“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.” -Maya Angelou

When presented with the true nature of existence – that we are insignificant life forms on a large, verdant rock filled with other life forms, hurtling through the endless vacuum of space while orbiting a fireball at relatively close range and a massive black hole further off – it is important that we are able to laugh. One must never fall into the trap of taking life too seriously. There are, of course, times and places in which it is important to adopt a serious tone, but in the grand scheme, a long and happy life can often be attributed to the ability to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Hugo McCloud spoke to us in early March from Mexico where he built a home and studios. He was asked by the Art Production Fund to join an installation opening in mid-April of vinyl cut images that will be displayed throughout Rockefeller Center. The themes of the pieces are labor, social economics, materials and environment. McCloud recently returned from Africa where he collected a number of polyethylene woven sacks from coal distributors, which are covered in coal dust. These he will use to illustrate the complexities of the coal industry. To hear more about his work, listen to the complete interview.

Brandi Twilley joined us from Brooklyn where she is at work on multiple series. One of these centers on her time at work at a grocery store in Oklahoma when she was in her early 20s and had recently dropped out of college. The series includes portraits of her brothers who also worked there and some interior scenes of the store depicting her time spent working there. Additionally, she is collaborating with her younger sister, also an artist, on a series of self-portraits. In the past, the sisters have collaborated on work with Twilley painting background and her sister adding figures, usually in the fantasy genre. To hear more about these series and other aspects of Twilley’s work, listen to the complete interview.