Artist Interviews – Page 2

Interview with Matthew Grabelsky for his current solo exhibition ‘Riders’on view til Friday March 17, 2023 at The Brand Library & Arts Center

Thinkspace presents Matthew Grabelsky’s ‘Riders’ where his new body of work continues his exploration of people with animal heads riding the New York City Subway, and in one case the London Tube. Each painting contains elements from pop culture (a magazine, a poster, a tattoo, a character in the background) which relate to the specific animal, creating a series of humorous tableaux. With a realistically rendered and highly detailed oil painting technique, his goal is to create the effect of looking at a scene on the subway as if it were a diorama at a natural history museum. The images present richly detailed moments frozen in time allowing the viewer to closely inspect every element and make connections between them to read an overall story. In this world, people are transformed into part-animal to create scenes that are strange, funny, and endearing.

Technically inspired by 19th Century academic and naturalist painters, Grabelsky creates these unlikely, surreal scenes with a staggering degree of realistic detail. The contrast created between the visual verisimilitude of the works, and the surreal improbability of their content catches the viewer in a prolonged moment of convincingly suspended disbelief.

Our interview with Matthew Grabelsky reveals how he linked up with Thinkspace, the reason he had to recreate one of his paintings, and which animal he would choose to do a self-portrait.

How long have you been showing with Thinkspace? What does having an exhibition up at the Brand Library and Arts Center mean to you?

My first show with Thinkspace was back in 2012. I’d walked into the gallery without knowing anything about it and loved what they had up. LC was there and I started talking to him. He asked to see what I did and I showed him a few photos of my paintings. He loved them and showed them to Andrew. Andrew invited me to put a piece in a group show they had opening a few weeks later and I’ve been showing with Thinkspace ever since.

Seeing my paintings up at the Brand has been a huge thrill. I’ve been going to look at art in museums my whole life and seeing a room at a museum full of my paintings feels like validation. Around the end of college, I decided I wanted to be a painter. I would look at detailed realistic oil paintings and have this overwhelming feeling that I had to make something like that. Learning to do it took years of study and working on my technique and subject matter. When I stepped into the room at the Brand with my work for the first time I felt I’d accomplished what I set out to do all those years ago.

A handful of the pieces have film references accompanying their subway rider. Do these films have a greater meaning or reflect an influence on you as an artist/person? Or were they fun explorations in anthropomorphic associations?

I picked the films because they had fun associations with the animals in the paintings. In “Crow-Magnon” the figure has a crow’s head and is dressed all in black. Adding Brandon Lee as Eric Draven from “The Crow,” standing on the platform, struck me as fun goth touch. In “Giddy Up” the guy is dressed as a cowboy and has a horse’s head. I added the poster from “City Slickers” as well as Billy Crystal reflected in the window in his character from the film as funny connections to my city cowboy. In “Gotham Local” I wanted to make a Batman-themed piece because he’s always been my favorite superhero. Tim Burton’s first batman with Micheal Keaton was the seminal batman from my childhood so I used references from that film, including the batman logo on the t-shirt and Jack Nicholson as the Joker standing outside the window. In “Polly Wanna Cracker” a girl with a parrot head eats Ritz Crackers. I thought it would be funny to have a pirate standing on the platform. I chose a guy dressed as Keith Richards’ character from Pirates of the Caribbean because it felt culturally relevant. Finally in “An American Werewolf in London” a guy with a wolf’s head rides the London tube. This painting started as a joke when a friend said he thought it would be funny if I made a painting based on that film. I loved the idea so I filled the piece with references to the movie including dressing him like the titular character and even putting a still from the movie on the newspaper that he’s reading.

What was the most challenging piece in this exhibition? How did it help you grow as an artist?

Every time I make a painting I run into new challenges I have to figure out. Sometimes it has to do with the composition and sometimes it’s a technical aspect when I start working on the canvas. That’s part of what keeps painting interesting for me. This time around the biggest challenge had to do with painting denim. It’s a tricky texture because denim is made up of blue intermixed with specks of raw white cotton and faded to varying degrees in different areas. If not done right it ends up looking like plain blue fabric.

