Inspiration

The first time I heard Sonic Youth, I felt as if a kindred, angry sister was singing directly to me. Decades later, I now see her in a new light – as a visual artist. Design Office: The City Is A Garden is her new installation at 303 Gallery that features large-scale works on paper.

Anna Malina is an talented artist who explores self identity through Polaroids, journals, and animated GIFS. I really love her dreamy, introspective work. Bringing the GIF – traditionally used for memes and other silly stuff – to her fine art practice inspired me.

I am crowning Myriam Dion as the reigning goddess of the xacto knife! She takes newspapers, one of the most disposable and forgotten of objects, and turns them into lace. Intricate, insanely detailed patterns emerge from the pulpy pages of the daily news. Although many individual pages stand on their own as beautiful works of art, it is her large scale installation pieces that take my breath away.

Claire Morgan has a unique approach to sculpture. She combines natural objects such as butterflies, taxidermy specimens, and dandelion seeds with broken bottles and torn plastic to create graphic, impactful exhibits. I use exhibits deliberately, because her sculptures evoke butterfly collections or museum displays due to their meticulous construction.

I am in absolutely in love with Heather Evans Smith's dreamy, feminine, surrealist photographs. Like moments from a fairy tale I never read, they feel familiar and I find myself entwined in the imaginary worlds she creates in front of her camera.

I'm entranced by the images created by Seung-Hwan OH in his Impermanence series. Aptly named, he shoots medium format, positive film and then soaks them with a variety of microbes.

I am absolutely in love with these dress illustrations by Grace Ciao. She uses flower petals – and the occasional vegetable – to create her stunning creations.

Dustin Yellin creates large figurative collages sandwiched in between layers of glass in his series Psychogeographies. I'm fascinated by the soft, pliable paper being pressed between the smooth, hard glass.

Do Ho Suh is a brilliant conceptual artist working with large scale sculptural installations. His bio describes his works as "site-specific installations that question the boundaries of identity. His work explores the relation between individuality, collectivity, and anonymity." His work is intimate and personal while exploring modern concerns with privacy and sharing.

Chris Kindred created these sketchbook drawings of the Baltimore riots for The Nib and they are powerful indeed! The rawness of his style suits the rawness of emotion. Wide shots of the riots alternate with intimate portraits of participants.