Artist Spotlight: L.I. Henley

 

Paper Empire: The Works of L.I. Henley

Protozoa limbs affixed by pearl joints, golden antlers framing a sea-green face. The eyes have opened, and the body radiates history: Frankenstein at its finest.

Dissecting, rearranging, amalgamating -the results are intricate beings made from what would otherwise be forgotten scraps. Paper is the primary medium, in which heaps of vintage articles and photographs become the genesis of Joshua tree artist L.I. Henley’s stunning contemporary collage work.

With an esteemed background in literature and poetry, Henley has naturally always had an affinity for words and paper. Recognizing that the written word could be manipulated into viewable works of art, she allowed her fascinations to lead her deep into the visual realm. She began cutting up paper. And adding to it. She experimented with collage techniques such as poetry erasure, blacking-out, scraping, layering mixed media, and even custom paper making. These experiments with paper eventually evolved into a cohesive series of movable, stark female figures known as her Weirdling, Dreamling, and Deer Goddess paper dolls.

            

Capra Eating the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sex  

She begins with the face, hand painted on thick quality paper, followed by outlines of the limbs and torso. Once these are cut out, she gets to building up the bones and meat with layers of micro details. These details are painstakingly cut from old photographs of flora, fauna, insects, and anatomical references (to name a few), and applied ever so delicately.  Once the body parts are intact, she adds her final magic marks - dashes of shimmering gold leaf, tints of smooth oil pastel- to create the distinctive personality of the doll.

We may call them “dolls”, yet they do not seem like toys to be messed with. As with the Deer Goddess series, their penetrating eyes are fierce, warning the onlooker to gaze but not touch. It seems they are warriors guarding more than just their feminine territory, but also their fragility – they are made of paper, after all. With these peaceful army dolls, Henley aims to “capture the paradox of fierceness and vulnerability”.

Her Weirdling and Dreamling series inspire a more dream-like atmosphere, as if naïve to the perils of the material world. With their eyes closed they float blissfully through a timeless abyss.

Dreamling (detail)

To further bring these beings to life, Henley has recently embraced stop motion to create a moving collage in the seven minute short film “Break”, which includes a soundtrack by sound artist Jonathan Maule. The film opens with a dancing Deer Goddess, who attracts a flurry of flying insects that begin to mimic her movements. Caught in the frenzy of the dance, the goddess’ limbs chaotically detach and then reassemble (much like Henley's creation process), allowing a graceful entrance for the insects to fly within and become one with her, as if to impart the peaceful message that there is no separation between us and nature.  

“Break” is just one other medium which Henley has utilized to expand her ever growing paper empire; being the experimental, multi-disciplinary artist that she is, we can expect to be met with many more surprises awaiting us at the tip of her scissors and sumptuous stacks.

Follow Henley’s vision and stay tuned for her feature show at Art Queen Gallery this December, which will include dolls of larger scale, original collage, quality limited edition prints and more.

https://www.lihenley.com/visual-art

@lihenleyart

Dreamling

Alicia Puig of PxP contemporary

Alicia Puig is the curator and co-founder of PxP Contemporary,an online platform that connects collectors with high-quality, affordable artworks.

You have been working in the arts industry for over 10 years. Can you share with us some pivotal moments in life that got you started on this career path?
Yes, of course! I was certainly very artistically inclined growing up. For every birthday and Christmas I’d receive the big box sets of crayons or combined kits of watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils - and I loved it! Perhaps the first turning point, though, was when I entered high school and I used my one free elective to study art for all four years. I had an incredible teacher whose guidance made a major impact on my life at that time. For example, when I decided I was going to apply to college for fine art, he helped me photograph all of my work and prepare my portfolio.

At the same time at home, I was being raised by a single mother, and I have to give her a lot of credit too. She was always very supportive of my decision to pursue a career in the arts.

Then in college, I became a bit obsessed with doing internships - I believe I completed around eight in total, but one of the most formative in terms of my future career was with a Delaware gallery owned by two women dealers. I’m forever grateful that they took a chance on me and introduced me to what it was like to work in the art world.

