Hopper Prize Journal: Insights Into Contemporary Art

Elizabeth Tremante

Tremante discusses making art as a kid, an early epiphany, developing long term bodies of work & new paintings that deftly address a male dominated art historical canon

Elizabeth Tremante, Grant Finalist

Yi To Studio, 2021

Yi To Interview

The artist discusses creative thinking, making art as a means to solve questions, universal patterns that shapeshift into archaic forms & the things shared between humans

Grant Finalist, Yi To

Lynnea Holland-Weiss

Lynnea Holland-Weiss discusses growing up in a creative family, a background informed by dance & its impact in the studio, working through collective grief, & inspiration drawn from both contemporary & historical figures.

Grant Finalist, Lynnea Holland-Weiss

Christopher Desanges

Christopher Desanges on developing a photographic voice, light as a form of art-making, reflecting on a complicated campus experience, & photography as a tool to convey feelings of discomfort and anxiety.

Christopher Desanges, Grant Winner

Kira Dominguez Hultgren

Kira Dominguez Hultgren discusses a diverse education, the intimacy of weaving & the impact of mentorship, the performance of identity, & evolving cultural touch points.

Grant Winner, Kira Dominguez Hultgren

Erika Long

Erika Long discusses making art since childhood, long stints in the darkroom, the necessity for sex positivity & inspiration derived from both Instagram and cinema.

Erika Long, Grant Finalist, Interview

Jessica Alazraki

Jessica Alazraki discusses drawing as a gateway to her career as an artist, inspiration derived from Mexican arts & crafts, how color plays an important role in recent work & finding inspiration and critque through close ties with her children.

Grant Finalist, Jessica Alazraki

Dominic Hawgood

Dominic Hawgood speaks on his mother as an early inspiration, an ever evolving practice that incorprates a range of technology and imaging, a modular approach to making & a fascination with CGI.

Dominic Hawgood, Grant Winner

Rebecca Frantz

Rebecca Frantz discusses art making as a mode of expression and communication, exploring the human figure within architectural confines, how our bodies exhibit our memories & the natural ebb and flow of a studio practice.

Grant Finalist, Rebecca Frantz

Seon-jeong Wang

Seon-jeong Wang provides insight into a complex studio practice & discusses feeling alive while painting, expressing tragicomedy through deep character explorations & affirming misfortune as a means of finding beauty within tragedy.

Grant Finalist, Interview, Seon-jeong Wang

Elisa Valenti

Elisa Valenti discusses her methodical practice & strong creative drive, being influenced by classical themes, human rituals & how they shape us & finding inspiration in feeling out of control.

Elisa Valenti, Grant Finalist, Interview

Eli Craven

Eli Craven discusses how music influenced his early production, identity & the image's potential to reshape conventions, inspiration derived from found objects, & exploring the relationship between collecting and desire.

Eli Craven, Grant Finalist, Interview

Leslie Foster

Leslie Foster on the process of finding a medium, evolving a complex practice through experimentation, representing multiple marginalized identities & making work that incorporates a number of moving conceptual pieces.

Grant Finalist, Interview, Leslie Foster

Paolo Arao

The artist discusses music as an introduction to art making, re-connecting with his Filipino heritage, pushing a rich textile history into a contemporary context & discovering new artists beyond social media.

Grant Finalist, Interview, Paolo Arao

Iren Tete

Iren Tete on being both a creator and discoverer, her love for Brutalist architecture, approaching materials with optimism & the synergistic relationship between language and objects

Artist, Grant Finalist, Interview, Iren Tete

photo by Shawn Inglima

Melissa Joseph

Melissa Joseph on early memories of making, exploring new materials, working intuitively & a broad practice in which all things are interrelated

Artist, Grant Finalist, Interview, Melissa Joseph

Lindsay Buchman

Lindsay Buchman discusses the tactile experience of making, an ever evolving approach to materiality, art as the basis for community & anger, protest, and dissent as justified responses to the current climate

