Summer at the Stew Residency: Spotlight on the 2024 Residents
The Summer at the Stew Residency is an annual one-month residency held at my studio that provides a dedicated space for emerging and/or mid-career artists to deepen their practice, expand their portfolios, and facilitate their creative development. The one-month residency offers an opportunity to go deeper in work they may not otherwise be able to. The residency also provides visibility to emerging artists. Following the residency, there will be a fall showcase for the DC art community to learn about the selected artist’s work. The selected artist will also be featured in a variety of communications channels, including instagram posts and newsletter features.
Julia Kagan, my Special Projects Manager, interviewed Vanessa Villarreal and Logan McDowell, the two inaugural participants of the “Summer at the Stew” residency, held at my studio.
Vanessa Villarreal is a 2024 Summer at the Stew resident who is a mixed media artist working primarily in paint and denim. She creates multidimensional, archival pieces that capture and celebrate Black experiences.
Can you share more about the connection between Black history and denim as your chosen medium?
Enslaved Africans were involved in every element of the denim creation process, and are really the reason that the material exists! Using denim in Black portraiture is a way that I reclaim the material. It was historically used as a weapon of oppression against the Black community, but I now have the opportunity to use it as a tool to uplift Black folks. The more I engage with the material, the more I learn how much weight and significance the material holds.
Given your interest in portraiture, are there particular individuals that you are drawn to capture through your artwork?
For a while, I have been creating portraits of myself and my sister throughout our lives. One of my larger denim portraits depicts us as young girls in the early 2000s - for this piece, I really leaned into using found materials in addition to denim - using a patterned piece of fabric for clothing, for example.
But I am really interested in capturing ordinary people…those who I don’t necessarily know personally. I recently saw these two men in their amazing vintage car and asked if I could snap a photo for a reference…while they did allow me to photograph them, they were a little self conscious at first. But I think that’s just the point - I want to emphasize that seemingly ordinary people are deserving of celebration through art. It’s a way that I intend to honor the humanity of the people I encounter in my everyday life.
What are your intentions for this month when it comes to the technical aspects of your work?
I am hoping to use the time spent at The Stew this summer experimenting more with my technique while taking some pressure off of myself. I really want to allow myself to embrace the process and experiment with new methods and materials, rather than being confined to creating with a specific vision in mind.
Summer at the Stew Resident Logan McDowell
Logan’s recent art show ‘Naturally’ featured a series of 12 portraits and landscapes in both oil and acrylic paints depicting Black queer and trans people in nature, creating conversation around normalizing Black and brown bodies in the outdoors in states of peace and relaxation, not labor. While at the stew this summer, they plan to delve into self portraiture.
Can you tell more about the works in Naturally? Who do they depict?
The Naturally show consisted of 8 portraits and 8 acrylic landscapes that I created within a span of four months, as I approached my 30th birthday. I reached out to a handful of people who are notable within the queer and trans community, one of them being Erika Hart who I spoke to While I am proud of the show and think of it as a success, I do think that I was a little rushed in creating the pieces and that I will benefit from some unstructured, open time to create this summer.
How have you seen your artistic practice evolve over time? Who has influenced your practice?
I’ve really been drawing since I was a kid, and then I started painting in high school…as I mentioned, I just turned 30 so that was a while ago now. I work as a full-time carpenter, so my painting has also become more advanced as I have begun stretching my own canvases. I am always looking to find ways to incorporate my different skills; blend them together.
I am a fifth-generation artist. My family members’ mediums have ranged from pottery to quilting to sculpture and now. Portraiture and landscaping are two things that my grandfather focused on in his art practice, and I have noticed a lot of similarities between my art style and his which really connects me to my family’s lineage.
You mentioned that you plan to work on self portraits this summer while at the stew. Are there overarching intentions that you have around the creation of this piece?
Personal growth is probably the first thing that comes to mind when I think of my self portrait. I am a trans and non binary person, and my transition has been very tumultuous. I often did self portraits prior to transitioning, but this will be the first one that I will be doing at this state of my life. And I’m going to be incorporating some elements of collage and woodworking to the portrait. The idea is that the piece will serve as a time capsule of what my experience has been, what it is now, and where I am going.
Do you have any other broad intentions for your summer art practice? Or anything else that feels important for you to share?
I’m from PG county, Maryland. I grew up in DC and the surrounding areas…I have witnessed the impact of public art on this city, and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to delve deeper into my practice at The Stew this summer and see myself as a part of the fabric that is the DC art community.
I have witnessed a lot of my family become known for their art much later in their lives, like in their 60s and 70s. So I am excited to push myself, get the work done, and to really push myself to follow in their footsteps and take a step forward.
