On this episode, I'm joined by Otobong Nkanga as we discuss her latest commission, Cadence, on view at the MoMA now through summer 2025. I first discovered her work when I wrote about her earlier this year for the summer issue of Sculpture Magazine.

Otobong Nkanga, a multidisciplinary visual artist born in Nigeria and based in Antwerp, Belgium, explores themes of memory, identity, and the complex relationships between people and their environment. Nkanga’s art is deeply rooted in storytelling, using materials like minerals, textiles, and organic substances to narrate humanity's interaction with land and resources.

Nkanga's work has garnered international acclaim, including numerous exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as Tate Modern, Castello di Rivoli, and the Venice Biennale. In 2019, she received the Sharjah Biennial Prize and the prestigious Ultima Prize for Visual Arts in Belgium. Her ongoing project Carved to Flow, which merges art, community, and sustainability, exemplifies her commitment to creating dialogues around ethical consumption and interconnectedness. Nkanga's innovative work continues to influence contemporary art, prompting critical reflections on the ties between ecology, culture, and the global economy.

On this episode I'm joined by Jammie Holmes as we discuss his work and practice; the journey that led him into art and the focus of his practice today.

His exhibition, Morning Thoughts, at Marianne Boesky Gallery is on view when we sit down to talk about his origin story and some of the ideas he’s investigating in his latest body of work.

Incorporating portraiture, symbolism, and written text into his work, Holmes intersperses reflections on social, cultural, and political concerns with deeply felt meditations on notions of family, home, and Blackness. He is a storyteller whose determination to imbue his work with his own subjective, lived experience is itself a subtle, effective political gesture.

His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including: Afro-Atlantic Histories, which traveled to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Dallas Museum of Art, TX.

On this episode I'm joined by Kandy G Lopez as we discuss her practice on the eve of the closing of her two person show with Aminah Robinson at ACA gallery in Chelsea. In the exhibition viewers were presented with her mixed media, fiber, and stained glass works.

Lopez is an Afro-Caribbean visual artist, eager to be challenged materialistically and metaphorically when representing marginalized individuals that inspire and move her. Her works are created out of the necessity to learn something new about her people and culture. Lopez is interested in developing a nostalgic dialogue between the artwork and the viewer.

This episode was recorded before the results of the 2024 US Presidential Election.