I spent a whole day painting the jeans in the werewolf piece and thought it looked pretty good when I went to sleep. I woke up in the morning and with a fresh eye, it just didn’t look right. I let it dry for a few days then painted that whole area back to white so I could start from the beginning. I experimented for a few weeks with different methods of layering the oil paint and finally found a technique that worked. I repainted the jeans and they looked great. There were several other paintings in the show with blue denim so I used the same method and each time it worked like a charm.

The opening at The Brand Library and Art Center was quite the scene; what was one of your favorite moments from the evening?

The opening night blew me away. There must have been a couple of thousand people passing through that evening. I spent countless hours alone in my studio working on the paintings with the hope that they would connect with people and engage them. There were so many times that night that I would see groups of people looking at my paintings, talking about them, and laughing at the humor in them. Each time I saw that it made me smile and told me that all the work was worth it.

The “Hello Kitten” piece was a recreation of a similar piece that was lost, what made you decide to revisit this work? Where do you think (or imagine) that piece is now?

Sadly the first version disappeared during shipping and was never found. It was a very meaningful piece for me and it strongly connected with lots of people. I’m hoping that it either got sent to the wrong place or someone stole it so it’s still around somewhere.

It was the thought that it may have ended up in the trash that make me want to recreate it. I hated the idea that I worked so hard on the original and now no one may ever get to see it again. I had all my original studies so I decided to make a second version. I intended to stick quite close to the original but as I started the new version I found several things that I thought would improve it without losing what made the first one a success. I made it larger so the figures would be life-size. That gave the sense that the mother and daughter were in the same room with you. I added a red bow to the little girl’s hair to match the cartoon character. In the first version, she was just wearing socks so I added a pair of shoes. I adjusted the perspective slightly so that the girl’s head was fully surrounded by the blue of the subway seat which made her head pop out a bit more to focus your attention there. Finally, for a fun little inside joke, I removed the glasses from the guy reflected in the window. A lot of people have asked me who he is and he’s my friend who’s the father of the little girl. Since I made the first version he got Lasik surgery and doesn’t wear glasses anymore.

(Study version)

If you were to do a self-portrait, what animal and iconography would be included in that piece?

I’ve been thinking about painting a self-portrait of myself as a raccoon. A big raccoon used to sleep in the bush right outside my studio window. I loved watching it and got kind of obsessed with raccoons. They’re super clever and can do amazing things with their hands. As someone who works with his hands all day, I can relate.

How has understanding the chemical properties of oil paint influenced the development of your technique?

I strongly believe that the medium you create art with has a huge impact on the end product. This ranges from the aesthetic qualities of a particular medium to the way that working with one might give you different creative ideas than you would get from another. There are many ways to make a realistic image from painting which reaches back to the beginning of humanity itself to more recently photography, digital rendering, and now even AI image generators.

I love oil paint for two reasons. Aesthetically oil painting has a unique textural look unlike anything else. Oil paint is extremely versatile. It dries slowly by oxidation with the air so it stays workable for a long time. That lets me apply oil paint to my canvas and blend into it to get very subtle effects. By adding different oils and solvents to the paint I’m able to adjust the consistency which lets me get a range in surface quality. The paint stands out a bit more in some places and is thinner and more transparent in others.

Secondly, building up an image with oil paint takes many layers and lots of time. The result is that I’m working with my hands directly on a canvas for many many hours and inevitably during that time I get ideas that I add to the painting that I didn’t have when I came up with the initial composition. These are sometimes big changes and sometimes small but they always make the image much richer than what I started out intending to paint.

The New York subway still remains your main backdrop/ third character in the compositions. In this body of work, you included the London Tube, but have you ever considered painting the LA Metro? If so or if not, please elaborate.

