THE FOCUS

I create mixed media work with paint, resin, and found materials that explore the painting as an object. The paintings maneuver through all axes, and shared space is emphasized as compositions spill over the sides or towards the viewer. Zach Searcy, Studio Visit, June 2017 Zach Searcy, Studio Visit, June 2017 My work explores systems and their exposure of human pliability. Materials and textures become fixed in a way that the paintings become something that could be held or touched - a...

In film, video, sculpture, and installation, I explore the relationships between personal, collective, and official memories as they unfold in history, cityscape, and across national borders. Often, I employ my own body and subjective position in order to investigate questions of translation and belonging. Masha Vlasova, Studio Visit, May 2017 Masha Vlasova, Studio Visit, May 2017 I was a Soviet citizen; I am a U.S. citizen; the status of my Russian citizenship is uncertain. I take this site of translation—...

Rachel Bubis: You’re a Painter. But you seem to approach painting in a very specific and deliberate way, with the intention of re-contextualizing the medium. Would you say this is accurate? John Tallman: Yes, that’s right. If we unpack this specificity in terms painting, I would say it started with [Jackson] Pollock. Pollock took paint as it was, he didn’t try to falsify the characteristics of the paint. He put the liquidity in the center of his wo...