Progressive tools, found objects, a stimulating muse, plus room to freely create and captivate—just the everyday essentials when it comes to making visions come true inside the studio. Drilling down to business, cutting up what is whole and piecing together their ideas, artists can be found in the perfect mess of tools, tape, paper and spray paint.
Bushwick Daily called on our Arts & Culture team plus guest contributor Candace Moeller to find out what item the artists of Bushwick Open Studios can’t live without. Based on the responses I’d say that if we were stranded on an art-making island with only one possession (wouldn’t that be cool!?) we know that Bushwickians would be in good (and crafty) hands!
Akinori Matsumoto, 56 Bogart – Bamboo inspiration
While exploring a range of kinetic sound objects, Akinoro explained to us, “If I were to give just one thing I couldn’t live without in my studio, it would be bamboo, since this material is the main source of my artistic ideas.”
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Man Bartlett, 41 Varick Ave. #303 – Plenty of pens
Amid the many detailed drawings inside of his studio, I was immediately drawn to the stack of .20mm pens which he uses to meticulously create his works. Ever the essential item, I can tell.
—Katie Killary for Bushwick Daily
Alyssa Gorelick, 17-17 Troutman St., #261 – Curiosity reigns
Alyssa’s puts it simply and truly: while working in her studio she can’t live without her curiosity—that itch to see what happens if…
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Peter Fox, 1013 Grand St. – Melty delights
The paintings inside Peter Fox’s studio seemed to be melting! Upon a closer look, we realize his essential items—acrylic and gel—are actually frozen in time as they mix together and drip freely down the canvas.
—Terri Ciccone for Bushwick Daily
David Nakabayashi, Brooklyn Brush Studios – Umbrella collections
While talking about his paintings of Ridgewood’s neighborhood landscape, David revealed his can’t-live-without-item as part of a new sculpture series—tons of discarded umbrellas which he finds on the streets and repurposes for a second life in his studio.
—Katie Killary for Bushwick Daily
Liv Mette Larsen, 386 Jefferson St.
– Solitude
Liv cleared out her building’s garage to provide a raw and gritty setting for her Fragmented Bushwick exhibition during BOS. She explained that solitude here is key to working successfully with her surroundings.
—Danielle Kalamaras for Bushwick Daily
Edye Weissler, 386 Jefferson St. – Ilya Bolotovsky
In working with Liv Mette Larsen to curate their group show at The Garage, she claims she can’t work without her muse—an image of the late Russain abstract painter Ilya Bolotovsky.
—Danielle Kalamaras for Bushwick Daily
Christopher Rodriguez, 120 Thames St. #405
– Coffee fix
Proving vital to a productive day in his studio, one thing Christopher Rodriguez can’t live without is his Hario Coffee Dripper. For this photographer, making a fresh cup of coffee is a warm-up ritual before getting to work!
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Ashley Zangle, Good Work Gallery – Bubbles and tunes
Ashley shared her works of bubble bath pours and epsom salt mixed with pigment inside Good Work Gallery where she told us, “I can’t live without my radio to listen to all day. And my bubble bath!”
—Jen Shipon for Bushwick Daily
Scott Goodman, Owner/Director of Good Work Gallery – Storefront space
We caught up with Scott outside of Good Work Gallery’s storefront where he shared, “I can’t live without a storefront for light, and because it’s my studio that I switch out on the weekends so we can exhibit other art.”
—Jen Shipon for Bushwick Daily
Jonathan Chapline, 56 Bogart St. – Photoshop tools
This fine artist cannot live without his laptop! According to Jonathan, “I use Photoshop as a drawing tool, and it informs my painting practice just as much as my paint and brushes. I can make composition and color decisions on the computer that contribute to the disjuncture and flattening of the space in the actual painting.”
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Julia Bland, 17-17 Troutman – Essential Scissors
Scissors—that necessity you can never seem to find when most needed! “I am always looking for them and can never find them. You could say the necessity for scissors is always present,” says Julia.
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Noa Leshem-Gradus, Brooklyn Brush Studios – Window view
Noa shared installation and video art, plus filmed footage of happenings in her studio during BOS. According to Noa, it’s “the window in my studio…because I never go out! And I need to be reminded that there’s life going on outside.”
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
Shawn Gallagher, 56 Bogart St. – Reading Tina Turner
To get himself into the right creative mood, Shawn reads passages from Tina Turner’s autobiography. “In my art I choose random and commonplace things, like these passages in a book, and try to focus all of my attention on them. In so doing, these things become symbols with new narratives.”
—Candace Moeller for Bushwick Daily