I’ve lived in LA for over ten years now but I’m still a New Yorker at heart. This series started on the New York City Subway and that has been the setting for the majority of my paintings. I love the subway because it’s an iconic New York location instantly recognizable to anyone who’s been there. It is also a central mixing place for people in the city. When I had the idea to do a werewolf in London, the London Tube seemed like an obvious spot to bring one of my characters. It plays a similar role in London as the subway does in New York. A scene from the movie that inspired the piece even takes place in one of the Tube tunnels. As far as Los Angeles, while there is a metro and I’ve ridden it a bit, it doesn’t feel like a particularly central part of the city. At its core, LA is still a car city. When I think of LA I think more of the landscape with its palm trees, beaches, and mountains. To that end, the one painting I’ve done set in LA so far takes place on the beach right in front of the Santa Monica Pier. If I do more paintings set in LA that is probably the direction I will take.

Studying in Italy led you to pivot your career path from astrophysics to art. What is a significant moment from that time there that has stuck with you and informed the person you are today, beyond just being a full-time artist?

My experience in Italy was amazing and changed the course of my life. I was fascinated by astrophysics and enjoyed studying it in college. However, when I was dropped into an immersive painting experience in Italy it gave me a different level of satisfaction. I was living in Florence which is a living museum. Just walking down the street I would pass incredible frescos, sculptures, and architecture. Italy has a sensuousness about it, more than any other place I’ve been. It is full of beauty and made me want to create beauty. Italians also have a way of focusing on enjoying life. Italy convinced me to be an artist professionally and also taught me to enjoy life along the way.

There are more than several amazing pieces in the exhibition, and this might be a difficult question, but are you up for the challenge – what piece would you want to add to your art collection, and why?

There’s something I love in all of them but I’d pick the one I did of the crow. My mom was the model so it’s a particularly personal one for me. I got the idea for it when I was on a trip with my mom to Sicily. We were crossing the street and a car was coming which made her nervous and she made a sound like the caw of a crow. I instantly knew I wanted to paint her as a crow. The painting is full of references to my mom. “CAW!” is painted across the back of the seat on one side in my mom’s handwriting. On the other side, her name is painted to look like it’s scratched into the plastic, again in her handwriting. On another part of the seat, I put a sticker that says “I Love My Mom.” On the platform outside the window, you can see Eric Draven from “The Crow” which I saw in the theater with my mom when I was in high school.

On view only until this Friday March 17th at The Brand Library and Arts Center in Glendale, California.

The Brand Library and Arts Center
1601 W. Mountain Street
Glendale, California 91201

Viewing Days / Hours:
Tues. – Thurs.: 11am – 8pm
Fri. & Sat.: 10am – 5pm
Closed Sun. & Mon.
Free Admission & Free Parking

For more about the exhibition and opening night click HERE!

Photos by @BirdManPhotos.

Interview with Cody Jimenez for his current exhibition ‘Efferverence’ on view til Friday March 17, 2023 at The Brand Library & Arts Center

Thinkspace presents Cody Jimenez’s ‘Efferverence’, where he explores a world where emotions are embodied in physical forms. The emotions are represented through vibrant colors and shapes that affect their environment and characters around them. By using physical representations of those emotions, he investigates the dualities of beauty and danger that mirror mysterious forces he experiences in his life.

Cody Jimenez is a Mexican-American artist whose work focuses on the natural world through a lens of Imaginative Realism. He received his BFA in painting from NMSU in 2014 and MFA in painting from LCAD in 2017. His work has been exhibited throughout the country, including Los Angeles, CA, Denver, CO, Baton Rouge, LA, and Santa Fe, NM.

Our interview with Cody Jimenez shares how he started working with Thinkspace, his biggest challenge for his solo exhibition, and about the “mysterious forces” he’s experienced in his life.

Can you share a little about your background? How long have you been showing with Thinkspace?

I grew up in Southern New Mexico and now live in Southern California. I moved to CA to get my master’s degree in 2015 and I have been here since. I have been showing with Thinkspace for 2-3 years now. My first show with them was through a contest they were hosting through Instagram. They asked their audience to draw their cat and they happened to like mine enough to include me in a show later that year.

What does having an exhibition up at the Brand Library and Arts Center mean to you?

