Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Soterakis and Emily Dingman.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Emily and I met in college at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Currently, I am based in Brooklyn, NY and Emily is working in the Heights in Houston.
We have an opening on August 3, 6-9 pm, at the Winter Street Gallery in Houston called “Observance of Form”. We collaborated to explore the meditative process between the creation of form and space, fusing our two different styles.
The inspiration for working together started while viewing the Rauschenberg retrospective at the MoMa last summer, where we bonded over a love for his work. Emily was stranded in NYC during Hurricane Harvey and we toured museums and art galleries as a distraction from the natural disaster. Then, once back in Houston, Emily was curating a group show called “Come Together”, and invited me to collaborate on a piece. It was so interesting and fun to work together that we decided to keep the dialogue going. I have been traveling back and forth from Brooklyn to Houston to work on this series with her and it turned into this 30-piece exhibition, “Observance of Form”.
We have very different artistic styles – Emily is an abstract minimalist painter, and I’m a representational artist who works with different mediums like collage. It was really interesting to merge our styles and see what we came up with. It really broke me out of my comfort zone and introduced me to new materials and processes.
Please tell us about your art.
I create art that reflects the 21st-century landscape. I feel like in this day and age of climate crisis, painting only romantic nature scenes would do nature a disservice. My work is a part of a dialogue, questioning how environmental preservation can take place in a “throw away” society. I see my art as a call to action, and it is a form of activism.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I would say, building a community of like-minded artists who are supportive, thoughtful, and kind is a challenge that takes years to cultivate. Once I developed a community, things got a lot more exciting and my career started to gain momentum. Balancing this and giving yourself uninterrupted quality time in the studio, creating your art, is another piece to the puzzle.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Observance of Form
Opening Reception August 3, 2018 6 – 9 pm
On view August 3 – 5, 2018
Collaborative Artwork by Elena Soterakis and Emily Dingmann
Winter Street Studios Gallery
2101 Winter Street, Second Floor, Houston, TX 77007
https://www.facebook.com/events/1931345530263767/
Elena Soterakis
elenasoterakis.com
Instagram: elenasoterakis
Emily Dingmann
emilydingmann.com
Instagram: emilydingmannart
Contact Info:
- Address: 2101 Winter Street Studio A1
Houston, TX 77007 - Website: elenasoterakis.com
- Phone: 516-398-8483
- Email: elenasoterakis@gmail.com
- Instagram: elenasoterakis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esoterakis
Image Credit:
Sculpting With Time: Whitney Henderson Douglas.
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