Artists share what challenges them most in their pratice

8 Future Fair 2023 Artists share:
What Challenges You Most in Your Practice?

Laura Berger, Ground Cover, 2023. Oil on canvas, 33”X52”. Courtesy of the artist and Mama Projects, New York, NY.

We asked five talented artists featured in this year’s fair to share their perspectives on the challenges they face in their creative practice. 

Adam Sorensen Presented by 5-50 Gallery

“Finding the identity of an individual work is the most challenging part of my practice, as well as the most rewarding. All of my work is influenced by larger themes like the changing landscape and experiencing the sublime, and are executed using a similar process. However, unique decisions about composition and color, combined with impacts from my current state of mind, create wholly individual dilemmas in each piece. Sometimes there are problems to solve, and other times characteristics to amplify. It’s in this dichotomy that I am most challenged and excited by my paintings.”

Adam Sorensen, Pthalo Mallow, 2022. Oil on canvas, 48 x 54 inch. Courtesy of the artist and 5-50 Gallery, Queens, NY.

Adam Sorensen, Owakenta (Rough Edge), 2022. Oil on canvas, 66 x 78 inch. Courtesy of the artist and 5-50 Gallery, Queens, NY.

Kate Vorona Presented BY Duran | Mashaal

“I will always be challenged by human nature and all of its complexities and nuances as a main source of inspiration, and how I can translate that onto canvas.”

Kate Vorona, Mermaids. Acrylic On Canvas, 215x150cm. Courtesy of the artist and Duran | Mashaal, Montréal, Canada.

Kate Vorona, Found in Freedom, 2022. Acrylic on Canvas, 45×55in. Courtesy of the artist and Duran | Mashaal, Montréal, Canada.

Kate Vorona, Banana Tree, Acrylic on Canvas, 130 x 90 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Duran | Mashaal, Montréal, Canada.

Chrissy Angliker presented by Massey Klein

“Being a perfectionist my process of painting is constantly challenging me. By working with an element of chaos in my practice and being true to the process of honoring paint and not dictating to it what to do, the journey can take me anywhere. Not knowing how and especially when a painting will come through can be unnerving. Some can slip right off the tongue in a day or so, but others are a way longer conversation. It can be hard, but I love this challenge.”

Chrissy Angliker, Wild Bunch, 2022. Acrylic and house primer on canvas, 40 x 30 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Massey Klein, New York, NY.

Chrissy Angliker, Cozy Corner, 2022. Acrylic and house primer on canvas, 20 x 16 in. Courtesy of the artist and Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY.

Chrissy Angliker, Sentinels, 2021. Acrylic and house primer on canvas, 40 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist and Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY.

Laura Berger presented bY Mama Projects

“Probably limits on time, as well as self-doubt, are the most frustrating things to me. I have so many ideas and directions I would like to explore. I feel like I'm only just starting to really learn my medium so I know there is a lot of growth ahead of me and there are definitely times that you wish that process could go faster! But I think any creative practice is really an infinite journey with no endpoint, which is also what's wonderful about it. So I'm trying to embrace any things I'm struggling with and know that there will always be struggles.”

Laura Berger, Ground Cover, 2023. Oil on canvas, 33”X52”. Courtesy of the artist and Mama Projects, New York, NY.

Laura Berger, Carrying Your Ghost and All Your Ghost’s Shadows, 2023. Oil on canvas, 50”X38”. Courtesy of the artist and Mama Projects, New York, NY.

Pace Taylor presented by La Loma Projects

“My biggest challenge with my practice is the medium itself. Pastel is messy and unforgiving. Once you apply color to the paper, even after erasing, a ghost of the pigment remains and you have to live around it. It’s also a highly physical medium. There’s this great quote about pastel from the artist Chantal Joffe where she says, “You can get a kind of brutality with pastel that you can’t get with paint [...] You can’t draw hard enough.””

Pace Taylor, then the day was night, 2023. Soft pastel and pencil on paper. Courtesy of the artist and La Loma Projects, Los Angeles, CA.

Pace Taylor, And You Were Gone, 2023, soft pastel and pencil on paper, 30x44in. Courtesy of the artist and La Loma Projects, Los Angeles, CA.

Guðmundur Thoroddsen presented by ASYA GEISBERG GALLERY

“I think what challenges me the most in my practice is my lifelong battle with the balance between figuration and abstraction and my fluctuating preference of one or the other.”

Guðmundur Thoroddsen, Confusion, 2022. Oil on canvas, 59 × 67 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York, NY.

Guðmundur Thoroddsen, Expectation, 2022, Oil on canvas, 47× 39 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York, NY.

Arielle Zamora presented by Kathryn Markel Fine Arts

“I am continually challenged by my innate desire for perfection in my work and how that butts up against the inevitable human hand and chance imperfections that elevate the pieces. The acceptance of the accidents is an ongoing practice, as I am simultaneously torn apart by them as well as engrossed by them.”

Arielle Zamora, Red Waves, 2022. Oil paint, joint compound, cold wax on panel, 40 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY.

Arielle Zamora, black bleed, 2022. Oil paint, joint compound, cold wax on panel, 48 x 36 in. Courtesy of the artist and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY.

Arielle Zamora, Phantom tune, 2022. Oil paint, joint compound, cold wax on panel 40 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY.

Philippe Caron Lefebvre presented by Galerie Nicolas Robert

“What I consider challenging in my art practice is that I engage in a wide range of mediums and conceptual explorations. My sculptures involve diverse mediums, such as ceramics, found objects, plaster, silicon, resin, wooden furniture filled with screws, and ephemeral installations. In addition, I am adept at working with bidimensional mediums, creating intricate graphite drawings and collages with a broad range of found images, carefully arranged using laser cut boards and coloured filter gels. My creative pursuits are founded on numerous research topics, such as experimental material exploration, spike aesthetics research, representation of mimetic behaviour found in nature as an art process, the impact of science fiction on contemporary western culture, and the heritage of historical sculptures.”

Philippe Caron Lefebvre, Maelström, 2019. Ceramic, glaze & paint, 12 x 14 x 14 in. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal & Toronto, Canada.

Philippe Caron Lefebvre, Vase aux jetons pointus, 2021. Ceramic, glaze, paint, 11 x 9 x 9 in. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal & Toronto, Canada.

Philippe Caron Lefebvre, Vase pour un couche de soleil de feu, 2021. Ceramic, glaze, paint, 14.5 x 12.5 x 12.5in. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal & Toronto, Canada.

Early bird tickets to Future Fair 2023 are now on sale. Click here to get your discounted ticket and a complimentary tote bag.