Other Peoples Work

tobia:

“Shantell Martin, a London-born artist whose line drawings adorn the walls of private homes and companies, has made her room in Brooklyn her canvas.”

» NYTimes.

jakinaado:

After 5 with Erica Chatman at Per Populus Gallery (626 w. 18^th Chicago, IL 60616) Friday February 10, 2012

On the one year anniversary of the first show she was ever featured in 27 year old Erica Chatman had her first solo show ‘Labor of Love’ featuring a few pieces from that first featured show but mostly new works, three of which she used paint colors that she custom created. Labor Of Love which was inspired by shapes music and well a little bit a love, will be taken down this week.

How long have you been painting?

Seriously, I would probably say for about two years

What do you think is next, once you have this show do want to keep going in this direction?

Yea. I’ll still keep on painting but put it on pause for a little bit longer, but then like moving forward I want to start my own custom paint color line, which I kind of started with some of the colors, but I’m just trying to do the research, the background research on it first before I put a lot into it.

 Day Job? Blick is my day job then I work at a restaurant downtown

 I was reading on the Facebook page for this event you were saying some of the inspiration for comes from shapes and lines and even the Beyoncé album “4”?

It was more or less the feeling and the mood that I was in when I was doing a lot of the painting. I had just started a new relationship and it was like listening to that whole album, it was like, I totally get it! That was what I listened to like 90% of the time when I was painting, either that album or “Watch the Throne,” my boyfriend is a huge Jay-Z fan That’s pretty much where that came from. 

Being a true Chicagoan have ever thought of moving or felt that you need to be in a different city like New York, was that ever a goal?

Yes and no, like when I first started especially with fashion, and starting with painting I was like I’m definitely gonna stay in Chicago because the market is so small and you have more opportunities to make it. But at the same time I know that there is an audience other places, and I know a lot of my friends that have moved to New York and are doing fine, but that doesn’t always mean that your gonna do fine. So have I thought about, yea, will I do it, mmm, nah, if I get an offer yea I’ll go but if there’s no offer on the table I’m gone totally stay here in Chicago.

 What is your ultimate goal, professionally?

Well, I really want to stay with still creating things, but also helping other people. Outside of just being an artist I’m the curator here, so I book a lot of artist. I meet a lot of artist everyday working at Blick so I get to interact with people that are like me but are new and have never had the opportunities and that’s really one of the things that I love to do, is giving other people that are just as talented an opportunity to express themselves and show their work and be able to show other people and I’ve been lucky enough to be friends with someone that owns a space an lets me use. I’d like to one day, hopefully, have my own gallery space and live and work out of that space and be able to book talent and meet new talent and all that other good stuff.

click on images to enlarge

jakinaado:

Sew Monday, currently listening to Lianne la Havas -No Room for Doubt

tobia:

BLACK VENUS, Vol. 1 by Maxim Vakhovskiy. 

My good friend, Maxim, has finally released the first volume of his Black Venusportrait photography series. He’s been working on this project for many years now and it swells my heart with pride that he’s gotten to publish some of these amazing captures and share his beautiful works with all of us. Cannot wait to get my copy in the mail. Congrats, Maxim!