, his practice and what's influenced him throughout his professional art career. 



 
Links:
www.mikeyyates.net




















 
Instagram: @mikey_yates  















Artist Shoutout: 
Sarah Williams 
Sean Lyman 
 
 
I Like Your Work Links:
Radiate and Repeat Exhibition 
Join The Works Membership! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram
 

This week, The Works member and artist Emily Pfaff is joining me to talk about her journey as an artist and how the community and support she's gotten from The Works has helped her with her professional practice. 
Emily Pfaff lives and works in Forest Park, Il. She received her BFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006. She has worked professionally in numerous areas of the arts and has worked extensively on collaborative commissions for film and television. Her work has been seen on platforms like Netflix, Tru TV, and Funny or Die. In 2022 she created a featured piece for Paul Schrader’s film “Master Gardener”. Her paintings hang in private collections across the country, in addition to public and corporate spaces, including a resident commission at the Chicago Board of Exchange. Most recently her work was featured at Rhett Baruch Gallery in Los Angeles.
Links:
emilypfaff.com
 
Instagram: @emilypfaffpainting  





 













 
I Like Your Work Links:
Notions of Beauty Exhibition
Join The Works Membership! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram

Sally Morgan Lehman is the founder and director of Morgan Lehman Gallery, which has been based in Chelsea since 2005. Ms. Lehman has a diverse background in the visual arts, which includes museum education, exhibitions design, state and citywide public art placement, and private and corporate collections management.
Ms. Lehman is an active member of Art Table, POWArts and NADA, and has served as a visiting critic and juror at Wave Hill, Guttenberg Arts, the Wassaic Project and the Hunter MFA program among many others. She has been invited to participate in panel discussions about the current state of the art world, and is a regular guest presenter to art and art history students at FIT, the New School and Pratt.
MORGAN LEHMAN is a contemporary art gallery representing a small group of emerging and mid-career American artists working across media. Founded by Sally Morgan and Jay Lehman, the gallery opened in 2002, and has continuously provided a platform for original and press worthy exhibitions. Gallery artists have consistently received coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Art in America, Hyperallergic, and The Brooklyn Rail among others.
In addition to its represented artists, the gallery collaborates directly on exhibitions and public projects with many other artists, and offers extensive art advisory services to curators, art consultants, designers and corporate and private collectors.
Links:
www.morganlehmangallery.com










 
Instagram: @morganlehmangallery  















 
I Like Your Work Links:
https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/retreat
Notions of Beauty Exhibition
Join The Works Membership waitlist! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram
 

On today's mini episode, I'm chatting about the social media platform Instagram for artists and sharing why I've decided to step back a bit from the grind of constantly posting on my own profile.
I'm also talking about why it's ok to let yourself take a break from being tethered to social media and why you shouldn't feel guilty if you're not posting reels on Instagram as an artist.   
 
 
I Like Your Work Links:
https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/retreat
Notions of Beauty Exhibition
Join The Works Membership! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram

This week I'm sharing the interview I did with Garrett Klein of Massey Klein Gallery. I got a chance to meet with Garrett at the gallery when I was visiting New York City where we chatted about his experience with art and starting the gallery. In this episode, Garrett also shares about the important aspect of partnership between artists, gallerists and collectors. 
Massey Klein is a contemporary art gallery located in the Lower East Side of NYC. The gallery supports both local and international mid-career and emerging artists. Husband and wife team, Garrett Klein and Ryan Massey, believe in the collaborative partnership between artist, gallery, and collector. The gallery functions as a meeting place where collectors and the general public can experience carefully curated exhibitions and foster meaningful relationships with art.
Links:
www.masseyklein.com
 
Instagram: @MasseyKleinGallery  















 
I Like Your Work Links:
https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/retreat
Notions of Beauty Exhibition
Join The Works Membership waitlist! https://theworksmembership.com/
Submit Your Work
Check out our Catalogs!
Exhibitions
Studio Visit Artist Interviews
I Like Your Work Podcast
Say “hi” on Instagram