The New York Studio School DUMBO Residency was incredibly fruitful. I was given space to develop my work and explore themes and images that intrigued me, without the pressure of having to satisfy any specific aim. It afforded me the privilege of erring, navigating, and surprising myself. The privacy and the space to paint is given in accord with the School’s philosophy, which pushes students to spend time with themselves and their work in order to come across their own findings, escaping any outwardly prescribed outcomes. Being granted a space to work after finishing my MFA was very important to me. It is challenging to find footing the first year out of school without the support of professors and fellow students. It is also an exciting time to be on your own.

After traveling to Italy through the Hohenberg Travel Award granted upon my graduation from the School, and seeing several epic works of painting in loci, I was generously given a space in New York for a year that I could use, where I was able to process and work through all of the astonishing images I saw. Many paintings came out of this. The DUMBO Residency allowed me to experiment with different sizes and work in a series for the first time. My time in the studio really felt like a study. It felt like going to a library where I could go through all of the research that I could find in a given topic. Only, the topics were my own abstract experiences with color and shape, and the research was a product of my own tactile and visual exchange with the world of images. Working alone in the studio through my own catalogue of images, rather than through accounts, imaginings, or photographs of it, helped me understand the work in a personal way. I got to elaborate wordless conclusions, finding solutions that only work in one, very specific, unrepeatable circumstance.

I worked from medieval imagery to produce a body of work which spans a total of 15 paintings. Although I pulled directly from images I saw, each image became its own corresponding idea, and started to take on different contexts, meanings, and titles. These paintings were mostly small but portrayed crowds. I liked working from other paintings and it has helped me compose my own images on a larger scale. The space of medieval paintings is compressed, with multiple figures bound together and configuring a single form, with a geometry that tells the story.

The more time I spend at the Studio School, the further I am able to push my work. My respect and admiration for the ethos of the School only grows, and I am very thankful for the opportunity that I have had to work in this environment for an extended amount of time. I am very grateful to the School for giving me this opportunity, and to everyone who made it possible for me to stay here and continue to make this work.

About the Residency
The DUMBO studio space, extended to NYSS by David Walentas / Two Trees Management, is intended to foster artistic and professional independence during NYSS alumni’s transitions from full-time student to practicing artist. Each year, one to three artists from recent graduating classes are selected through a juried process for the DUMBO Artist Residency, which provides ample studio spaces and exhibition opportunities for one year.