A certain sense of optimism
- frida@artyardbklyn.org
- Aug 21
- 11 min read
Updated: Aug 21
Even though it is still “summer vacation,” ART YARD BKLYN artists are continuing to make, explore, read, travel, visit exhibitions, and share what they’re discovering along the way. This recap brings together some of that activity: new work in progress and freshly finished pieces, sketching adventures, exhibitions near and far, books we’re reading and revisiting, and plenty of inspiration gathered along the way. From Brooklyn to Maine, New Orleans to Rio, Paris to London, AYB artists are staying inspired, engaged and connected.
This is what we’ve been up to!
Art Updates
This first update comes from two perspectives: the artist and the model. Alex Lopez recently painted an impromptu watercolor portrait of Ariel Abdullah, while Ariel documented the experience from her side of the easel.
Alex writes: “The first painting is of Ariel! She sat for an impromptu watercolor portrait, and it was a lot of fun. The background was the last thing; I asked her to give me three colors (if I remember correctly), and I made it into a sort of glowing effect!”
For Ariel, the experience is part of a much longer creative exchange. She writes: “I love, love, love watching Alex work! He recently got a new setup, and he seems happy with it!”
Alex in the studio and Models View. Photos by Ariel Abdullah
Ariel also shared a glimpse from her point of view—posing while Alex worked on her portrait. She explains that she plans to curate a wall featuring the portraits Alex has made of her over the years, including two earlier paintings not pictured here. “This is actually a wall I’m going to curate of all the portraits Alex has made of me throughout the years. Not pictured are two more paintings he’s done years ago!”
Alex also shared a second, unfinished painting from an independent series following the story of a boy who travels back in time to meet his parents as children. In this scene, the boy’s father has been attacked by a vicious cursed beast. His mother places him on their cow and carries him home, while a grackle follows behind, fearful because he knows that curses can be passed on. “I am looking forward to finishing! ❤️🫂 Can’t wait for AYB Advanced Studio to start up again!”
Candy Heiland shares: “I finished my painting Monday!”
Leah Eliopulos “created a new watercolor piece and added a red wash and some more colors to an old piece depicting a swimming pool that I made in an AYB zoom session. Both water color and the inspiration for the other piece was a hot summer day and ice cream cones.”
Leah Eliopulos, Ice Cream Cones and Swimming Pool, 2026, watercolor on paper
Delphine Levenson completed a piece she started during Summer Session.
I (Meridith) just finished a new Magical Things watercolor.
Florian Kiniffo-Neven du Mont has been experimenting with watercolor, and shares his latest piece in progress.
Evelyn Beliveau is in Maine with spotty internet and limited cell service, yet they managed to send this lovely example of their lakeside sketching.
Marie Roberts sends several observational drawings of South Brooklyn’s salt marsh, including a few Osprey sightings! The Osprey also known as sea hawk is a large raptor, reaching more than 24” in length and a wingspan of 71”.
Marie Roberts, Salt Marsh Drawings, 2026
Kevin Anderson organized an AYB picnic and art-making event with Richard Lee Chong and Simone Awor in Prospect Park. The group met near Prospect Park West, 7th Avenue, and 3rd Street, bringing art supplies and spending time painting from observation.
The gathering also became an opportunity to talk about artistic inspiration and how to translate personal feelings and observations into artwork.
Kevin focused on finding beauty in the ordinary. He began with pencil before transitioning to pastel, taking inspiration from nature and the details of his surroundings. He carried that same approach into a drawing of his bedroom window, slowing down to observe how light interacted with each part of the structure. “Finding the extraordinary in the mundane is definitely a hard skill, and I think it’s important to develop it.”
Kevin Anderson, Picnic Drawings l, ll, lll, 2026
Richie used the outing as an opportunity to experiment with oil pastels and explore color relationships: “As someone new to oil pastels, these were a test of color studies! Not only was the value captured as per usual, but complementary colors were used on each end and blended at parts to accomplish that.”
Richard Lee Chong, Picnic Drawings, 2026
Travis Pereira reports on a recent visit to a figure-drawing studio and café in Jacksonville, Florida, where he encountered a growing community of local artists and creatives.
Travis writes: “I found another figure drawing studio/cafe—there were local artists and other creatives. They supplied free art, creative, music and health supplies, and resources available. For the last two years they have been building a community that seems to be growing. Thankful to have experienced it. If anyone visits Jacksonville, FL and wants to explore a bit, they should visit Solune Coffee.”
What We are Reading
Sebastian LeBossiere reports: “I love Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Bloomsbury, 2000) because of the honest way he talks about his pursuits in the culinary arts. The ups and the downs, which was very comforting to hear coming from someone who was already 20+ years into his career. It also helped cement how similar the life of being a creative is whether you’re using kitchen utensils, oil paints or musical instruments.