The opportunity to have an exhibition at the Brand was really an honor. I did not think I would have a chance like this to show a body of work in an amazing venue. Once everything was hung up, and especially with all the artists in this show, it just felt surreal that I was a part of this show.

What was the inspiration behind this latest body of work? What themes were you exploring?

I have been exploring these themes of emotions coming to life since about 2015. This exploration of emotions came about when I thought more about how people often have an energy about, and if someone is really angry, sad, or happy, people can often sense this. I have not had the opportunity to really showcase a whole body of work together. I wanted to focus on building my world with narrative and start to hint at stories and relationships in these paintings.

What was the most challenging piece in this exhibition? How did it help you grow as an artist?

I think the painting of my daughter, “12 Years”, was the most challenging. My initial sketch was different, she was running and it was a intended to be an active composition. When getting photos of her for reference, my idea wasn’t translating. After the 4-5 attempts of taking photos, I was looking through them and I came across one of her walking slowly while I was checking the lighting and this photo had a subtlety I really liked. I ended up using that one as a reference for the painting, it felt more like her and I just rolled with that idea. This taught me a lesson in just being open to different ideas and not to be so fixated on what I think something should be.

The opening at The Brand Library and Art Center was quite the scene; what was one of your favorite moments from the evening?

Aside from talking to so many new people, one of my favorite moments was seeing people I didn’t know taking pictures of my artwork and bringing people into my area. It was one of those things I just did not expect to happen.

Do you have any rituals that help you tap into a creative flow? What does a day in the studio look like for you? How do you structure your days?

When I’m able to have a full studio day, I like to take care of household chores in the morning, clean dishes, make coffee, etc., and then start drawing/painting. I am a creature of habit, and in general, that is a daily thing for me. This just helps me not have other responsibilities looming over my head. It is a boring ritual shrugging emoji.
An ideal studio day is when I can paint for a couple of hours, snack, more painting, walk the dog, paint, practice something on guitar, eat dinner, and paint up until bedtime. Thats a rare day, but when it happens its a dream.

The red panda and ravens are recurring spirits in your work. What draws you to these creatures specifically?

I have been completely enamored with red pandas for many years now. I even have a red panda tattoo on my right shoulder. Something about those animals is just captivating to me. Most seem to have a vast array of obvious personalities. They’re an endangered species, and surprisingly not many people know they’re actual name or what they are. Usually I hear, “Oh what a nice looking fox/cat” and I can understand why they think that, but it’s nice to tell them all about red pandas if that happens.

With ravens, other birds, I just love the variety of them. Also, they’re just dinosaurs, especially great blue herons. Those are some vicious birds, have you seen their feet and claws?? But I think a lot of these birds have this gracefulness and aggressiveness to them that can be fun to portray, it can really help a story in a painting.

You’ve shared in other interviews how your daughter’s curiosity when observing the world around her has influenced how you reframe your approach to looking at the world, and she is the subject of your piece “12 Years.” What are a few of the other lessons she’s taught you, and how have they influenced how you move through the world and your artistic evolution?

The strangest thing about having a kid is that they’re growing and changing all the time. It has been hard to realize that at times. It was not instantaneous, but this has taught me to be open to new things in the world and not expect the same results from something. The world is constantly changing, and if I were to just be old man about it and say “back in my day” (which is not even that long ago), I would just be a fool. I have to adapt and keep learning. That spills over into my artistic evolution as well, adapt and keep learning, or just be an old fool.

Can you elaborate on the “mysterious forces” you experience in your life? Are you familiar with the various clair-senses?

To me “mysterious forces” encompasses a lot of different things. I think the best example is what happened to me before my daughter was born. The summer of 2010, I had been out with my friends camping on July 3rd and drove back home the next morning. I was running on very little sleep, fell asleep at the wheel at 75mph, went off one side of the highway, overcorrected and flipped off the other side of the highway. My car flipped a few times and I was completely unharmed. Not a scratch on me. Later that year, my daughter was born. It could all be coincidental, a great safety rating on the car I was driving, or something more. I tend to fall in line with something more, that is the “mysterious force”. I actually wasn’t aware of the clair-senses, it seems worth understanding a bit more.

