CLOSING Curatorial Talk, Tuesday, March 28th, 7 – 8 pm
Shane Guffogg, Anthony Cardella & VC Projects
“THE LIFE OF THE ARTIST AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS”
Join us for this informal talk between curator and artists where they share thoughts and reflections exploring elements, influences, and rituals which segway into finding truth in daily art practice.
Located at: Rita House, 5971 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 90036
In partnership with Rita House, Parasol and VC Projects
Free to attend
A note from the curator,
Shane returned from Venice, Vienna, and Budapest last night in preparation for his upcoming exhibition. Tony will perform just two compositions. One at the beginning and one at the end. Tony and Shane plus myself are super psyched about Tuesday!
I hope you will join us for this informal talk between Shane and Tony, where they share their thoughts and reflections exploring elements, influences, and rituals which segway into finding truth in daily art practice.
Regardless of your medium, this will be a fascinating discussion about staying true to your aesthetic. Shane always speaks eloquently about his artistic process and inquiry. Tony will equally share why he might select a piece and how he drives his emotions into the music—moderated by myself, and free to attend.
Last Spring, I interviewed Tony, “A Talk about Creativity” on VC Projects Podcast “Conversations About Art”, we learned about Tony’s early beginnings, what age his first concert was and what keeps him invested today while living in Los Angeles, where there are so many influences. However, it was the topic of creativity that mostly dominated this conversation. How does Tony bring creativity into his daily practice as a pianist? I was curious to hear about his thoughts regarding interpretation. And what about innovation as an entertainer/performer? Tony’s answers are especially interesting and important to contemplate in today’s world. I look forward to Tony being a part of our conversation with Shane Guffogg where we unearth what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.
Shane and I, have published four conversations on “The Life of the Artist and the Creative Processpeering not only into Shane’s studio practice but also me referencing historical and philosophical texts. For example, we have discussed excerpts from Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit” (1807), contemplating appearance and the super-sensible world, when one loses their self to the senses. Interestingly, Hegel’s book was written as a guide to define awareness as it pertains to truth and is one of the most famous philosophical texts discussing the history of consciousness.
Another reference we have touched on is the first letter in Rilke’s book, “Letter to a Young Poet,” which consists of ten letters Rilke exchanges with a young poet from 1903 – to 1908. These letters were based on writing advice, but the great writer shares his thoughts about living. The first letter is particularly insightful, as Rilke encourages the 19-year-old military cadet to connect with his inner soul to determine if he has the substance to find his truth as a poet. In addition to written conversations, I have published Soundcloud recordings of Shane explaining T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets” and its influence on his work. Through this audio platform Shane intimately shares what prompted him to create “At the Still Point of the Turning World,” describing the great poet’s influences on Shane’s work. Just in this series alone, Shane has created over 80 paintings from 2009 – to the present.
Regarding spirituality, I have candidly asked Shane questions on this taboo subject that is not often talked about within the realm of arts. We have also discussed thoughts on transcendence, and relativity something I felt a need to discuss when referencing the 2015 painting titled, “What if Everything That was is, And Everything That is Never Was.””
One thing is certain, during our ongoing conversations, Shane truthfully answers my questions surrounding the purpose of creativity and the arts, as he shares his thoughts, introspectively measuring his experiences. I think Shane and I have published over 15 episodes not only on his work but his personal investigations, via my podcast “Conversations About Art.”There is much to explore regarding the life of the artist and the creative process. It just doesn’t end, from one artist to the next — each story is uniquely rich that connects all of history. What is so often overlooked is sharing the journey, grounding each other, and forming a community. It’s easy to forget that quite often, each artist’s practice is pursued in isolation.
A big thank you to Rita House and Parasol for giving us the space, and friendship to share our stories.
Victoria Chapman
El NIDO by VC Projects
Small to medium scale works on paper
The exhibition closes on March 28th
In 2023, Shane Guffogg returns to the Xingu series, consisting of medium to large-scale works on paper. The artist began this project in 2009. They began on the studio floor using a bottle of Sumi ink and a roll of Strathmore paper.
