#2015profiles

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Rei Lem is a mixed media artist, specializing printmaking and painting. Based in New York City, her work is reflective of a hyper-real consumerist society, where the explosion of information leads to the implosion of meaning. Appropriation and satire are key components to her re-presentation and critique of a world where not all things should be taken seriously.

ASL 23, F, Queens NY Represent! **QUEENS NY** the most culturally diverse county in the world. Shout out NY Mets, shout out Action Bronson, 50 Cent, Nas, Mobb Deep, Shout out TeAmo Deli on Northern.If you’re in the area hit up the Flushing Mall Food Court for roast duck over hand pulled noodle soup. YW.

EARLY DAZE When the internet started poppin off around 5th grade with AIM >> Xanga >> Myspace >> and finally Facebook in HS, too much personal shit got posted and a lot of people’s privacy got invaded. That's how internet bullies were born. As an artist, websites and social media are tools for networking.

SOCIAL MEDIA I use IG for keepin up with friends and other artists. I post mostly photos of store signs, cartoons, art, graffiti, 35mm photos I’ve taken, and things that reveal my aesthetic, visual language, and personal style. There are so many people lurkin the gram these days that the chances of them stumbling onto my IG is more likely than my website. I’ve received a few clients for handpainted signs in my DM’s haha ^o^ FMOIG @forget_a_boutit

DAY/NIGHT JOB Currently working as a production assistant for Takashi Murakami.

INSPIRATION I’m inspired by lots of types of art; cartoons (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), American traditional tattoos (Smith Street, Mark Cross), Graffiti (Curve, Droid 907, Snoeman, Post Aow, Mateo), and sign painters (Steven Powers, Margaret Kilgallen).

ADVICE Do you, player.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Uniball Ballpoint pen (BLK), SignPainters 1Shot Enamel (BLK/WHT/RED), Sumi ink and Brush, Chipboard, Bucket Paint.

ASK YOURSELF Sneaker of choice? All navy puma classics.

MORE REI! http://reilem.com/

[glrygrl-blog]

Megan Tatem creates autobiographical work of contemporary youth paradigms through photography and computer generated imagery. She lives & works in New York City.

ASL? I assume that to be translated as 'American Sign Language?' I'm probably wrong, or just exceedingly behind on the terminology that's trending or was trending. Probably both, but if we're talking sign language-- I only know the alphabet by heart. I used to study it from my girl scouts manual while under the covers with a flashlight when I was a kid. I also have a special place in my heart for sign language interpreters at concerts, they're fucking hysterical. EARLY DAYS OF AOL  OF COURSE I REMEMBER MY FIRST SCREEN NAME. I remember it like it was yesterday because I was so very proud of it. I thought I was so fucking clever. It was: L0sersRus. I think I was going through a serious teen angst/emo phase where I thought being a loser was cool. I don't know where the play on Toys R Us came from, but I liked the idea of making myself the butt of the joke. I always try and make myself the butt of every joke. I am super paranoid of my online presence. I think that's partially due to my parents. They're super secretive people and constantly reiterate that once somethings online I can never get it off. I totally get that, and for a while I'd adhere to that sort of thinking, by keeping my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts private, but now I just don't give a fuck. Online has been the focal point of a lot of my recent works: illustrating my tweets, storyboarding famous scenes from movies, meme-ing my break up. I need the internet and fuck future hirers if they're going to look at my "online presence" and judge me for it. The internet has done so much for my work. I'm actually surprised. So many people rave about how the Internet has allowed them to connect to so many other artists and introduce them to new works, but since I just recently joined that discussion I didn't think it was actually true. I've met really extraordinary people online. Online makes the submission process so much quicker. You hear an immediate interest for your work... or if you don't that usually means someone isn't really into what you've submitted, but that's okay. I've learned through the internet that there is someone that will like your work. Many may not, but one will and that's all that matters. Social media has been a super great space for me to showcase my work in an honest way. My work has the Internet to thank.

DAY JOB I have a day job. I make zero money off my work, which is disappointing because I would love to just make things all day everyday, but I'm also partially relieved that my process of making isn't altered by needing an income or appeasing a client. INSPIRATION IS FOR AMATEURS Devin Troy Strother Amy Schumer Kristen Wiig Philip-Lorca DiCorcia Oscar Murrillo KATSU JIM JOE Holton Rower Chloe Wise Richard Pryor Abbi Jacobson + Ilana Glazer Maya Rudolph Kaelynn Harris Beyoncé Wolfgang Tillmans Robyn Amy Winehouse Nakeya Brown SLUTEVERSolange Knowles FOOD/DRINK I've lived in SoHo for 5 years now and I try and constantly remind myself how fortunate I am for living in a place that was once the epicenter of the art world and a cultural hub close to 20-30 years ago. My favorite place to eat is Percy's Dollar Pizza on MacDougal and Bleecker. They've gotten me through my darkest and brokest days and while the prices of every other slice goes up, the plain cheese remains the same. Miss Lily's is a great trendy Jamaican spot that I'm sure makes people feel super cultured after eating jerk chicken there, Cuba Restaurant on Thompson has got some stellar, but pricy ropa veija. Aside from eating out, I'm mostly in bed convincing my best friends to "Netflix and Chill" and if I'm not in bed catching up on trashy reality shows on my laptop, I'm probably in Harlem in my best friend's bed watching cable. ADVICE The best advice I've ever received was from my dad. After him force feeding me Boys in the Hood-- a story about a father teaching his son the ways of life in Compton, California, he told me "there will always be a woman for every man, but there will never be an abundance of men for every woman." This was pretty odd hearing at 7 years old, but now I get it. The older I get the easier and easier it is for men to settle down. Women have to settle constantly in relationships because society leads us to believe that a guy that does just the bare minimum is more than enough. FINAL I can't work or live without a computer or a camera. A camera for obvious reasons, and I've learned to use a computer for so much more than what is expected of it. What is ASL? 

