THE FOCUS

"Seemingly disconnected, the work runs side by side like a network of logical associations and relationships, as well as a meshwork of entangled lines that move and grow. Recognizable objects that take up room are familiar and accessible. These things start to connect the area they occupy to the physical documentation of my spaces. With close investigations and observations of environments, I respond to cues with judgment and precision, describing them in sculptures, installations, and works on paper." —...

Rachel Bubis: You collect pigments from nature and make your paint. What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve learned about this process? Amanda Brazier: Using earth pigments to create is an ancient practice. With paint making, I’m learning the basics of my trade, fundamentals that have fallen mostly into the background of art education and practice. Before and during the Renaissance, artists (or their apprentices) would have to grind their own rocks and crush dried insects to mak...

Rachel Bubis: In your artist statement you explain, “My fascination with craft is one of the main driving forces in my research and yet is continually at odds with its distance from my personal history.” Could you elaborate? I assume you wouldn’t describe your own work as craft?  Ray Padrón: Craft is a word that carries a lot of baggage, which is why I use it in my statement. Though I would not describe my work as craft,...