The environments you create put emotions into a physical form, and as an Aquarius, one of the signs that are known for emotional detachment. Do you feel that by painting emotion you’ve been able to understand your own landscape better? Or is astrology bunk and you’ve always been comfortable with all the feels?

Not that I don’t believe in astrology, but I never realized that was an attribute of an Aquarius. I do feel that being able to focus on some events in my life, I can allow myself to really process what the subject or story means to me. I am such a slow processor of information and my own emotions.

Oh thats an easy one for me, Gustavo Rimada’s painting “La Hada”. I have loved his work for so long. This painting has a great composition and delicate rendering. There is the Guillermo Del Toro references, and there’s just a lot to admire in this painting.

On view only until this Friday March 17th at The Brand Library and Arts Center in Glendale, California.

The Brand Library and Arts Center
1601 W. Mountain Street
Glendale, California 91201

Viewing Days / Hours:
Tues. – Thurs.: 11am – 8pm
Fri. & Sat.: 10am – 5pm
Closed Sun. & Mon.
Free Admission & Free Parking

For more about the exhibition and opening night click HERE!

Photos by @BirdManPhotos.

Interview With Abi Castillo for ‘Allergic Party’ | Exhibition on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

Thinkspace is pleased to present ‘Allergic Party’ showcasing 30 incredible new ceramic works from Spanish artist Abi Castillo in her debut North American solo exhibition.

Discovering ceramics introduced Abi to a world of aesthetic and creative possibilities that allow the artist to give shape to her creatures and characters. The ambivalence between mysticism and drama, between monstrosity and beauty, are themes all very present in Abi’s personal project.

Our interview with Abi Castillo discusses her journey with ceramics, love of nature, and her latest shift to her creative practice.

For those that are not familiar with you and your work, can you give us a brief look at your artistic background? How did you first hear of Thinkspace?

I graduated in Fine Arts and specialized in ceramic art. I have been working as an illustrator since 2010, and now I combine that work with ceramic sculpture in my workshop. I have exhibited my work in different galleries in Spain and Portugal, and I am very happy to have arrived in the United States.

I’ve been following Thinkspace on social media for a long time because I think they are a reference in the art scene, always showing the work of new and different contemporary artists.

What was the inspiration behind this latest body of work? What themes were you exploring?

For this exhibition, I was inspired by my allergy to pollen and dust mites and how tedious it is to live with these symptoms. I decided to give it a touch of humor by making a party, a gathering of snot and fluids with characters that give off sympathy. In this exhibition, I have tried to make my characters more expressive to generate in the viewer a mixture of laughter and tenderness.

You’ve gilded bodily fluids representative of tears and mucous in this exhibition, making what we are sometimes embarrassed by beautiful. Do you have any allergies? Do you consider yourself one who easily cries?

As I said, I have allergies to pollen and dust mites, and I have learned to live with it. We should not be ashamed of a natural reaction to an allergen that we cannot control. It is really uncomfortable, and my nose is red during the spring, just like my characters’ noses. I consider myself a very sensitive person, and I don’t mind showing my feelings. My sculptures bear witness to this, and in them, I channel many of the good and bad moments.

What was the most challenging piece in this exhibition? How did it help you grow as an artist?

The most difficult work to make has been ¨Choromicas¨ which means in my mother tongue, Galician, a person who cries a lot. If ceramics has taught me anything, it is to work on my patience. Ceramics is a slow process, where drying times must be respected in order to keep adding heights and not crumble.

Do you have any rituals that help you tap into a creative flow?

My workshop is surrounded by a forest, and that’s where I find my connection with nature and where I get ideas to flow better. My ritual is based on spending many hours in the workshop, sometimes sketching and sometimes sitting at the pottery wheel trying to improve the technique, but having nature so close is what helps me to create.

What excites you about your work / creative process? What frustrates you about your work/ creative process?

What I love most about ceramics is the freedom and that I feel I can bring my characters to life. I can make a sketch and create a shape with volume that will become a new friend.