Adji Ngathe Kebe texts: “I’m traveling in St. Lucia currently. I’ve mostly been out enjoying nature. I’ve been revisiting literature I love and am rereading Shakespeare’s Othello which read in high school for a play and we got to act it out. I loved it then and love it now.
The entire play is a dramatic roller coaster ride. There’s the beautiful love story between Othello and Desdemona, which is unfortunately destroyed by Iago because he’s jealous. As the reader you know what Iago is doing to Othello and you have no choice, but to witness him spiraling. There are so many moments you want to interfere, and that’s a testament to Shakespeare’s storytelling!”
Othello book cover and Orange Sunset. Photos by Adji Ngathe Kebe.
I (Meridith) am re-reading The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World by Paul Fisher (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), and one of my favorite aspects of reading a deeply researched biography is the way it allows you to connect the dots—to other artists, writers, friends, and, equally fascinating, to the particular places and social worlds in which they lived.
In The Grand Affair, I’m especially enjoying the thread of friendship that begins in Sargent’s childhood with the writer and art critic Vernon Lee, the pen name of Violet Paget. The two families were neighbors when they were children, and their friendship continued throughout their lives. Sargent’s 1881 portrait of Lee is one of my all-time favorite Sargent portraits: painted in a three-hour sitting. Just look at those glasses!
Because I’ve spent so much time in Rome, I particularly enjoy imagining Sargent’s world there. During the winter of 1868–69, his family lived in a many-windowed house atop the Spanish Steps, beside the Trinità dei Monti, with sweeping views over the city. Fisher’s description makes it wonderfully easy to picture the setting—and equally easy, with a little imagination, to erase today’s automobile traffic and replace it with horse cabs and hired carriages, the sounds and movement of Rome as Sargent would have known it. I recommend this book to all of you Sargent fans!
This morning I read an article about The Other Anguissolas: Four Forgotten Renaissance Women Painters Take the Spotlight, highlighting the upcoming exhibition W̶o̶m̶a̶n̶ Painter at the National Museum in Oslo.
I love Sofonisba Anguissola’s paintings. This feels particularly AYB pertinent both because we have several artists interested in portraiture, and because we have several AYB families of artists!
The article focuses on Sofonisba’s four artist sisters—Elena, Lucia, Europa, and Anna Maria—whose work and stories have largely disappeared from the art-historical record. Sofonisba became the celebrated one, but her sisters were also trained as painters, often by Sofonisba herself. Some of their works were lost, others misattributed, and some are only now being reconsidered.
I especially love the family aspect of this story. The Anguissola sisters learned from one another, worked within the same artistic community, and passed knowledge down through the family. Sofonisba’s famous The Chess Game, for example, depicts three of her sisters.
Exhibitions We Recommend
Candy Heiland “went to the Whitney Museum see the Whitney biennial in its final week, but it was a show on the second floor of the Artist, Mabel Dwight that really touched my heart more than anything else! The show is lithographs of her drawings 💕”
Briana Camacho enthuses: “I went with my friend Somani to an art exhibition at Salon 94 in upper east side. We waited on line for some time but the wait was worth it.
The exhibition is by CJ Hendry, a New York based artist from Australia. Her work explores material culture and transforms everyday objects into playful, thought-provoking installations. (This is our second positive review of this installation, Vyomika wrote it up last week!)
There was a pile of beads / charms of her art in a huge baby blue bathtub and the idea was to get in and start digging. We searched for our favorite pieces and the exhibition invited us to create our own bracelets and necklaces. Even if you choose to not take anything home the sensory experience is worth it.
Briana enjoying the exhibition!
Within 5 min. I forgot that I had been waiting on line for an hour in 95% humidity. The clinking of the beads and the slight pain from sitting on them felt relaxing and for those 45 min. I was immersed in this child like play. Digging and finding new charms, looking around and seeing whatever had made. I think the feeling I got matched with the playful art that was there that day. Over all great experience if you want to make a quick stop to play!”
I (Meridith) visited friends in Connecticut over the weekend, and what a treat it was to slow down with a cup of coffee and draw in my sketchbook—a beautiful handmade journal I received just last week! I delighted in the company of my friends, took a long hike through the bucolic landscape, and even spotted an osprey!
I also had the opportunity to visit the Yale University Art Gallery, followed by a very short run through the Yale Center for British Art—they were closing within minutes!
At the Yale University Art Gallery, we began with the historic collections. With light streaming in through the huge many paned windows it proved quite the setting in which to view the antiquities. I particularly enjoyed the ancient painted terracotta panel depicting Mithras the Hunter, excavated from the ancient site of Dura-Europos in modern-day Syria.
Gallery view and Mithras the Hunter. Photos by Meridith McNeal.
