TAYLOR CHAPIN | REAL BIG DEALS /  by Margaret Hernandez

REAL BIG DEALS

The Hill Street Country Club presents recent works
by Taylor Chapin

June 29 - July 26

Q & A artist

What are your biggest challenges to creating art and how do you deal with them? How do you navigate the art world?

I often find myself pulled in so many directions as a young, emerging artist. It’s easy for me to feel overwhelmed by the amount of feedback and opinions I receive on what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. I am at a point in my career where I have to wear a lot of different hats to make ends meet. I struggle with balancing commissions, feedback from others, and making my own work. Creating my own work is a priority, and this requires a consistent awareness of allocating time. I often feel pressure to please others and to “paint what sells”, and I have to make an active effort to avoid falling into this trap and make sure my own practice is truly and honestly expressing my own interests and desires.
I feel like I’m just starting to learn how to navigate the art world. I am on the front end of my career, so I feel like first and foremost, I am trying to get exposure for my work. This being the case, right now I say yes to every opportunity that comes my way because each opportunity is a chance to learn and share my work with others. I find that through each experience into the various offerings of the art world, I learn a little bit more about how I want to navigate the art world going forward.

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DANA TRIPPE | SCI-FEMME /  by Margaret Hernandez

SCI-FEMME

The Hill Street Country Club presents recent works
by Dana Trippe

Opening reception: May 24 7-10PM
featuring a special live performance from Jesse Jo Stark and
DJ Set by Riley Hawk

Dana Trippe is a local photographer branching into the Sci-Fi elements of creative expression through photography. Her work has been featured in galleries locally and at the national level, collaborating with musicians more recently for flyers, album covers and more.

Q & A artist

How did you begin working with photography?

My dad was always building me and my sisters the most creative and elaborate things throughout our childhood. The one that always stuck out was the indoor treehouse that took over my sisters entire room. He paper mached the outside so it looked like a real tree. They could sleep up top, and even had a bucket with a pulley system so they could transfer things to the top of the tree from below. That’s just one thing of MANY. He was the coolest dad.


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MEGAN WIRTH | FIFTH GRADE CRAMP /  by Margaret Hernandez

FIFTH GRADE CRAMP

The Hill Street Country Club presents recent works
by Megan Wirth

Showing: September 8 - October 15
Opening Reception: September 8, 2018 7-10PM

Q & A artist

What inspires your work?

Visually my work is an escape from reality, and that’s exactly how I feel when I make it. I create a whimsical world I would want to live in, but I still can’t ever fully escape the gritty aspects of life. Either the subject matter or the way the materials are used departs from a perfect fantasy-land. It’s bright and energetic, but messy and awkward..

Fifth Grade Cramp - Wacky Closing Celebration (live) with special guests Sgt. Owl and Two Capital Q’s (QQ)
Recorded live using the Admiral cassette recorder
Bandcamp Link: twocapitalqs.bandcamp.com/album/fifth-grade-cramp-wacky-closing-celebration-live

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Upton | AL-SAHRA /  by Margaret Hernandez

AL-SAHRA

The Hill Street Country Club presents recent works
by Upton

Showing: August 11 - August 22
Opening Reception: August 11 7-10PM

Q & A artist

Al-Sahra will be a running exhibition of work by Mike Upton which reflects upon a middle ground between fine art and home decor. The exhibition will be closing on August 22nd withholding an array of artwork meditated towards acquiring substantial artwork in the general community’s home.

Can you tell us about your themes as an artist?

I strive to bring high-quality artwork to the everyday home and believe everyone should have the opportunity to live with beauty. My handmade limited-edition artwork is affordable and approachable, without sacrificing quality.By creating work that resists rigid explanation and using shapes that feel familiar while not always being immediately recognizable, I leave space for the viewer to interpret meaning through their own personal lens.

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CHARLES SNOWDEN | NOTHING LASTS BUT NEARLY EVERYTHING LINGERS /  by Margaret Hernandez

CSnowden Show Card.jpg

NOTHING LASTS BUT NEARLY EVERYTHING LINGERS

The Hill Street Country Club presents recent works

by Charles Snowden

Q & A artist

What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?

I’m reading books about artists I admire and their practice. One book that stands out is seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees, a biography of Robert Irwin. I listen to music that’s depressing for the most part. Lately, I’ve been trying to limit the amount of artwork I view whether it’s through visits to LA, artist talks, or social media. Despite the linear evolution of my work, I am constantly pulled in different directions by the information surrounding me. I’m trying to get better at filtering my influences.

What are your biggest challenges to creating art and how do you deal with them? How do you navigate the art world?

One of the biggest challenges I face with creating art is determining whether my work is worth it or not. I think about the idea that there isn’t a need for another straight, white male's voice in art. I am aware of the privileges that I’ve been granted based on my demographic and how that might shape my practice. I can’t escape who I am and that I want to make work based on personal experiences. However, I can make work that is sensitive, empathetic, and self-aware in the hope that there is a universal message or experience to walk away with. 

What mediums do you work with? How would you describe your subject matter?

I work with clay almost exclusively at this point, but I am not committed to the medium so we’ll see where that goes. My subject matter deals with a human desire for intimacy and connection set against feelings of distance and detachment. 

When people ask you what you “do”, how do you answer?

I’m an artist. 

Describe a childhood memory that has influenced your artwork.

I grew up listening to Motown and soul music with my mom. I used to dance with her while standing on the back of our old burgundy couch so that we were at the same height. A lot of times I find myself working alone in the studio while dancing and singing to the same music. 

Has there been a shift or change in your life or work that has led to what you’re making now? Do you see your work as autobiographical at all? 

Of course.

What is your personal message to your artwork and how does that connect to a communal and universal message?

I’m trying to visually represent emotional states that are difficult to articulate, even when the memories that perpetuate them are easy to hold onto. Anyone who has felt connected to a particular person, place, or object has also dealt with loss and the feelings that come with it.

Do you intend your work to challenge the viewer?

With my work, I think that it depends on the viewer. 

Is the creative impulse driven by a personal need to ease pain and/or satiate desire?

Both.

What three things never fail to bring you pleasure?

Olives, bread, and cured fish.

Whats your motto?

I don’t have one.