What frustrates me the most is that I can’t control all the phases of creating my pieces, and sometimes you think you are doing it right, and the pieces explode in the kiln, or the glaze formulas don’t come out right, and there is no turning back. During these years, I have also learned to take these cracks and failures as part of my learning and as something that could make the pieces unique and special in seeing the beauty of imperfection.

You gave birth in July; what has maternity leave looked like for you? What did your studio days look like before having a baby, and how are they evolving now to accommodate your latest creation?

My maternity leave has helped me to get to know myself better and to organize a lot of ideas about my work. Motherhood is a great moment in life that is worth enjoying. Being a mother has changed everything, and I have had to change some things in my work. Before becoming a mother, there were no schedules, and I could spend all night working without a break, but now I have to organize my time to enjoy my daughter and continue creating.

I also recognize that being a mother brings a new inspiration to my work.

Who are some of your creative influences?

There are many currents that have inspired and influenced me throughout my career.

And I think I’m still constantly learning. My main influences come from lowbrow and pop surrealism. Artists like Mark Ryden or Marion Peck or Peca have always fascinated me for details and that intense inner world.

In ceramics, I love Eun-Ha Paek and Joakim Ojanen because their characters intrigue me and make me unable to stop looking at them.

What are your favorite things to do outside of the studio?

I love to knit. Every week I get together with a group of women to continue learning how to make sweaters and scarves. It’s a great exercise for exercising the memory and for meditation. I also enjoy going for walks with my daughter, going to concerts, and traveling.

If you could have any skill or topic downloaded into your brain, what would you want to be able to do/ be an expert at?

Many things! I would love to be a virtuoso and play a musical instrument, know how to cook like great chefs or control all kinds of artistic techniques to perfection so as not to have limits.

What is clear to me is that I would love to learn everything related to art in all its forms.

Exhibitions on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

Interview With Michael Polakowski for ‘Anywhere & Here’| Exhibition on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

Thinkspace is excited to present Detroit-based artist Michael Polakowski‘s solo exhibition “Anywhere & Here” in Gallery III.

Anywhere & Here’ presents a series of paintings that depict a shifting cast of protagonists. Each character is shown grappling with the reality of the here and now while dreaming of the potential of anywhere.

Our interview with Michael Polakowski shares valuable advice he’s received on approaching his work, the act of being present to inform his artistic voice, and the essential practice of running.

Can you share a little about your background and how you first heard of Thinkspace?

I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, a small suburb of Detroit in the Midwestern United States. Not exactly an art hub by any means, but I always gravitated toward art and especially graffiti and skateboarding art. The work from the New Contemporary movement found its way to me through magazines and art blogs from LA, and Thinkspace was one of my early exposures to the art world that was out there. In a way, this show has been an amazing opportunity for me to connect with the art movement that ignited my relationship with art while paying homage to my home.

What was the inspiration behind this latest body of work? What themes were you exploring?

This body of work is about balancing forward progression and ambition with presence in one’s life. It’s about the individual parts that make the whole picture. That relationship between being present and engaged in your daily life while working towards a larger understanding of happiness or clarity is the central theme to this body of work. Creating this work was a balancing act for me, and the resulting body of work is about that process. Whether it is a painting that comes about through a conversation with a close friend or a realization that occurs in the middle of the night and is scrawled down on a sketchbook at the side of my bed, this body of work was about being engaged in the act of creating while not allowing myself to be overcome by it.

When you are triggered to chase escape, how do you bring yourself to acceptance?

I’ve grown to realize that some things just need time to work themselves out and that I have little ability to affect that. That acceptance of what I can’t control is initially defeating, but arriving at acceptance can open up new opportunities. Because of this, I like to schedule a break for myself in the middle of the day to run. This resets my brain and is almost like giving into the “fight or flight” response that anxiety can often bring about.

What was the most challenging piece in this exhibition? How did it help you grow as an artist?

The two pieces “Anywhere (Doorway)” and “Here (Doorway)” were among the most difficult in the series. They both feature a scene that has almost been “copy and pasted” onto itself, so in a way, it was like painting each piece three times to get the desired effect. Working on these paintings felt like I was doing workout repetitions to strengthen my painting ability.

