Everything Is Connected Light Work

On this episode I'm joined by Mario Joyce. Mario Joyce is a self-taught African American artist based in Los Angeles. His process began early and was heavily influenced by prejudices experienced growing up Black and Queer in rural Ohio. He uses genealogical research, soil from the Ohio he grew up on, carefully sourced vintage collage materials and oil paint to explore how American History is steeped in selective storytelling that neglects to share the experiences of marginalized communities. Mario is a 2023 alum of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, has recently completed the Pratt>FORWARD residency at New Lab in Brooklyn Navy Yard, in New York City. Joyce's latest show at UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles closed a few weeks prior when we sit down to talk about his work and practice. 

On this episode I'm joined by Maria Elena Ortiz. Maria comes to the Modern from the Pérez Art Museum in Miami (PAMM), where she curated discerning exhibitions such as Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection and The Other Side of Now: Foresight in Caribbean Art. At PAMM and with support of the Mellon Foundation, Ortiz founded and spearheaded the Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI)—a curatorial platform dedicated to Caribbean art. During her tenure in Miami, Ortiz worked to diversify the museum’s collection, securing works by Simone Leigh, Bisa Butler, Bony Ramirez, and others.
María joined the Modern in 2022. Her first exhibition with the museum, Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists since 1940 is on view now until July 28, 2024. The show inspired by the history of Surrealism in the Caribbean with connections to notions of the Afrosurreal in the United States. Representing a global perspective, this exhibition is the first intergenerational show dedicated to Caribbean and African diasporic art presented at the Modern. Listen in as we talk about her latest show, what inspires her work, and what she’s most passionate about. 

On this episode, I'm joined by Mario Moore. Mario Moore is a Detroit native, who received a BFA from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI in 2009 and an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT in 2013. I met Mario late last fall in Detroit when I attended the DIA Gala and spent a weekend in the city, checking out the art scene and meeting some of the city's key players. Moore’s paintings focus on the personal, social, and political implications of our segregated society.  Presenting stories of his own life and those of friends and family, Moore weaves in multiple references to history, art, politics, and literature to complete his narrative. Listen in as we talk about some of the things that make Detroit such a unique city. The changes he's seen take place over the years, his time at Yale, and his love for painting.

Late last year, as I was ending my season, the news of Radcliffe Bailey's passing was announced and sent shockwaves throughout the art world among his friends, family, peers. 

At the time, I was planning on recording an episode with Karen Comer Lowe, a long time arts professional and curator based in Atlanta. As Karen began to share with me her introduction into the art world, she mentioned the importance of Radcliffe's presence in her life and their friendship. This immediately prompted me to not only want to hear Karen reflect back and share some of the stories and memories that she had of Radcliffe, but I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to more people about his life and the incredible impact that he left on the people that he touched over the course of his lifetime.

In this episode, you'll hear testimonials from friends, colleagues, and those who considered Radcliffe family including Joeanna Bellorado-Samuels, Franklin Sirmans, Sheila Pree Bright, Trevor  Schoonmaker, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Karen Comer Lowe, Isolde Brielmaier, and Larry Ossei-Mensah. So many are mourning his loss and this is an opportunity to celebrate his life and legacy. 

On this episode I'm joined by Essence Harden. Essence Harden is the Visual Arts curator at CAAM,  the California African American Museum.  She' s one of two curators of the Made in L.A. biennial taking place next year in 2025. 

This year, Essence was named the curator of Focus at Frieze LA.  For this year's focus, Essence explores the intimate, environmental, and urban dimensions of ecologies. Across all  Frieze Fairs, Focus is a space dedicated to galleries founded within the last 12 years. So there's lots of emerging galleries and artists to discover. Just last week, the Hammer Museum named Essence one of two curators of the 7th edition of the Made in LA Biennial. to be held in the fall of 2025. When I catch up with Essence, she's fresh off a call with friend and artist Lauren Halsey. 

On this episode, we chat about Lauren Halsey, the importance of place and geographies, and her curation of Focus at Frieze LA opening next week.

On this episode I'm joined by Dominic chambers.  Dominic and I have known each other for a couple of years now and I’ve watched his practice grow so much in that time. It's been a minute since we sat down and talked about his work and practice, so it was great to catch up with him and learn all about the work in his latest show at Lehmann Maupin gallery, and some of the things that have been inspiring him lately.
Born in St. Louis Missouri, Chambers currently lives and works in New Haven CT. Chambers received his MFA from Yale in 2019. Chambers creates vibrant paintings that simultaneously engage art historical models, such as color-field painting and gestural abstraction, and contemporary concerns around race, identity, and the necessity for leisure and reflection. Interested in how art can function as a mode for understanding, recontextualizing, or renegotiating one’s relationship to the world, the artist sees painting as a critical and intellectual endeavor, as much as an aesthetic one.