The Ordinary Instant

Deborah Zlotsky, Ghost lines 3, acrylic gouache on panel, 2025, 14” x 11” Photo courtesy of Liz Dejeuness.

“Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.”

-Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking

Sometimes it’s only when we look back that we see how quickly everything shifted, how one quiet moment became the turning point. Life’s changes rarely announce themselves, they arrive in the middle of the ordinary, a phone call, a conversation, a step forward we didn’t know would carry us somewhere new. As the season turns, we’re reminded how much of life unfolds in these small, unseen moments.

Simone Kearney joined us to discuss her current show, DIGS, on view at Guest Gallery until November 8. The exhibition includes work that is part of an ongoing project involving hand-carved sculptures on rammed earth pedestals and watercolors. Her work has also been shown recently at Koki Arts in Japan. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.

Deborah Zlotsky sat down to talk about Genealogies, her exhibition at Kathryn Markel that wraps up October 11. Our conversation turned to the stark contrast between viewing a work online and in person. Zlotsky says her work viewed online has a graphic quality, while in person the many shifting colors, drips, smears, and discolorations lend an entirely different character to the work. To hear more, listen to the complete interview.