Do you have any rituals that help you tap into a creative flow? What does a day in the studio look like for you?

With art, I find that there are times for fluidity and times for rigidity. As a painter, I needed to find the “non-negotiable” parts of my practice, like working 5 days a week for 8 hours a day but allowing myself to arrive at that goal in a variety of ways. Some pieces for the show I made over the course of a week or two, working entirely at night, while other pieces I made in a more traditional nine-to-five workday. No matter when I make it to my studio, however, I always dive into a deep level of focus that feels very cathartic and calming. I’ll usually take a break to eat and exercise (running has become the main way that I decompress), then head back to my studio and finish up for the day.

What excites you about your work / creative process? What frustrates you about your work/ creative process?

The act of painting is a very centering and engaging process. The detail and precision in my work mean there is no way to split my focus or do something partway. This can be great because it requires me to push everything aside but also can be frustrating when it just isn’t working out. My process for ideation also means that I am always engaged with my practice. I want my work to be a reflection of my life, not the entirety of it. By making my work about being observant of my surroundings and immersed in it.

When I started my career, I often fell into the trope of the “all-consumed” artist who never rested and gave everything to their practice. It wasn’t until I received advice from a more experienced artist that my goal should be to have a long career and evolve over a fifty-year career instead of working unsustainably for five years and then burning out. I took this advice to heart, and it shifted everything for me. First and foremost, my goal became about being an engaged and present individual, and the rest would follow. For the first time, I was able to think about what kind of artist I could evolve into, and that is the most exciting part for me.

Who are some of your creative influences?

I like to find inspiration for my work in other creative practices like film, literature, and music. Whenever I read a book or see a movie that sticks with me, I ask myself, “how could a painting create the same emotional response?” I’m a huge fan of Alejandro Jodorowsky and recently saw his film The Holy Mountain, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. As far as other painters go, I am a fan of the Chicago Imagist movement from the 1960s. Artists from that movement, like Roger Brown and Christina Ramberg, were able to interpret surrealism in such a personal way that reflected their experiences living in Chicago and the Midwest, and this authenticity to one’s own narrative has been a major influence on me.

The novels Franz Kafka’s “The Castle” and Dino Buzzati’s “The Tartar Steppe.” inspired the direction of “Anywhere & Here.” What are three books you think everyone should read and why?

Those two novels are a great start for anyone interested in absurdity and are two of my personal favorites. Both books feature protagonists who are completely immersed in what they see as their “life’s struggle” and suffer because they are ultimately unable to put separation between themselves and the systems they are a part of. A third book I would recommend is Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. This book is almost an antidote to the way of thinking that is pervasive in the previous books I mentioned. Murakami has had such a prolific output as an author, and this book details how the act of running has supported that process. My work is very physically demanding, and I don’t think I would have been able to stick with it had I not found this book.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of the studio?

One of my favorite things to do while I’m not painting is trail running, and the long winding roads that are seen in my paintings come from that. There is something very meditative about running towards a distant point at the end of a trail. You know that the end is coming because all things end eventually, but when you are in the middle of a run, it seems infinitely far away. Another hobby I’ve been drawn to is playing billiards, which is also featured heavily within my work. Playing 8-ball pool feels strangely like painting at times: you go into each game with a plan but must adapt and respond to the way it plays out.

What is one of the most memorable meals of your life thus far? It could be the food or the company that made it have a lasting impression.

My girlfriend and I recently traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, for the wedding of two of my studio mates and longtime friends. During the trip, we stayed with them at a cabin in Santa Eulalia that was in the mountains. During the dinner, we all had sketchbooks out and were drawing in between games of dominoes and conversation. This meal stands out to me because it was one of the first times I drew the mountains, that are a central theme within my work. That meal was an instance where my artistic practice made me more present in my life and observant of my surroundings; the work that comes from these moments is always the most authentic and satisfying to me.

Exhibitions on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

Photos by Birdman.