“I like to think of invisible threads around us that connects everything, almost like a spider’s web. If you touch one part of the web, the spider knows because it is connected. It is easy to forget or lose the idea of being inner connected due to all the white noise, which social media has amplified to a deafening level!”
The birth of Xingu came about during the same weekend the artist started his famous Still Point series. In his own words Guffogg describes the still points as
“repetition of a line that circles in, on itself, over and over, until deep layers are formed, hovering in the finite space between chaos and order.”
With the Xingu series, the opposite approach was taken.
“The paper was laid flat on my studio floor, and with quick, gestural brush strokes, the random application of ink was applied, leaving some areas of the paper clear, as if there was a tear in the black ink that allows us to see through to the white paper, making the paper both a subject and object. Once dry, I would pin the paper to the wall and draw lines in and around the black with a piece of white chalk. As the white chalk crossed over the empty areas, what was sitting on the surface of the paper disappeared into the white. These works are about the duality of all things, just like chaos and order, but from a different approach. The title, Xingu, is the name of an area where small rivers and streams come together to form the Amazon River. I think of the place, that moment, where the rivers merge, a moment of two becoming one, chaos and order, space and time.”
Anthony Cardella is a dynamic and compelling, active performer who has performed in esteemed concert halls across the United States and Europe and has won regional and national performance competitions in the United States. A Wisconsin native, Anthony moved to Los Angeles three years ago after completing his undergraduate studies at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music and has been performing, teaching, and collaborating in the Los Angeles area while pursuing further studies at the Thornton School of Music.
Anthony is an award-winning performer praised for his virtuosity, exceptionally delicate touch, and colorful playing that connects with his audiences emotionally. Anthony is known for assembling programs that showcase the full extent of his technical abilities and vulnerability at the piano in tandem while actively seeking out music written by living composers to program and showcase in addition to standard Classical repertoire.
VC Projects was founded in 2014 by British-born Victoria Chapman, who is a Los Angeles based curator and former graduate of The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston at Tufts University. VC Projects was created out of a desire to assist artists with their studio and exhibition development as well as representation at art fairs.
During the summer of 2021 El NIDO by VC Projects opened as an art refuge featuring visual and performing arts, including the written word. EN is a place for individualism, amplifying human existence. It informs a diverse community to explore noteworthy landscapes. Encouraging the cultivation of new ways to portray the humanistic need to develop dialogues within multiple mediums.
Chapman has spent over twenty-five years working domestically and internationally in a variety of means with art directors, curators, art consultants, artists, galleries, museums, and art institutions, assisting with administrative, curatorial, and exhibition planning. Chapman’s work experience has taken her to museums such as The Isabella Gardener Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Orange County Museum of Art, and Laguna Art Museum. For just over six-teen years, she also worked for Daniel Fine Art Services as an Art Director working alongside senior curators to create art collections for boutique hotels.
For the past seven years and as of present, Chapman has been the Studio Director for Shane Guffogg, whom is a Los Angeles-based international artist with a long and honorable career in visual arts, augmented reality and sound experiments. Chapman is also a published writer, speaker and mentor regarding art history, and the creative process. During 2022, she was selected as Featured Curator for “Small Talks” (England). Previously, she was featured on Calls with CURA, The Garden HIERONYVISION arts community, Art Confidential Magazine and LACP’s Conversations with a Curator (Los Angeles). Another aspect to her curatorial program is VC Projects Podcast: Conversations About Art featured on Spotify where she has produced over 24 episodes, and El Nido’s Sound Cloud, where she captures 5 to 10 min sound bites on the creative process by selected artists. In addition to producing art programs Chapman has been a selected Portfolio Reviewer for Los Angeles Center of Photography from 2020 to 2023. Lastly, Chapman is a Contributing Curator and Liaison to Casa Regis: Center for Culture and Contemporary Art, Italy and a club member of Cromwell Place, art exhibitions space, in London, England.
SHANE GUFFOGG 