MORE MEGAN!

http://www.megantatem.com/

https://twitter.com/shitonconcrete

http://quietlunch.com/megan-tatem-being-and-nothingness/

http://www.spotlight.wafflesafterclass.com/photographers/2014/5/12/pixyt-interviews-megan-tatem#.VfwXvCB3mRt

http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/41814

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There's a lot going on in Maren Karlson’s semi-abstract, semi-pornographic, semi-flat-surfaced paintings & drawings. Karlson is a Berlin-based illustrator whose work you will recognize if you spend a lot of time trolling around Tumblr. The obscure spaces, awkwardly shaped figures and Miss Karlson’s harmonious palette are all very distinguishable. There is an underlying nostalgia in her work. Karlson’s flat graphic shapes and subtle gradients in the background have a similar feel to a retro video game. As if her denizens are on a move to the next “world”, or in this case a painting. Moreover, the work screams – gradually and gallantly – “girl power”. None of the abstract female figures are, by any means, centerfolds. Their fleshy thick thighs may remind one of Robert R. Crumb and the rippling construction of the limbs resonates with Inka Essenhigh.

Maren Karlson: “Cockroach Queen” is on view now at 99¢ Plus Gallery until September 27th

More on Maren:

http://marenkarlson.com/portfolio/

http://www.fvckthemedia.com/issue25/fan-club

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/maren-karlsons-illustrations-are-like-comics-from-hell

http://www.booooooom.com/2015/08/20/artist-spotlight-maren-karlson/

[glrygrl-blog]

Shara is a recent Brooklyn transplant from Atlanta GA and has received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Although I have never met Shara, the Internet allowed for an informal introduction: I gravitated towards Miss Hughes's work for its high-spirited brushstrokes and obscure light-hearted landscapes.

EDUCATION I received my BFA from RISD in 2004.  I haven't attended a graduate program, nor do I think I will pursue that degree.  After graduating I traveled around for several years going from residency to residency.  I found this super helpful because I could spend time making a ton of work and meeting alot of new people.  I feel like those years after school were very important to keep up the momentum of making work and connections.  In between residencies I would go home to Atlanta where I would stay with my parents and use that time to apply to more residencies and make money on the side.  I feel like in a way those years of meeting people and making a ton of work before deciding to settle in one specific city was somewhat of another type of self motivated post undergrad education.  

LOCATION I've been living in Atlanta GA for almost 5 years, but recently relocated to Brooklyn.  I'm in Greenpoint and love it.  I moved in August 2014 but am finally feeling like it's home.  Seems like it takes a while to figure out your groove...but then again, I feel like living in NYC is also about constant change so moving around alot is super common.  I'll most likely be in the same place for another year or so.

DAY JOB I'm working at a small gym in the neighborhood which is great because i can go in for a few shifts and then have the rest of the day to paint.  I like working in a completely different community outside of the art world because it gives me a break.  it's a super supportive place so it's quite different than diving deep into the art scene.  I like the scene separation.

SCHEDULE I like to work during the day.  I get there in the morning and work till about 5 or 6.  I try to make it to openings and events at night if possible.

INFLUENCE I actually look more at art books than websites.  If I come across an artist I'm interested in online, I'll order a book about them or do research, but I don't have specific blogs I read consecutively.  I look at social media for what shows are going on, and look at gallery websites pretty often.

SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is super helpful with self promotion.  Its easier to contact way more people than I have in my email list for show promotion or links to websites and new work.  It's also very helpful for being updated on what else is going on with your friends and artists/galleries in other parts of the world.

FOOD/DRINK Hmm...I guess I'm still finding my favorite (food/drink) spots.  I love the Lobster Joint, and Habitat which are both really close to me. However, I like having people over to my studio, or going to other peoples studio to hang out.  A nice rooftop is also great in the summer.

Text and images courtesy Shara Hughes, June 2015.

More on Shara:

http://www.sharahughes.com/

Art in America

Atlanta Arts

Artcore Journal