Grant Finalist, Interview, Lindsay Buchman

Joshua Gutierrez

Joshua Gutierrez discusses alternative photographic processes, working on multiple projects simultaneously, the rewards that come from moving between ideas & Instagram location tags as pocketable, virtual queer spaces

Grant Finalist, Interview, Joshua Gutierrez

Erin Fostel

The artist discusses the connection between recent drawings & her early vision, a family supportive of the art making process & cultivating an interest in acknowledging the resiliency required in rebuilding one’s life

Erin Fostel, Grant Finalist, Interview

Joshua Hagler

Joshua Hagler discusses his earliest memories of making art, balancing studio time as a new parent, transitioning from the “It-World” into the “You-World” & the profound effect of forgoing the language of consensus

Artist, Grant Finalist, Interview, Joshua Hagler

Journal

Tremante discusses making art as a kid, an early epiphany, developing long term bodies of work & new paintings that deftly address a male dominated art historical canon

The artist discusses creative thinking, making art as a means to solve questions, universal patterns that shapeshift into archaic forms & the things shared between humans

Lynnea Holland-Weiss discusses growing up in a creative family, a background informed by dance & its impact in the studio, working through collective grief, & inspiration drawn from both contemporary & historical figures.

Christopher Desanges on developing a photographic voice, light as a form of art-making, reflecting on a complicated campus experience, & photography as a tool to convey feelings of discomfort and anxiety.

Kira Dominguez Hultgren discusses a diverse education, the intimacy of weaving & the impact of mentorship, the performance of identity, & evolving cultural touch points.

Erika Long discusses making art since childhood, long stints in the darkroom, the necessity for sex positivity & inspiration derived from both Instagram and cinema.

Jessica Alazraki discusses drawing as a gateway to her career as an artist, inspiration derived from Mexican arts & crafts, how color plays an important role in recent work & finding inspiration and critque through close ties with her children.

Dominic Hawgood speaks on his mother as an early inspiration, an ever evolving practice that incorprates a range of technology and imaging, a modular approach to making & a fascination with CGI.

Rebecca Frantz discusses art making as a mode of expression and communication, exploring the human figure within architectural confines, how our bodies exhibit our memories & the natural ebb and flow of a studio practice.

Seon-jeong Wang provides insight into a complex studio practice & discusses feeling alive while painting, expressing tragicomedy through deep character explorations & affirming misfortune as a means of finding beauty within tragedy.

Elisa Valenti discusses her methodical practice & strong creative drive, being influenced by classical themes, human rituals & how they shape us & finding inspiration in feeling out of control.

Eli Craven discusses how music influenced his early production, identity & the image's potential to reshape conventions, inspiration derived from found objects, & exploring the relationship between collecting and desire.

Leslie Foster on the process of finding a medium, evolving a complex practice through experimentation, representing multiple marginalized identities & making work that incorporates a number of moving conceptual pieces.

The artist discusses music as an introduction to art making, re-connecting with his Filipino heritage, pushing a rich textile history into a contemporary context & discovering new artists beyond social media.

Iren Tete on being both a creator and discoverer, her love for Brutalist architecture, approaching materials with optimism & the synergistic relationship between language and objects

Melissa Joseph on early memories of making, exploring new materials, working intuitively & a broad practice in which all things are interrelated

Lindsay Buchman discusses the tactile experience of making, an ever evolving approach to materiality, art as the basis for community & anger, protest, and dissent as justified responses to the current climate

Joshua Gutierrez discusses alternative photographic processes, working on multiple projects simultaneously, the rewards that come from moving between ideas & Instagram location tags as pocketable, virtual queer spaces

The artist discusses the connection between recent drawings & her early vision, a family supportive of the art making process & cultivating an interest in acknowledging the resiliency required in rebuilding one’s life

Joshua Hagler discusses his earliest memories of making art, balancing studio time as a new parent, transitioning from the “It-World” into the “You-World” & the profound effect of forgoing the language of consensus

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