EYELEVEL BQE STUDIO VISITS

STUDIO VISIT DATES: August 31, 2015

Steve DeFrank with Andrew Birk

Fanny Allié visual artist France / NY fannyallie.com

Fanny Allié is a multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture, installation, sewing and drawing.

Allié is a frequent collaborator of Eyelevel BQE, one of her biggest collaborations with Co-Founders, Zachary Barnett and Alva CalyMayor, was a window project and solo exhibition in 2010 called The Whisperers: a video installation for which Allié asked people living in the Williamsburg area to share a confession and murmuring it into the camera. Interested in making her subjects think about their relationship towards guilt. Questioning the physical consequences of guilt, visible in the facial expressions of her subjects.

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STUDIO VISIT DATES: April 5, 2015 / October 29, 2013 / April 7, 2011 FANNY ALLIÉ

Livia Corona Benjamin visual artist México / NY liviacorona.com

The work of Livia Corona Benjamin explores the social and political implications of geography and architecture. Her photographs and texts comment on how these affect and modify human relations. She received a BFA from The Art Center in Pasadena, California, is a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow and a current recipient of an SNCA Endowment for the Arts, granted by Mexico’s Commission of Arts and Culture, as well as a 2013 Prix Pictet Nominee. Her works have been exhibited worldwide including Pinakothek der Moderne, Münich; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Bronx Museum of The Arts, New York; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, Spain; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, Belgium; Ballroom Marfa, Texas; Fundación Joan Miró, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Københavns Museum, Denmark; and in an upcoming 2017 exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, titled, “Home - So Different, So Appealing,” curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Chon A. Noriega, and Mari Carmen Ramírez.

Her photographs are in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and William Benton Museum of Art, the Berezdivin Collection and other private collections. She is the author of two monographs, “Enanitos Toreros,” 2008, and “Of People and Houses,” 2009, and is preparing a third book on her acclaimed series “Two Million Homes for Mexico.” Corona Benjamin grew up in Ensenada, Baja California. She lives between New York and Mexico City.

Livia Corona has collaborated with Eyelevel in two shows and has recently curated a show together along with Alva CalyMayor, this show was part of SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2015 called The X, The Y, The Z .

Corona Benjamin’s first Solo Exhibition in New York, Manhattan Transfer opens at Sgorbati Projects, April 9th, 2015. 

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STUDIO VISIT DATE: January 11, 2014 LIVIA CORONA BENJAMIN

BEKA & JOBB visual artist(s) México, D.F. beka-peralta.com joshuajobb.com

__   STUDIO VISIT DATE: December 5, 2013 JOSHUA JOBB

"50/50 Del exterior al interior y del interior al exterior."

A través de la caminata entendida como parte del proceso creativo y como un dispositivo de encuentros ya sean materiales o inmateriales, me interesa ejercer una investigación enfocada principalmente en las ideas de entretenimiento, trabajo y consumo.

El pensar en un estudio fuera de casa es algo que se ha ido complicando con el paso del tiempo, en un comienzo por un principio económico y en la actualidad no me imagino un espacio del tipo “oficina” sin pensar en trabajo (pensamiento que probablemente afectaría el desenvolver de mi práctica ya que ésta se piensa como un juego que se toma muy en serio o algo muy en serio que se presenta a manera de juego).

El estudio/casa del que se habla en este ejercicio textual funciona como un contenedor de objetos que posibilitan el montaje de obras desarrolladas anteriormente, de un conjunto de obras producidas por otros artistas, un par de maquetas, notas y algunos libros… De momento lo que mas hago en dicho espacio es leer, pero en momentos de mayor actividad es un espacio en donde se producen operaciones de lenguaje, de azar y de juego

Joshua Jobb José Martí 107 -3, Col. Escandón, México 2013

"de aquí vengo, pero para allá voy"...

"Un Globo, un cassette y las colaboraciones..."

__ BEKA PERALTA

"Notas sobre el estudio"

Me gusta pensar en mi estudio como un estudio-móvil, que se puede reducir a un par de elementos de trabajo y llevar a donde sea.

De igual forma trabajo en un espacio interior que funciona como un ancla provisional para los viajes, juegos y exploraciones donde creo vínculos de manera física entre ideas y referencias.

Es un espacio donde rendereo imágenes, acciones y encuentros en mi día a día. Beka Peralta José Martí 107 -3, Col. Escandón, México 2013

No lugares

ADAM GREEN musician, visual artist, filmmaker United States, NY adamgreen.info

__   ENTRE | VISTAS consists of a camera, an artist, a studio and a deck of very special cards: Each card of the Zebra Deck has a either a question a statement or an image, then the artist picks a card, and one by one responds or reacts at the flip of a card.  Eva Posas and Rodrigo Teie are the responsible for generating these interviews determined by chance, and published to ohcolourmein.com 

For this interview we borrowed Colour Me In's Zebra Deck and invited Ana Maria Hermida (filmmaker) to conduct and record the interview and (photographer) Livia Corona to take a portrait of Adam.

  Adam Green talks about México in his work [...] 