Interview with Shinnosuke Hariya for “Power Up” | Exhibition on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

Thinkspace is excited to present Shinnosuke Hariya‘s solo exhibition “Power Up” in Gallery II.

‘Power Up’ presents a new series of 14 graphite works on illustration board from the Japanese drawing monster Shinnosuke Hariya and is the artist’s debut North American solo exhibition.

Our interview with Shinnosuke Hariya reveals his preferred pencils, dives into god-like figures of creative influence, and the other skills he’d wish to explore but will hold off for now.

For those that are not familiar with you and your work, can you give us a brief look at your artistic background? How did you first hear of Thinkspace?

I’m a graphite artist born in Tokyo, Japan. I combine street and Japanese cultures in my work.

I have loved drawing since I was a child. I studied graphic design in art college but found that I liked drawing more than designing, so I became an artist rather than a designer. I held my first solo exhibition in 2017 after graduating from art college. Since then, I have held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Japan and abroad.

I first became aware of Thinkspace through Instagram while browsing through the posts of international galleries. Thinkspace attracted me because of the many cool artists exhibiting there.

When Super A had his solo show at Thinkspace in December 2020, I sent a reaction to the Stories that Thinkspace had posted. Then I received a message from Thinkspace inviting me to exhibit at Gallery II, which made me very happy.

What was the inspiration behind this latest body of work? What themes were you exploring?

I decided to create this exhibit on the theme of robotic characters because I came up with the idea that graphite and metallic qualities go well together.

Since this exhibition was to be held in the U.S., I drew not only Japanese characters but also many popular American characters that I like.

What was the most challenging piece in this exhibition? How did it help you grow as an artist?

The piece I painted thoughtfully is the reflective texture of “Thief Robo” and “Modified Police Wolf.” I attempted to draw different textures of metal in this exhibition.

I developed an image of each motif in my mind, and I tried to imagine how they were covered with scratches from fighting, how they were deteriorated and battered, and how they looked like new and clean.

If people who see my work can relate to the expression of these textures, I believe I have grown.

What does a day in the studio look like for you? How do you structure your days?

There is no specific time of day when I draw my work. However, I tend to draw in the evening through the morning and sleep in the morning and afternoon.

Do you have any rituals that help you tap into a creative flow? Do you have a favorite brand of graphite?

I am not particular about the brand of pencils I use for my work, but I use Mitsubishi and Staedtler pencils because they were the first pencils I used when I started drawing.

What excites you about your work / creative process? What frustrates you about your work/ creative process?

I generally do not draw rough sketches when I start creating a work of art. Sometimes I do, though. So when I get an idea and start drawing it, I get excited. I feel that the moment when the work is nearing completion is similar to the feeling I get when I finish watching a favorite movie or comic book. I feel like there is a sense of accomplishment and a kind of sadness that the work is finished.

I am a little frustrated that I have to take breaks from drawing when I have to keep drawing motifs with a lot of detail because my hands get sore from doing so.

What qualities do you think define a lasting icon or character within pop culture? What are the traits that you connect with in the icons you pull for your own work?

I think those characters seem to be composed of simple forms, but they are very calculated. I feel that the shapes are sometimes cool and sometimes cute. I read the meanings of these shapes deeply and incorporate them into my work.

Are there pop culture figures or influences that have had an impact on your philosophical view on life?

People who have influenced my life are Akira Toriyama, Takehiko Inoue, Yoshihiro Togashi, George Lucas, Spielberg, Stanley, and Walt Disney… the list is endless!

I think the characters and stories they create fascinate many people.

I guess these characters are like God to me.

What are your favorite things to do outside of the studio?

I like going to see exhibitions of friends and artists that interest me, watching movies, and reading manga.

If you could have any skill or topic downloaded into your brain, what would you want to be able to do/ be an expert at?

I would like to be able to speak more languages other than Japanese.

I would also like to be able to create great stories like comic book writers, screenwriters, and novelists, but I can imagine the hardships they go through to create great works, so I am fine with being myself as I am now.

Exhibitions on view January 7 – January 28, 2023

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Photos by Birdman.

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