KRISTINA BILONICK

b. 1977, Washington D.C.

Kristina in her spacious studio stocked with a full kitchen, bathroom and darkroom.

Ever since she was five years old, Kristina wanted to be famous. Even her career path as a grade school child simply states “being famous”. And she is famous. Now, Kristina is a printmaker and designer living and working in Washington D.C. She is the Program Director at the Washington Project for the Arts and shows her work throughout the area and boasts her own line of clothing and accessories. We talked about her fame and her artwork at her Gold Leaf studio that she shares with two other artists (recently featured in the Washington Post) located in downtown DC. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/09/24/GA2009092402858.html

Above: Recent work "Kristina Says Relax", and Right, supplies and her art on the wall.

Below: Her most recent installation based and interactive piece was at Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia this past July 2009.

Drawings by gallery goers from Bilonick's show at Honfleur Gallery this past July 2009.

“The works in this show capture my fascination with fame as a child.” She gathered a lot of her inspiration from a journal she kept that expresses her desire to be famous. “Although a specific reason for this fame is never defined. The confidence that comes out in my early writings surprises me when I look back at it now. It makes me wonder if individuals start out with a certain amount of confidence and enthusiasm for life that is slowly weathered down by our surroundings, social situations, demands or pressure to succeed in some kind of traditional career.”

Her work for Honfleur comprised of a limited edition vintage book where she incorporated herself into the “how to” steps of drawing a face of herself as a young girl. By including herself into the pages with famous actors of the time period such as Burt Reynolds and Brooke Shields, she vicariously is able to relive her desire to become famous and in such a way that invites others to do it for her by having them go through all the necessary steps in this step-by-step process. See the video clip above of all the drawings from the gallery goers. Moreover, she ultimately rewrote history by creating a piece of evidence that proves she was amongst the stars. As her statement suggests, perhaps it is something we only possess so vigorously as a child and as we get older discover this desire can so easily be demystified by the daily events of adulthood. It’s poignant and absolutely honest.

Kristina writes: “Throughout my own personal journey, I continue to carry around a little of this ‘famous’ feeling I had when I was a child-like a lucky penny in my pocket….I think everyone deserves to feel a little famous in their own way, whether it be amongst family and friends or as a person who is active in their community.”

And she gives viewers the opportunity to further her cause by hand printing t-shirts with motifs and designs all inspired by her childhood as well as her current surroundings. Kristina’s work can be admired and purchased at this weekend’s Crafty Bastards Fair in Adams Morgan this Saturday, October 3, 2009. Watch the whole video clip above to see some of her amazing t-shirts and neckties that will be for sale at Crafty Bastards!

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/craftybastards

T-Shirts drying in a smaller space of her studio. The neck ties ready for sale!

Her two dimensional work on the wall with her shirts and neck ties.

Contact Kristina and see more of her work at www.kristinabilonick.net

ELLIOTT WRIGHT

b. 1984 Junction City, Kansas

In front of a current painting he's working on.

Elliot Wright is a young artist from Richmond, VA who currently lives and works here in Washington, D.C. He received his BFA from Frostburg State University in 2007. I caught up with him at his northwest studio to talk about his works in progress and the direction he's taking them.

Here is an excerpt from his artist statement.

"The influence of this work is on the death of my father on April 2007, and the possibility of his presence occupying my daily life. The work was a means to address this episode and to cope with what had happened that spring. In the works “Lullaby” I use interior space to ground the work in a spatial context of my apartment. The geometric figures occupying the space represent my father’s presence in a particular moment. As for the newer work I wanted to incorporate flesh without rendering the figure. I felt it was necessary to illustrate these episodes in a series called Nausea. Nausea, written by Jean-Paul Sarte is an existential novel in which the main character experiences bouts of nausea and later reflects on his experience. These visions of buildings, grass, trees, people, park gates suddenly loose their definition, their individuality becomes only an appearance a veneer, this veneer had melted leaving soft monstrous masses naked and in chaos."

Many of Elliot's paintings have the juicy texture and blending of oil paint as Cecily Brown and Jenny Saville, both of whom he mentioned as painters he admires. The colors are intense and the thick application of paint is a nice contrast with the representational spaces he continues to depict.

One drawing table displaying his most recent paintings which are about 6" x 6" on wood. The large painting is approximately 60" x 50" on canvas. Another table with his paints and brushes. A wood airplane hangs on the wall which reminds him of his dad who was a pilot.

Elliot taking out an older (2007) piece with the geometric presence (he talks about the symbolism of these shapes in the video clip) imposing into the representational space. The painting he is talking about in the video is wrapped up ready to go to a show. His smaller pieces on wood are juxtaposed next to painted pixelated text. One of them says "Run Boy Run Run". Installing them all at eye level in one neat row lends the work to become more narrative and the textual insertions function like visual pauses.

