Ivana Carman
Ivana Carman in front of her paintings, “I Leave My Windows Open At Night”, Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Canvas, 60 x 96" and “Living and Dying”, Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30”
Ivana Carman (b.1991 Hollywood, FL) is a contemporary artist based in NYC. She has been interested in art from an early age as well as psychology and philosophy. Those interests have now been focused on making art that explores the nature of reality, perception, and the mind through the medium of paint.
Ivana earned her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA from Columbia University in New York.
Can you tell us a bit about the process of making your work?
My process is varied but I’m always taking from my life experiences and surroundings. I’ll usually start by drawing or painting from observation and continue investigating an idea in the studio with collage, printmaking, painting, or some combination of all three. I’m finding the combination of different mediums to be a very important part of my process as it allows me different ways of thinking through and expressing the same idea in a new way.
Tell us more about your work in the show.
The two paintings come from a period in my life where I experienced deep loss and heartbreak. So, for me the duo of “Note that Night” and “Note that Day” speaks to the blending of time one experiences in a state of loss; where days and nights merge into one.
“Note That Day”
Acrylic on Canvas 20 x 16”
“Note That Night”
Acrylic on Canvas 20 x16”
What are some references you draw upon in your work? Are there any themes in particular that you like to focus on when creating?
I’d say art history has influenced much what I do, so my work has a lot of subtle and not so subtle refences to art that I’ve studied for years. For instance, the paintings in the show have a subtle reference to Dutch 17th century trompe l’oeil still life painting of daily life objects and notes stuck on the wall. Also, my recent painting “The Blue Studio” is an obvious refence to Matisse’s work in not only the title and subject but in the way I play with space and composition.
There is an art movement called Intimism, it’s an aesthetic movement from the late 19th and early 20th century. They set out to capture the beauty that can erupt from mundane moments in everyday domestic spaces. Color, line, texture, and mark is used not to merely depict but to embody a mood of a particular space in a specific moment. The term also describes literature that deals with personal, private feelings or experiences. This movement mostly associated with Vuillard and Bonnard but there is a long list of artists, including contemporary ones, that deal with this subject matter, and I’d include myself as part of that.
Where are some of your favorite spaces that support contemporary art or design? Now that the art has an online presence, has that changed?
I’m relatively new to New York so I’ve been really excited by exploring galleries around the lower east side that show emerging/contemporary artists like Half Gallery, Thierry Goldberg, Karma Gallery and many more. I don’t think viewing art online is comparable to in-person at this point in technology, but I’m excited to see how the online art space evolves as it has great potential. My secret favorite art blog is alongtimealone.tumblr.com which I look at every now and then for inspiration.
The Blue Studio, Acrylic and mixed media on Canvas, 48 x 120”
Who are some of your favorite artists? Or who has been inspirational recently?
I’ve been looking at Romare Bearden a lot lately, he’s been one of my favorites for a long time. Also, Pace gallery recently had an incredible Rauschenberg show that I’m still thinking about. I guess both artists combine and overlap different visual languages into one image, which is something I’m interested in right now.
Do you have any shows coming up? Anything else you would like to share?
I’m about to graduate from Columbia University and our thesis show is opening on October 30th- November 20th at the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Open to the public, all you need to do is reserve your time online!
Ivana Carman’s work is included in our show “Time Wont Tell,” November 3rd - December 30th, 2021. Visit her website here or on Instagram @ivanacarman.