“Art is the child of nature in whom we trace the features of the mother’s face.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Art reflects the facets of life, letting them gleam forth into the world where their inspiration may be ignored or unseen. The artist acts as a mirror holder, giving us a view of the world that we may otherwise miss. This can be enlightening – or jarring – always having the effect of changing viewers’ perspectives. Art is powerful, meek, boisterously loud and whispering in the background. It is everything at once and nothing at all.

m burgess spoke to us in mid-March from their studio at the Elizabeth Foundation. They are presently at work on a piece that began about seven years ago that is just reaching a point where it can be edited into a whole. They have been spending as much time in studio as possible, and while there they attempt to achieve presence. Some days this is tremendously difficult. m watches pigeons swoop from the roof of the studio building. They have built something of a relationship with the birds, offering them chickpeas at the window. This act of noticing the pigeons and communicating with them in a way has been a profound act of presence. To hear more about m’s work and pursuit of presence, listen to the complete interview.

Cynthia Daignault joined us from Baltimore. She recently closed a show at Kasmin Gallery as well as maintaining another at the New Museum Triennial. She created pieces for both shows knowing they would be up at the same time, so she felt strongly they should each stand on their own. The show at Kasmin, titled As I Lay Dying, explores the subject of Gettysburg National Military Park. This show simultaneously speaks to all the work she’s made before while touching on her experience of the last few years of pandemic. To hear more about this and Daignault’s other work, listen to the complete interview.