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#WhatMatters
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Who are you? What is at the center of your universe? What matters to you? Why? How is that reflected in your work? Can you share it with us for the world to see? Who you are and what you contribute matters. Don’t forget it! See. Sense. Create. Connect. We need each other... 

#WhatMatters


by Capucine Safir

When I create a piece, what matters is my instinct. I rarely know where I’m going. I‘m driven by the feelings at the moment M. Direct carving and abstraction allow that. To determine whether a piece is finished or not, what matters is if I understand it and if I’m able to stand up for it.

​What matters to me is that people think beyond good, bad; like or dislike. My sculptures contain deep emotions and I want them to be transmitted. Art must challenge people!
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Capucine Safir is a Miami-based French Artist, born in Paris. After many years working in the movie industry, Capucine graduated in interior design in Sydney, Australia where she lived for a few years. In 2011, back in her country, she started carving her first block of limestone and it instantly triggered a deep emotion. Capucine soon found her own style through soft rounded shapes. "Soothing", "pure" and "atypical" are, some of the adjectives, which best define her work.

For more information on Capucine Safir, visit here. Enjoy! 

Invisible Room & Colors 


by Kyoko Takei 

#WhatMatters
 
Invisible space between objects or conversations and the flow of time are my interests in my architecture projects and art works. Even though the medium has been changing, I have kept these themes throughout creative process.
Designing houses was my childhood dream. I always drew a floor plan after getting back from somebody’s house. That was much more fun for me than drawing dolls or flowers like other girls. It was a 2-D rendering of B&W pencil lines on paper, however, I could imagine the rooms and colors all over the drawing. I also played around making my own tiny house using the Japanese folding mattress.
My model has just 3 simple walls. Such minimal room creation from my childhood has influenced my most recent art works ‘Architecture Project’ and embroidery 'Book Project'. If we have 6 plates, it would be fine. Half of 6 will work just as well. Even 2 or 1 would be ok. However, a lot of people do not even have 1.
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On the other hand, my paintings and resin covered sculpture art works are all about color reaction and interaction. That’s when I try to concentrate on straight forward artistic expressions.


#WhatMatters


to Marcella Stranieri

Hello! My name is Marcella and I am the artist behind @marcella.draws. I have dark brown hair and am very proud of my left handedness. I am an avid reader, currently reading "Madame Bovary", I am also an avid museum goer, I consider the National Gallery of Art in DC to be my home away from home. When I go there, nothing in the world is bad. I start every day with a piping hot shot of espresso, and from there I can conquer the world.
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​When I was in school, I truly believed that the only things that mattered were art, and the feelings behind them. I had such visceral reactions to art, I felt the weight of the importance of Titian, the raw emotion of Rothko, the significance and enduring beauty of Giotto, that smaller details like graduating with a job and having a financial plan just seemed to melt away. That didn't end up working out for me, so while I looked for a sustainable life, I took all that I loved from high art: the looks in the eyes, minute motives of a background character, the beauty, the alms to the past, and I looked for them in real life and in myself. It wasn't until much later that I started drawing those observations and posting them online.

My drawings are everything I observe and feel both within myself and strangers on the street.  I owe this to the art that has shaped my perspective throughout my life. Art and human creation are still what's most important to me, now I just see it everywhere instead of only on a page or in a museum.  

Turning in Time 


by Kinga Augustyn

As a concert violinist and recording artist, I try to communicate something significant with every concert I perform and with every album I record. I search for meaning and depth. Lately, it’s not just on a subconscious level. I think, analyze, and then make decisions regarding program choices and interpretation.

The most important aspect of music making is communication. Music is for all people. Its purpose is to touch hearts and communicate feelings, experiences, knowledge, and more. We have to remind ourselves of that although it is actually so obvious. 

Among my most recent activities is the Naxos release of an album featuring music for violin and orchestra by Romuald Twardowski. He is a Polish composer, living and working in Poland. Mr. Twardowski studied with Nadia Boulanger. His musical journey was influenced by various cultures and composers. I first got acquainted with his repertoire about three years ago. I immediately liked what I heard. A year ago, I initiated the recording of his violin works. I collaborated on it with Torun Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Mariusz Smolij. Romuald Twardowski’s music is full of beautiful tunes showing serious compositional skills. Every piece, of the four works I recorded, is different in terms of the musical language, harmony, character, and structure, among others. Each is unique. I especially love his Violin Concerto as it has depth. Spanish Fantasy, Niggunim and Capriccio in Blue are lighter. All are audience-pleasers.