Epic Linen w/ Blue Cow Acrylic on Unprimed Linen 84"x108"

Ana Maria and Adam on: cartoons, self-portraits Aladdin and 9/11

Red Cartoon Portrait w/ Cravat   Acrylic, Crayon, and Watercolor on Paper 24"x19" Flying Rug Ride Acrylic on Canvas 60"x36"

STEVE DEFRANK visual artist United States, NY stevedefrank.com

__   STUDIO VISIT DATE: March 15, 2013 DeFrank first gained attention with his portraits of Ken dolls and Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman made out of hand dyed Lite-Brite pegs. Later-on developed more portraits made of Lite-Brite pegs, some of the portraits are of re-sexualized little people such as the gay leather man, Fritz, or the cowboy, Hank. Once this acclaimed line of work became victim of its own shtick, he then decided to walk away from it, and explore more. Steve then developed paintings in wood, in both its natural and by-product forms: tree stumps, were painted with humorous phrases carved into their bark, surrounded by fairy dust and floating bubbles; other stumps were painted with flowing manes of hair taking on a nearly human persona. In conjunction with the paintings, he then created a series of “Stud”  sculpture works, developed in vibrant colors mimicking its wood grain, the Stud(s) were named after gay male pornography stars and painted  in casein, technique he has mastered over the years.  

Steve DeFrank is a huge inspiration for me and many artists I know, he constantly challenges himself, and puts the word (used so often in artist statements) "painstaking" to shame. He is hilarious, and is able to translate this hilarity into his work.

AURORA IXCHEL PELLIZZI United States (NY)/ Mexico (MO), Italy (Fl) aurorapellizzi.com/ __   STUDIO VISIT DATE: February 4, 2013 Aurora Pellizzi's work incorporates her experiences with traditional craft while employing contemporary materials and technology.  Aurora currently lives and works in Florence, Italy.

Aurora and I first met in 2011, we were introduced by a mutual friend and we have been collaborating ever since then through many projects and exhibitions. Aurora has become one of the main members of Eyelevel BQE as well as Natalia Porter. In August 2013 we presented work together in a show called DIS-PLACEMENT curated by Remy Amezcua, at Sensei Exchange

MARCOS CASTRO  visual artist México, D.F. castromarcos.org

__   STUDIO VISIT DATE: December 18, 2012 Marcos Castro is an artist who comes from a family of celebrated artists, he shares the studio with his brother Daniel, they both develop work that is strongly tied to mysticism and human nature, Daniel through filmmaking and Marcos through painting, drawing, printmaking and even music collaborations. Marcos told Valerie and myself about how his work has changed with the arrival of his daugher Luciana, it certainly nurtured his inspiration to develop work for Monstruos Mexicanos, a book by Carmen Leñero illustrated by Claudio Romo and Castro himself. We talked about music, which brought to the conversation the collaboration he did with some members of a Mexican band called Los Vega who appear wearing Marcos papier-mâché  masks on this video where they do a cover of Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast - http://vimeo.com/57564427

Like many great visits, a lot of plans and ideas came from this. When we were about to end the visit, Marcos invited us to check Neter: an initiative dedicated to promote the work of young mexican artists both locally and globally that takes place in an old house in San Pedro de los Pinos, a house partly in ruins, but holding its history very gracefully.  From this visit, two very special projects came into fruition:

CELIA ROWLSON-HALL filmmaker, choreographer United States, NY celiarowlsonhall.com

__   STUDIO VISIT DATE: June 20, 2012 Celia is a filmmaker, choreographer and Bessie Award-winning performer (The New York Dance and Performance Awards) and the creative force behind multiple shorts, Celia has choreographed dance sequences for music videos by artist including Chromeo and MGMT; as well as several stage and film performances.  The first time I met Celia was in early 2009. Celia and Jen Dunlap wanted to share and brainstorm some ideas for a two woman show including two shorts by Celia and large scale and small rainbow-filled paintings by Jen. At the beginning stages it was going to be called PDA, but then "Parallel," sounded better suiting for the kind of work they were presenting together. The promo video for Parallel is extremely amusing, it just never gets old. The photo for the postcard was shot by Tom Hines, Dunlap and Rowlson-Hall are lying down over a bright blue carpet, where Celia is as a giant ball of yarn and Jen is a black cat pulling a thread from it. Posterior shows and collaborations include: Our Relationship Is Extinct (2013) SchoolHouse Projects Spring Break (2012), School at Prince Street The Convent (2009), St. Cecilia's Convent

AMY BEECHER visual artist United States, NY amybeecher.com

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  Amy Beecher is a New York City based artist.  Her recent work consists of mixed media sculpture, large scale digital inkjet prints and recorded texts. I met Amy beecher at the SVA summer residency back in 2007. A year later, Amy and I talked about a window project I was working on. She invited me over to her studio, our visit helped shape how the window project at the Atelier of Victor Osborne was going to operate:  it would foster new work by emerging artists, contained within a window, allowing the spectator to participate both actively and passively with the various art forms displayed.

"Amy Beecher: First in a Special Contemporary Art Series," 

Drawn to the nostalgia and romanticism of the old-fashioned workshop, Beecher will exhibit her work in the atelier’s window and interior workshop, seamlessly blending her own creations into the space. Viewers will discover her fabric assemblages hanging from racks and piled in corners amongst traditional tools of the hat making trade. Pointing to the commonalities between the artist's' studio and designer's workshop, the exhibition pays homage to the mysterious allure of the creative site.