From there, we moved on to the contemporary art, which is top-notch and beautifully installed. Here are some of my favorites:
Edward Hopper, Rooms by the Sea, 1951, Barkley L. Hendricks, APB's (Afro-Parisian Brothers), 1978, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Diagram of the Ankle, 1982, Martin Wong, La Vida, 1988, Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2006, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Malcolm X 16, 2016. Titus Kaphar, Shadows of Liberty, 2016, El Anatsui, Society Woman's Cloth (Gold), 2006
Florine Stettheimer’s Carl Van Vechten was a particular delight. Just look at those purple socks!
At the Yale Center for British Art, we had only minutes to spare, but even that brief visit was worthwhile. In the lobby, we saw Rina Banerjee’s Take me, take me, take me . . . to the Palace of love. The monumental, fantastical installation—an evocation of the Taj Mahal constructed from what appears to be red plastic wrap (!), steel, copper, shells, faux birds, and other found and manufactured materials.
We managed to squeak in several of John Constable’s cloud studies. Of course, I had to send photos to Jazz!
Fatima Traore writes: “New Orleans was an exciting place to be—not only for the beignets and grilled oysters, but also for its incredible artistry and culture. From the live music and talented singers filling the streets to the galleries and public art throughout the city, there was never a dull moment. I especially enjoyed walking through the Arts District, an area known for its galleries, exhibitions, and original works by local and contemporary artists.
Ivanka Nechyporuk, The Card Geese, 2025, Henry James, Rose, 2023, Larisa Ivanika Clevenger, Oyster Shell, 2012, Marc Clauzade, Untitled, 2014, Muyaka Shitanda, Presence and Absence Blue, 2026
I also visited the Historic New Orleans Collection, which offered a deeper look into the city’s history, culture, and artistic traditions. Seeing the artwork alongside historical objects and stories helped me better understand how deeply art is connected to the identity of New Orleans. What stood out to me most was how art seemed to exist everywhere—from formal gallery spaces to murals, architecture, music, and the creative energy of the streets.”
Noel Rockmore, Original Jazz Band, 1963, Kalli Padgett, Out of the Blue, 2018
Lilo Lewis, who is currently in Rio de Janeiro, writes: “I visited Rocinha, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas, and learned about the artist Wark. He’s currently sharing his art with the world, and I was so impressed by his gallery and studio within the favela and by the bright colors he uses.”
Wark—whose full name is Marcos Rodrigo Neves—is a self-taught artist and pioneering graffiti artist from Rocinha. His colorful work is perhaps best known for his distinctive angel figures, which appear throughout the community and across Rio. He founded the Instituto Wark, a nonprofit arts organization that offers graffiti and drawing workshops to children and young people in Rocinha and uses art to transform public spaces.
Installation views of artwork by Marcos Rodrigo Neves (Wark). Photos by Lilo Lewis.
Fisola Famuyiwa went to Anish Kapoor’s exhibition Ha Makom (a Hebrew phrase meaning the place, used to express the universal presence of the divine across space and time) at the Hayward Gallery in London. Fisola adds: “Kapoor’s use of deep reds and blacks with different textures (some reminding me of coral reefs or blood), made me wonder if he has fully surrendered to something spiritual, something feminine…beauty in the jagged, violent, ugly process of birth and death.”
Anish Kapoor, Ha Makom. Photos by Fisola Famuyiwa. (Use arrows to scroll images.)
Ty Fletcher writes from his travels: “I was in Paris last week and I saw Entre deux soleils (Between Two Suns) an exhibit by Amadou Camara Guèye at Hoop Galerie Paris (located at 63 rue de Saintonge, 3rd arrondissement).
They're a Senegalese artist that studied at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-arts de Dakar. He often depicts the struggle of the blue collar workers in urban Dakar. I stopped to look at the exhibit because it reminded me of Basquiat's paintings. There is a certain sense of optimism that is gleaned from these images.”
Upcoming Exhibitions
Tiger Strikes Asteroid NY
1329 Willoughby Ave, Suite 2ABrooklyn NY, 11237
Rock, Stone, Steel and Rope
Jacquenette Arnette | Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow
Curated by Aisha Tandiwe Bell
Artist Talk Sun., Aug. 22th, 4-6 pm
Opening Sat., Aug. 22nd, 6-8 pm
Closing Sun., Sept. 27th
Open every weekend from 1-6 pm; closed Labor Day weekend
Eleventh Hour Art
61 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Opens Sun., Sept. 20th RSVP here.
Living Systems: Collective Power in Motion
A dedicated group of New York environmentalists and artists spent the summer visiting local environmental agencies, governmental offices, community gardens; learning from international advocates and leaders; conducting research; and threading together collaborative and personal stories linking environmental and social justice. Resulting artworks Including work by Iviva Olenick range from video and sound to artists’ books, sculpture, assemblage, painting and more, each passionately recommending ways to improve the health of local soil, air or water.
PS Fatima Traore brags that her cat "Kente got into his first calendar for the month of February!"
Comments