How did the idea to launch PxP Contemporary come about?
After my many internships and completing graduate school for a Master’s in Art History, I got my first full-time job working in a gallery. I learned as much as I could about sales and marketing, doing a lot of additional research and workshops on my own. Eventually people started asking me if I was considering opening my own gallery someday. Initially, I said no for various reasons but then fast forward a few years when I was living in Amsterdam and I ended up working for two different galleries that were the inspiration that I needed to realize that I could own my own company and run it exactly how I wanted to. This, coupled with my business partner (Ekaterina Popova) finally convincing me that I was ready, was the final push that led to the launch of PxP in May of 2019.

From working in the arts for ten years, I saw firsthand that it was hard for emerging artists to ‘get a foot in the door.’ I also noticed that the lack of transparency around pricing and how to buy art made it confusing and intimidating for those new to collecting. PxP Contemporary is a platform meant to cater specifically to these two audiences and to connect them. We focus on showing emerging artists to help them gain visibility and build their audience, and make the process of buying art an easy, digital-friendly experience so that new collectors feel comfortable making their first purchase.

Your career covers a wide range of activities, from being the curator and co-founder of PxP Contemporary, director of business operations for Create! Magazine, an arts writer, co-author of the book The Complete Smartist Guide, and a regular guest host of The Create! Podcast. How do you find the time for all of this?
First and foremost, I have a rolling to-do list that I update and look at every day of the week. That helps quite a bit with keeping my tasks and deadlines on track. I also schedule all meetings, calls, etc (with time zone!!!) on my Google calendar. Not to mention, I find I’m most productive when I have more to do. I guess it’s because I know I have no time to waste. I’m not a procrastinator either - my husband makes fun of me but I even love to pack for a trip a week in advance.

But more generally speaking, there’s definitely a lot of balance with rest and recharging to avoid burnout. I take regular vacations with my family or friends and at least one full day off each weekend. The past few years of working for myself has given me a lot more flexibility in my daily schedule too. Sometimes I don’t start working until later in the day so I can get errands done in the morning, for example. Ultimately, I make it work because I really enjoy what I do.

Are there certain challenges involved with pursuing traditional gallery representation that you feel differ from what artists might experience with your online gallery platform, and vice versa?
As I mentioned before, I really wanted a space that was both welcoming to and supportive of emerging artists, which is not always the case in most traditional galleries. That said, I simply don’t have the capacity to represent everyone. It would be a disservice to the artists I already do work with if I took on each new artist that approached me. I try to work with as many new artists that I think I can handle as the gallery grows and so far, it’s been going smoothly. Perhaps a bigger gallery would have the resources to exhibit more artists than I do, but there are always trade offs. Either way, I always recommend artists do as much research as possible before applying to any gallery - or decide if they really need one at all. Representation necessitates building a relationship with someone based on trust. You should always know who you’re getting into business with.

How do you foresee the rise of online arts platforms affecting our relationship with arts and culture at large?
I’m biased, of course, but I’m a fan of the move toward more online platforms and programming. Now being based internationally, it’s helped me stay connected with other artists, curators, galleries, writers, and more around the world. Creating community in this way is one of the truly exciting things about working in this industry and I hope it continues to seep into our culture beyond the art world as well. I don’t think virtual will ever replace in-person experiences with art, but when done right they can work together to enhance each other.

What do you find most rewarding about the curation process?
Seeing the final exhibition come together is satisfying after all of the work that goes into it, but making connections between an artist and a collector who falls in love with their work or an artist who becomes inspired by seeing another artist's work is something I love to hear happening as a result of one of my shows.

What is your method for determining the artists that you showcase? Are there specific kinds of qualities that you look for in artists?
At this point, I’ve really learned to trust my ‘voice’ as a curator and to pay attention to what catches my eye or stays in my mind long after I initially saw it. I look for craftsmanship and a cohesive body of work that I think would fit well with the other artists in my gallery or in a show, but I’d say I care more about professionalism overall and if the artist seems like they would be a great person to work with.

Are there any areas of improvement artists should be aware of in terms of the submission process?
Yes, I see the same issues again and again. Many of the submissions don’t quite follow the directions properly, don’t include quality images of the artist’s work, share too few artworks (it’s very hard to get a complete picture of the kind of work you do from just one piece), or try to showcase two different series in the same application (which is often confusing for jurors).

Do you have future plans for PxP Contemporary beyond what it is today?
Absolutely, so follow along to find out what they are ;)

https://www.pxpcontemporary.com/