Episode 42: Current Seen

The podcast is back and with a special new episode. Today’s guest is Bleu Cease, Executive Director of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center who is on to discuss Current Seen, an upcoming biennial in Rochester, NY dedicated to supporting small and mid-sized venues who are committed to advancing the region’s art community. 

Current Seen opens October 4th and runs through November 17th. For more info on programming and events visit www.currentseen.org.

You can also follow the biennial on Instagram at @currentseenroc.

Episode 41: Adrian Martinez

The 4th annual San Francisco Art Book Fair kicks off this weekend at the Minnesota Street Project and so for this week’s guest I thought it would be great to invite one of the exhibitors: Adrian Martinez. Adrian is a photographer here in the Bay Area, member of the San Francisco Photography Club and co-founder of the art collective Illetante. In today’s conversation we discuss his upbringing in Los Angeles, his immersion into the Bay Area art scene and what to look forward to at the art book fair.

Adrian Martinez (Photo by Ulysses Ortega)

San Francisco Photography Club

Illetante at SF Art Book Fair

  • By Adrian Martinez
  • By Adrian Martinez
  • By Adrian Martinez
  • By Adrian Martinez

Episode 40: BICA with Emily Reynolds & Nando Alvarez-Perez

Emily Reynolds and Nando Alvarez-Perez are back on the podcast again, this time to talk about their move to Buffalo and the foundation of the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA). 

Their new exhibition, “Lindsay Preston Zappa: I Forgot my Shoes” opens June 14th. For more info visit their website at www.thebica.org.

You can also follow them on Instagram @bica.buffalo

  • Emily Reynolds & Nando Alvarez-Perez (Image credit: Jake Vogan)
  • Charmed: A Bonanza Retrospective (courtesy of BICA)
  • Charmed: A Bonanza Retrospective (courtesy of BICA)
  • Bonanza runway fashion show (courtesy of BICA)

Episode 39: Karen Vidángos, A Latina in Museums

Today’s guest is Karen Vidángos, creator of the blog “A Latina in Museums” and her instagram project titled “Latinx Curated”. We discuss her background, her motivation for exploring underrepresented perspectives in the museum field, and her recent experience working at the National Portrait Gallery.

A Latina in Museums: www.latinainmuseums.com

Latina Curated: @latinxcurated

  • Karen Vidángos

Episode 38: Lady PheOnix

Today’s guest is artist, curator and cultural producer Lady PheOnix. We discuss her past career in food & beverage distribution and eventual transition to the art world; YESUNIVERSE, the global visual arts platform she created; and Re-Engineering Humanity the recent exhibition she curated at 836M Gallery. 

To learn more about YESUNIVERSE visit https://www.yesuniverse.art or follow on Instagram @yesuniverse.art. You can also follow Lady PheOnix at @yesladypheonix.

Re-Engineering Humanity closes on May 17th but phase two opens on June 3rd. For more visit the 836M website at www.836m.org.

  • Lady PheOnix (Image by Delphine Diallo)
  • Digitalia: Art & The Economy of Ideas, Museum of African Diaspora, 2018
  • Re-Engineering Humanity, 836M Gallery 2019
  • Marjan Moghaddamn, “Glitch Goddess of Art Basel Miami 695, in Red” (2019)
  • Mark Sabb, “Pray for Me II” (2019)
  • Samira Idroos, “Sit Down. Be Humble” (2018)

Episode 37: Marcel Pardo Ariza & The Tallest Part of the Arch

For today’s episode, Marcel Pardo Ariza returns to the podcast to discuss their inclusion in the YBCA’s Bay Area Now (BAN 8) exhibition; the Womxn* Art Handlers group they co-founded & the recent exhibition they curated at Southern Exposure titled The Tallest Part of the Arch. 

The Tallest Part of the Arch closed March 30, 2019, for more info visit the Southern Exposure website. 

To learn more about Womxn* Art Handlers and any upcoming programming visit http://womenarthandlers.com.

Marcela Pardo Ariz & Kaitlin Trataris (image courtesy of Womxn Art Handlers)
BAN 8 at YBCA (Image credit: Charlie Villyard)
Marcela Pardo Ariza
“Randy Andy, Dollface, Tania, Lu, Louis, et al.” (1983~, 1975~, 1992~, 2018)
Tallest Part of the Arch at Southern Exposure (Image credit: Minoosh Zomorodinia)
Tallest Part of the Arch at Southern Exposure (Image credit: Minoosh Zomorodinia)

Episode 36: Omar Lopex

It is Oscars week and so my guest today is Omar Lopex, a local San Diego video artist and now filmmaker. Omar came onto the podcast to discuss his first feature length film titled “Ana, Who They Pulled Out of the River”. We also discuss his previous work which employed analog formats including: wet-plate photography & 16mm / Super 8 film and has exhibited at the San Diego Art Institute, LOW Gallery, La Jolla Athenaeum, San Diego Museum of Art, Oceanside Museum of Art, and Santa Monica Museum of Art.

To learn more about Omar and his work visit his production studio website at www.standardfantastic.com.

You can also visit here to view some of his previous work.

  • Omar Lopex on set. (Image credit: Adrienne Joy)
  • Omar Lopex filming (Image credit: Adrienne Joy)
  • Omar on the set of “The Glorious Hole”, 2016 (Image cred. Matthew Herbert)
  • Still from “So, I was a Child”, 2018
  • Still from “Ana, Who Was Pulled from the River”
  • Still from “Ana, Who Was Pulled from the River”
  • Omar Lopex (Image credit: Tayo Oyekan)

Episode 35: Christo Oropeza

My first guest of 2019 is Christo Oropeza, owner and co-founder of Incline Gallery in San Francisco. A native San Franciscan, Christo discusses his early beginnings as an artist and his current role as a curator, gallery owner and community arts programmer.

The current show at Incline Gallery titled The Unmonumental opened January 25th but there will be an opening reception on February 1, 2019 from 6-9pm. For more details visit inclinegallerysf.com. You can also follow the gallery on Instagram.

  • Christo Oropeza
  • At Incline Gallery: Josue Rojas, Christo, John Zarobell