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Shea Hembrey: How I Became 100 Artists – Ted Talks

(Worth the 16:48 watch time)

How do you stage an international art show with work from 100 different artists? If you’re Shea Hembrey, you invent all of the artists and artwork yourself and hold your own biennial called “Seek” From large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush, watch this funny, mind-bending talk to see the explosion of creativity and diversity of skills a single artist is capable of.

Shea Hembrey was born in 1974. He grew up on a dirt road in rural Hickory Grove, Arkansas in a family of farmers, factory workers, hunters, trappers, musicians, and cockfighters. He makes art by concentrating on a singular, defined conceptual project where the ideas direct what methods and media he uses. Research is key to all of his creative endeavors while he remains a prolific maker of things.

Though always focused on developing skills on his own, he has a varied formal art education. His nine years of studying art at university include a year spent studying Maori art in New Zealand and an MFA from Cornell University. His studio is currently based in a sleepy town on the Delaware River in New Jersey.

To see more, visit SheaHembry.com and TED.com.

Matt Small: Recognition – Merry Karnowsky Gallery

UK artist Matt Small is exhibiting for the first time in the US at Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles. Recognition is a collection of paintings, drawings, and mixed media, depicting vibrant portraiture of what the artist views as “the marginalized and voiceless in society, those who are socially excluded.” Small portrays those on the fringes of society, drawing attention to those who may be overlooked, challenging prejudices and bringing forward a shared sense of humanity. Merry Karnowsky relates, “not only is he bringing dignity and recognition to individuals who might otherwise go unnoticed in society, but he also makes a societal commentary as an individual by choosing to paint on recycled materials that are often discarded and disregarded in the same manner.”

“His work reflects a remarkable control of fluidity, employing impressionistic techniques with brilliant rainbows of color applied in thick impasto, while maintaining a profound naturalistic clarity. His portraits are on found pieces of wood, metal, and concrete, often combining these materials to construct his own surfaces on which to paint. His current work is largely influenced by his 2010 visit to the Robert Shitima School in Kabwe Village, Zambia, where he worked with SWOON to create art workshops for orphaned children and raise money for the school.”

Recognition runs through May 14, 2011. For more info, visit Merry Karnowsky Gallery. For Matt Small’s previous work, visit Matt-Small.com.