Interview

Jordan Robin
Age: 21. Hometown: I was born in Honolulu and moved to L.A. when I was 10. I lived in Beverly Glen Canyon, and I liked it because there were deer behind my house. Currently resides: I live in actual East Williamsburg, east of the BQE—not the Craigslist Williamsburg. Medium: Everything. I draw and make books. I’m also a tambourine musician. My band is called Cheap Champagne. I’m currently working on a volume of zines with my friend Aiya. I make drawings that are really much more like collages because I love putting things together on different kinds of paper. They’re geometric, and I use pastel and red ink because it reminds me of a heartbeat. what’s your Dream project? I just want to share my music with people. I really want to master the Omnichord. It’s an autoharp that creates tones using a touch pad. Artist hero: Maybe Yoko Ono. She reveals so much of herself. I think I connect to that because I try to expose myself too. I don’t know her, but I feel like I have a sense of who she is. Favorite younger artist: I fell in love with Rita Ackermann’s work when I went to her studio to drop off a V magazine a year and a half ago and she pulled out this really simple pencil drawing of all of these heads—ones that kind of look like her. I just thought there was something really lowart, graphicnovel about it, but then she inserts those little guys into big collages with glass and they are elevated. Favorite Gallery: The Journal Gallery in Brooklyn. I intern there. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is a massive collaboration. It’s much more than people—it’s a space where creative people can find each other and fuse their energy and make explosions. But instead of nitrate and hydrogen, it’s with paints, cameras, scanners, tambourines . . . you name it.

Launch Mediaplayer »

Juan Antonio Olivares
Age: 20. Hometown: Mexico City. Currently resides: Harlem. I go to Columbia. Medium: Photography, sculpture, Photoshop. I’m doing photographs of beautiful guys at dawn. I think it’s a good test to see how that person really is. I’m also painting things people have whispered to me. Artist hero: Courbet. He was a narcissist and a genius without ever forgetting his manners. Favorite younger artist: Terence Koh. He reaches the essence of love in his work. Favorite Gallery: Bortolami. I like Thilo Heinzmann, who exhibited there recently, and I liked Richard Aldrich’s last show there. Day job: I work for designer Garrick Gott in the studio he shares with Koh. I assemble books and take photos of the work I assist on. If you could change one thing about the art world, what would it be? More of me. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is a beehive. It’s a good sting. If you’re allergic, it doesn’t matter.

Launch Mediaplayer »

Kyle Thurman

Age: 22. Hometown: West Chester, Pennsylvania. Currently resides: East Village. Medium: Mostly painting and sculpture. I have always used photography, and recently I’ve even started to make some videos. Right now I’m making works that deal with creating an archive or collection. It’s very autobiographical. I’m working with the theme of Unsolved Mysteries, which is a show I used to watch as a kid with my dad. I’ve made a few videos with my dad recently and have more in the works. I also just curated a group show called “New Deal” with my friend Matt Moravec. The show was comprised of young artists from New York City. We hope it worked as a platform for younger artists. What’s yourstudio like? It’s really small. My studio is my apartment. There are a lot of Xerox copies, books, canvases, photos . . . I work best alone. I just kind of live with my work. Artist hero: MartinKippenberger. He worked in all mediums and never really had a single style. His work makes me laugh, which is a good thing. Favorite younger artist: Urs Fischer, particularly his last show at Gavin Brown where he made work out of the gallery space rather than work for the gallery walls. I love his sculptures that decay or disappear.hobbies: Surfing. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is currently emerging during a time of change without too much to lose. It’s important that the artists help each other out.

Launch Mediaplayer »