By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) The New York art world is a big place. This can be intimidating, but it also gives artists opportunities to play different roles, such as curator. While most artists are singularly focused on their own vision, Cara De Angelis (MFA 2011), Diana Corvelle (MFA 2011), Dina Brodsky (MFA 2006) and Michelle Doll (2006) have carved out the… Read More
Claire Cushman, Class of 2015 Studio: 2nd Floor clairecushman.com
by Claire Cushman, MFA 2015 When I met with Ken Johnson, he had just been to see Jeff Koons’ “Jim Beam – J.B. Turner Engine,” and six individual train cars (toy sized, silvery stainless steel, filled with Jim Beam Bourbon), at Craig F Starr gallery. He placed the catalogue on the table. I asked him how he chooses what to write about…. Read More
by Claire Cushman, MFA 2015 “Artists have a limited amount of studio time, so we have to be selective about which shows to see,” says Peter Drake, Academy Dean and curator of Beautiful Beast. “I envision going to shows as part of an artist’s studio practice – and seeing shows that don’t inspire you is like losing time in the… Read More
By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) Coconut Cake, 2013 Will Cotton stands before a medium sized canvas, blank but for a few brown marks he’s laid in for measurements. He lazily wipes his paintbrush on his apron, which was once white but is now splattered with brown and red paint. “This is my rag,” he tells us. His voice is clear… Read More
By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) People often tell Cecily Brown that she paints like a man from the fifties. Her response? “Well, somebody’s got to do it.”Her large-scale, remarkably tactile oil paintings hover at the intersection between abstraction and figuration, and are often compared to Abstract Expressionist works. Based on the aggressive way she puts down paint and her star… Read More
By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) Gallery 1 Closing You may have heard of “Take Home a Nude” and wondered whether this annual fundraising auction featured dates with the New York Academy of Art’s nude life models. Allow me to clarify – Take Home a Nude, wherein academy students, alumni, and other artists donate works to raise money for Academy Scholarships… Read More
AN INTERVIEW WITH SENIOR CRITIC JUDY FOX By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) “It’s hard to say life is small, delicate, and vulnerable unless you can show the real size of life,” says New York Academy of Art’s newest Senior Critic Judy Fox. On September 17th, Fox discussed the presence of abstraction in sculpture with renowned abstract sculptor and Pace artist… Read More
By Claire Cushman MFA 2015In the early hours of Monday, June 9th, eleven half-asleep Academy students trudged through the rain to Grand Central Station, dragging bags heavy with clothing and paint supplies. After what I’m told was a scenic two-hour train ride along the Hudson River, we arrived in Rhinecliff, New York, where staff members Katie Hemmer and Denise Armstrong met… Read More
By Claire Cushman (MFA 2015) On Monday March 24th, Sharon Louden’s Professional Practice Series presented esteemed art critics Roberta Smith (New York Times) and Jerry Saltz (New York Magazine) in conversation with Randy Cohen for “Person Place Thing” in the Academy’s Wilkinson Hall. The room’s walls, recently stripped of the ten “Big Picture” paintings and not yet adorned for Tribeca… Read More
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