Cultural commentary

INTERVIEW | Zengyi Zhao

INTERVIEW | Zengyi Zhao

Zengyi Zhao is an artist who primarily uses photography and video as his creative method. His photography revolves around the critique of inauthenticity and alienation brought by capitalism and consumerism. In his work, he visualizes the connections between individual life and grand narratives, discussing the presentation and impact of different sociocultural phenomena such as modernity and spectacle.

INTERVIEW | Sharon Rose Benson

INTERVIEW | Sharon Rose Benson

Sharon Rose is a multidisciplinary expressionist artist who delves into the essence of 'humanness' and community amidst an increasingly automated and dehumanized state of the world. Through mixed media creations, she fosters collective engagement to challenge societal norms, prompting revolutionary thoughts. She combines performance, theatricality, fashion, installation, sound and poetry.

INTERVIEW | Ramzi Mallat

INTERVIEW | Ramzi Mallat

Ramzi Mallat is a Lebanese multidisciplinary artist based between London and Beirut. His artistic practice epitomizes the complexities of cultural identity within our ever-globalized society. Drawing from a rich tapestry of theological and folkloric knowledge from the Levant region, his work challenges the conventional notion of tradition as a civilizational legacy.

INTERVIEW | William Josephs Radford

INTERVIEW | William Josephs Radford

William Josephs Radford, a Spanish-born fine art photographer, challenges conventional thought processes through his striking compositions and thought-provoking subject matters. His photography delves into controversial themes such as sex, religion, gender, and identity to convey complex emotions and altered perceptions.

INTERVIEW | Maisoon Al Saleh

INTERVIEW | Maisoon Al Saleh

Emirati artist, Author, and Entrepreneur Maisoon Al Saleh works actively as an artist in Dubai and internationally. She aims to evoke a sense of wonder and reflection, encouraging viewers to contemplate the dynamic coexistence of tradition and modernity. Each piece is a visual ode to the UAE's unique narrative, where the past and present converge in a mesmerizing dance of light, color, and cultural symbolism.

INTERVIEW | Yan Yan

INTERVIEW | Yan Yan

Yan Yan is a highly accomplished interdisciplinary designer, focusing her work on critiquing and interpreting the social landscape through the creation of artifacts and narratives infused with critical thinking. For Yan, design is a tool for exploring the truth about the world and the internal universe. Yan's works encourage viewers to reflect on their personal experiences through a systematic and hypothetical lens.

INTERVIEW | Mengjie Mo

INTERVIEW | Mengjie Mo

Mengjie Mo, originally from Yunnan, China, now resides and works in Detroit, U.S. Her life experiences coupled with extensive study and travel,  have instilled in her a critical perspective on societal issues. Mo uses her art as a means to challenge patriarchal norms and blur the boundaries that separate individuals, advocating for a more interconnected and inclusive world.

INTERVIEW | Di Tian

INTERVIEW | Di Tian

Di Tian is a New York-based new-media artist from Chongqing, China. Through his current interactive and time-based artworks, Di challenges the notion of art as a solitary experience. His current body of work doesn't adhere to a specific theme; instead, it is a canvas for exploration that covers a diverse range of subjects, including folk culture, artificial intelligence, contemporary social issues, and so on.

INTERVIEW | Lisha Liang

INTERVIEW | Lisha Liang

Lisha Liang is a Chinese artist currently living in Italy. Lisha Liang's artistic endeavors are deeply rooted in the exploration of gender dynamics and the pervasive issue of gender-based violence. Motivated by a growing concern for these societal challenges, Liang's work serves as a conscientious reflection and an invitation to engage with the feminist discourse.

INTERVIEW | Ziyi Zhang

INTERVIEW | Ziyi Zhang

Ziyi Zhang is an interdisciplinary artist based in Chicago. Currently teaching at SAIC, her work encompasses painting, installation, and interactive media, delving into unconventional explorations of human conditions. Her series Family Photo Album is an interactive, browser-based work of art, an exploration of notions of truth, cultural and generational disconnect, and the relationship between social class and art.

