Conversations
Interviews and not-your-standard Q&As with local and established artists, writers, musicians, and other very interesting people
In Conversation with painter Dan Bunn
Interview by Zadie Loft
Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Dan Bunn grew up in southern Wisconsin where he developed a deep love for the outdoors and observing nature. Over the last decade he has been digging progressively deeper into his personal artistic quest, which takes him on adventures throughout the USA and world. His mix of focus and play draws inspiration back through time and out of this world, from the Realms of Middle Earth, to Gothic Futurism of Rammellzee; mystery and magic of Andrew Wyeth, to the incomprehensible splendor of the Dutch Golden Age. With these examples as guiding stars, he strives to materialize a continually expanding world of fantasy and truth – pigment and perseverance the only hope to catch a bit of magic lit by a passing light.
In Conversation with Robert Simon
Robert B. Simon is an art historian and art dealer in New York, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque paintings. He received his doctorate at Columbia University with a dissertation on the portraits of Bronzino. He has published and lectured widely on both art-historical matters and on broader concerns relating to the authenticity, valuation, conservation, and commercial trade of works of art. As a dealer he has been responsible for several discoveries, including important paintings by Guido Reni, Parmigianino, and, most recently, the Salvator Mundi of Leonardo da Vinci. Significant paintings, drawings, and sculpture from his New York gallery, Robert Simon Fine Art, are to be found in major American museums, as well as in private collections worldwide.
In Conversation with art dealer Ronni Anderson
Anderson Contemporary is an art gallery and cultural hub situated within the serene, public, tree-lined atrium space of 180 Maiden Lane in New York City. At the helm is owner/director Ronni Anderson, a Manhattan-based art dealer known for her discerning eye when it comes to selecting captivating works of art. The gallery represents a vibrant community of visionary artists from various disciplines, including painting, photography, mixed media, animation, and performance art. With a personalized approach, Anderson fosters meaningful connections between artists and art enthusiasts. The gallery’s mission is to provide unwavering support to their talented artists, ignite passion in private and corporate collectors, and create indelible impressions that endure.
In Conversation with Annabel Abbs
Interview by Alice Burnett
Annabel Abbs is a multi-award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction, published internationally in 30 languages. She grew up in Wales and Sussex, with stints in Dorset, Bristol and Hereford. Daughter of academic and poet, Peter Abbs, she has a degree in English Literature from the University of East Anglia and a Masters from the University of Kingston. She lives with her family in London and Sussex, and is a Fellow of the Brown Foundation.
In Conversation with Lynn Hershman Leeson
Over the last five decades, artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson has been internationally acclaimed for her art and films. Cited as one of the most influential media artists, Hershman Leeson is widely recognized for her innovative work investigating issues that are now recognized as key to the workings of society: the relationship between humans and technology, identity, surveillance, and the use of media as a tool of empowerment against censorship and political repression. Over the last fifty years she has made pioneering contributions to the fields of photography, video, film, performance, artificial intelligence, bio art, installation and interactive as well as net-based media art. ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany, mounted the first comprehensive retrospective of her work titled Civic Radar. A substantial publication, which Holland Cotter named in The New York Times “one of the indispensable art books of 2016.”
In Conversation with Director Lior Elefant
Lior Elefant, is the head of the Israeli Women in Film and Television Forum, and Program Director of the Israeli film festival, Lethal Lesbian.
In Conversation with visual artist Nwando Ebizie
Nwando works across media, genre and artforms creating mythopoetic metanarratives and alternate realities. Her work is a drawing together of the pieces that she is in a frozen moment of ever-living infinite regress. She challenges her audience to question their perceived realities through art personas, experimental theatre, neuroscience, music and African diasporic ritualistic dance.
In conversation with Cellist, Izzi Dunn
Izzi Dunn took up cello aged nine surrounded by sound. The multiple-disciplined artist honed her style and taste through the movements of soul, combining vocals and cello to form an impassioned voice, which speaks of values within our present.
INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST, ARLENE WANDERA
Kenyan born artist Arlene Wandera moved to the UK with her family at a young age. Since obtaining her degree from the Slade School of Fine Art,London, she has gone on to participate in numerous exhibitions and projects in the UK and internationally. Most notably, she represented Kenya in the 57th Venice Biennale and participated at this year’s Dak’Art Biennale. She is also one half of the collaborative duo Duck & Rabbit Projects. In this interview, the artist gives us a glimpse of how she arrives at her art, her inspirations, and aspirations.
In Conversation with Devin Cecil
Devin Cecil -Wishing is a New York City-based artist and teacher who uses traditional oil painting techniques to create highly rendered still life paintings known for their vibrant light effects and sumptuous color harmonies.
In Conversation with AHMED DICKINSON CARDENA
Described as “a true pioneer” (Classic FM Magazine), award-winning Cuban guitarist, Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas, is one of today’s finest performers of the Cuban classical guitar school. Ten years ago he came to London from Havana to study at the Royal College of Music, and has made his home here ever since. Leila Segal met him, to talk music, Cuba—and navigating two cultures.
In Conversation with Jenn Nkiru
In 2019, Nkiru was chosen for the Whitney Museum of American Art and was a co-recipient of the Jarman Award in 2020. She won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 2021 for her work on Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl. For the video, she also received a CICLOPE Award, a Soul Train Music Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a Cannes Lion.