Unfortunately, Mr. Twardowski’s music is not that well known outside of Poland. I would like to help change that. I think that his compositions are quite wonderful. They are definitely worth listening. Helping to popularize Romuald Twardowski’s violin works is my purpose (or at least one of my goals) with this album. It is what matters to me with this project. Recently, I received a message from Mr. Twardowski saying he loves the album. His message matters to me, too. It made me happy. Read more...

#WhatMatters


by Jan Clizer

My paintings and music are personal expressions of appreciation for cultures I was not born to, but oddly feel very much at home in. Created in response to the overwhelmingly strong influences of my own Scottish/Cornish/Irish and German ties, they are my way of honoring not only my own, but a large world population sector's visceral connection to the culture, landscape and history of Scotland and Cornwall, in addition to inspiring rural spots in the US.

I try to capture and ’lift up,’ if you will, some of the good bits of the ‘real’ landscape and culture ― dramatic leaden skies, misty shorelines, wide grins, soul-wrenching music, salty cod and chip, vivid blooms, centuries-old customs, dank mossy churchyards, ancient buildings, weathered boats, cream teas!     
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It is my emphatic belief that providing education and fostering interest in the preservation and growth of our various cultures is vitally important to the healthy existence of mankind and the planet, wherever we may find ourselves.



​Jan Clizer's professional painting career stretches over two and a half decades and far from the Pacific Northwest, across the Atlantic Ocean. Her latest focus has been a large commissioned series of representational landscape work celebrating the beautiful, rugged Okanogan Country of her native Washington State, made possible by Scottish musical connections! A lifelong passion for Scottish and Celtic cultures strongly influences this versatile painter’s subject matter. She paints, exhibits and plays fiddle in both Scotland and Northern Idaho, as time and painting responsibilities permit. Her paintings are collected and commissioned on both sides of the Atlantic, while selected images are available as quality reproductions. For more info, visit Jan's website.

#WhatMatters


by Peter Burr

"What matters is being able to parse an idea from an object. As an artist, I like to play in that messy in-between where something is both. in 2018 there have been so many examples of conflict erupting because of the tension between the idea of something/someone and the presence of it. It feels important, as an image-maker, to embrace that tension and weave together experiences that challenge us to experience both simultaneously."
 
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Dirtscraper by Peter Burr


​This Friday, December 14th, Peter Burr will be taking over his favorite cinema in New York: The Redstone at the Museum of the Moving Image. He will be presenting Dirtscraper on loop from 9 pm to midnight as part of the museum's SIGNAL TO NOISE evening program. In addition to the installation, Peter will be performing a live AV set with Laura Ortman, and Martha Colburn will be showing off a triple-projector film performance. The event is free and includes an open bar, so RSVP here to make sure you get in.
 
Dirtscraper is one of Peter Burr's newest work and it is one of 2019 Sundance Festival Selections. We share Peter's excitement about this well-deserved achievement. Bravo Peter! Dirtscraper will be featured at the Sundance New Frontier exhibition for the duration of the festival. If you find yourself in the festival zone in January know that Peter plans to be there with the work and he always likes to see and greet friendly faces. ​

#WhatMatters


by Jared Hendler

We live in an incredible time. The democratization of media has enabled anyone to broadcast and connect directly with likeminded individuals and communities that are most meaningful to them. My work documents the effects that technology and social media culture have on our society. I am fascinated by our need and obsession with creating our own identities; banal, creative or just plain ludicrous. From individuals simply seeking connection - to others with wider ambitions who make a living by growing audiences that eclipse those associated with traditional celebrity. While some are driven by pure narcissism, the underlying human need to connect with others on some intimate level is the most interesting as it requires us to publicly expose a part of ourselves not often seen. The public creation of personal identity, combined with the emergence of a ‘new’ celebrity for a new era is what I bring to life in my work. In homage of traditional portraiture as a representation of our times, my work is a reflection of who we are now.
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​My portraiture celebrates the online personalities who are impacting our society and shaping our culture.


Drawing & painting throughout childhood, I emigrated to the United States receiving my BFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Following my education, I moved to New York and worked within the advertising industry on digital and social media campaigns for large, multi-national brands. I witnessed the seismic effects of technology and the unprecedented power and opportunity it gave individuals to reach large audiences directly. Many communities who were previously unrecognized or misrepresented now had a voice. Working with online influencers lead me to portray the online personalities shaping our culture. 

More information is on my website or via my Instagram
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