INTERVIEW | Misha Waks

INTERVIEW | Misha Waks

Misha Waks refers to themes related to ecology, women's rights, and minorities. He is inspired by current events, news, and images from the internet, press, and television. He explores topics related to the concepts of post-nature and the Anthropocene. He uses various means of expression; among the most important are painting, sculpture, installations, performance, and video.

INTERVIEW | Chen Yang

INTERVIEW | Chen Yang

Renowned for their versatility and innovative use of mixed media, Chen Yang specializes in digital media art, moving images, as well as painting and sculpture installations. Their creative practice is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, through which they investigate and articulate the nuanced dialogues between human societies and their habitats.

INTERVIEW | Melvin Ningyao Yen

INTERVIEW | Melvin Ningyao Yen

Melvin Ningyao Yen, a pioneering force in the fusion of digital media and theater, hails from the vibrant cultural landscape of Taiwan and now operates out of New York City. Their artistic ethos is anchored in the exploration of cultural narratives and the human condition, utilizing the dynamic realms of immersive theater and multimedia projects as their canvas.

INTERVIEW | Masaki Iwabuchi

INTERVIEW | Masaki Iwabuchi

Masaki Iwabuchi is a New York-based interdisciplinary designer, artist, and futurist. Masaki believes we need alternative visions and worldviews to overcome numerous wicked problems in this century, such as climate change, forced migration, political and social polarization, etc. Therefore, he is interested in challenging our societal structures, vested interests, and Cartesian belief systems through his works.

INTERVIEW | Tony J. Smith

INTERVIEW | Tony J. Smith

Tony J. Smith is a long-time Graphics Arts professional and self-trained artist. His paintings explore the human and ordinary side of life. He evokes a variety of emotions with each piece, allowing the observer to feel a new sense of connection. A perpetual student of life, Tony now works full-time on his art and artist opportunities.

INTERVIEW | Dana Al Rashid

INTERVIEW | Dana Al Rashid

Dana Al Rashid is an architect and visual artist from Kuwait. She has created a unique style coined ‘Modern Miniatures’ in which she uses a modernized version of the ancient Persian miniature style to tackle contemporary and relevant topics. Her artwork also focuses on social issues, historic building preservation, technological advancement, and consumerism as common themes.

INTERVIEW | Saman Qadir

INTERVIEW | Saman Qadir

Saman, also known as The Samaniist, is a talented photojournalist and artist with a rich cultural background. Based in the Bay Area, California, Saman's work is influenced by both her Pakistani roots and American surroundings, resulting in a unique perspective that captures the essence of diverse cultures and stories. With a passion for storytelling through the lens, Saman uses her photography to shed light on the untold narratives of people and places.

INTERVIEW | Jiangshengyu Nova Pan

INTERVIEW | Jiangshengyu Nova Pan

Jiangshengyu Nova Pan is a moving image and installation artist, currently based in Baltimore (USA). work focuses on human mobility. Working from the perspective of the individual, Pan’s work explores the profound transformations of space, power relations, and social networks faced by a mobile population through sculptures and videos, appropriating everyday life scenes based on her semi-fictional writings.

INTERVIEW | Ryan Tesluk

INTERVIEW | Ryan Tesluk

Ryan Tesluk is an Oakland and LA-based interdisciplinary artist and storyteller. Ryan Tesluk's art provides viewers with honest, unadulterated content that triggers a plethora of emotions. While many individuals may be uncomfortable with what they see, the fact that some may feel such discomfort when looking at his paintings means Tesluk is doing something right.

INTERVIEW | Madison Higginbotham

INTERVIEW | Madison Higginbotham

Madison Higginbotham, known as Mads, is a self-taught painter based out of Vancouver, Canada. She naturally gravitates towards portraiture and figurativism. She believes it’s the most captivating subject to paint. With its inherent mutuality, even the most mundane moments can be portrayed as powerful and beautiful. She looks at these moments as if time has slowed and the perfect soundtrack has been applied.