Although he is busy working for Artex most of the time, he is also showing his work regularly. He has a show this year at the Saville Gallery in Cumberland, MD. He currently has a show at Prince George's County Community College. The opening reception is on Thursday, Sept. 10 from 6 - 8p.m. Elliot's work can be seen on his blog at www.elliottwright.blogspot.com and he can be reached at elliottjw@gmail.com

ELISE RICHMAN

I am thrilled to feature Elise on this momentous day in history. Although she is no longer living in the DC area, Elise was once connected to DC when she was a graduate student at American University and for a short period there after. I recently met up with her in Seattle and was amazed how her work has evolved since we last showed together back in 2002 at The Warehouse in downtown DC. 

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Elise with Billy in her studio.

Born Seattle, WA

Elise currently lives and works in Tacoma, Washington. She is an Assistant Professor in art at the University of Puget Sound where a solo show of her new work just opened at the University's Kittredge Gallery entitled "The Island". www.ups.edu/x4542.xml

Inspired by her geography, Elise creates sculptural mixed media topographical paintings that evoke a time and place that is unique to the San Juan Islands which comprise the Seattle and 

Tacoma, Washington region. She writes in her statement "This series exlores the relationship between engaging in an artist process, evoking a sense of place, and expressing times passage."

 The Title Wall to "The Island" now on view at The Kettridge Gallery at the University of Puget Sound.

Elise:

"The process of stacking pieces of oil and acrylic paint, as well as scraping and thereby revealing underlying wax glazes, evokes geological phenomena that occur over the course of time. Each layered piece exhibits the history of its making, which acts as a layered metaphor for time's passage. Landscapes embody time just as psychological topographies bear the imprint of time passed through the course of generations." 

A close up detail of the layers and layers of dots.

 Some of the finished horizon works hanging and some in progress lying flat. 

 Please check Elise's website at www.eliserichman.com for more information on all her shows. Elise is also curating a show at the SOIL gallery in Seattle: www.soilart.org

PAT GOSLEE

Born San Diego, CA

After a long hiatus due to spring and summer craziness, I am happy to resume my posts with a studio visit I had this past spring with DC artist Pat Goslee. I was first introduced to her work back in 2002  and I was excited to see the transformation from the the textured encaustic pieces to now the layer upon layer of delicately painted forms oozing with tons of color on canvas and on gesso board. Combining water based oils with spray paint Pat talks about what makes her tick. You'll be able to see her paintings in person at three venues this fall including two solo shows. The first one at the McLean Project for the Arts www.mpaart.org opens on Sept. 11 and runs through October 25. The opening reception is on Thurs. Sept. 18 from 7 - 9 p.m. The second solo show will be at the District Center Arts Center (DCAC) in Adams Morgan www.dcartscenter.org.

See www.patgoslee.com for more details on these exhibits and her work. 

"I know only one thing, that I know nothing" -- Socrates

Pat:

"Some people can't tolerate this state. It requires a kind of intellectual courage in the face of questions for which there aren't easy answers. Questions that straddle the line between theoretical physics and philosophy. Questions about the nature of existence itself. 

At the same time, there's a freedom in the unknown. Freedom to operate through intuition, tapping into what Jung called the collective unconscious. "

"I never begin with an idea. Rather, I use what I call a shotgun method, working on lots of different paintings at the same time. Some days, I mix up only one color and apply that one color to 24 different paintings. Some days, I simply sit in my studio for a length of time. Because my studio is in my house, I can do this while brushing my teeth, in my underwear. The main focus of my current work is pattern, which I first came to through encaustics 11 years ago. At the time, I had been layering hot wax on top of various materials -- cheese cloth, mesh netting, etc. -- in order to build up surfaces to a sculptural level. Eventually, I put the wax aside. I just picked up some of the materials that I was using to build up the surfaces and I dipped those into paint and applied them directly to the canvas -- a kind of decalcomania, like Max Ernst used to do. In the layered patterns I created, I discovered a kind of infinity that was not just space, but energy. More and more people seem to be making this kind of work: Inga Frick, Carol Brown Goldberg. "

 Pat's garage, where she spray paints.  

Views of her works on paper hanging in her home and Pat talking about her work in her studio. 

"One thing that excites me is how pattern and layering represent how we store "stuff" (information, emotional bagage, awareness). What do we take in? What do we filter out? What layers need to be removed, or rearranged, in order to change? There's a lot of back and forth when I work. Foreground changes to back ground, and background pops in to foreground. I can get lost in the patterns, whether it's cutting stencils or just drawing with colored pencils on a painting on paper. "

Two paintings on paper hanging in her studio.

Showing me the kind of spray paint she uses.

A large painting on canvas titled "Charisma" which is on her website. 

Pat's desk.


 

Works in progress.

"The most important thing is to try and stay open. Knowing that I dont know, but letting knowledge flow through me. We are all energy conduits, blocked to a greater or lesser degree. My paintings are a way of visualizing that energy."

www.patgoslee.com