The Latest on the Blog

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Chefas Projects Presents “Meet Me at the Mothership” by Emily Wise

Chefas Projects presents Meet Me at the Mothership, a new solo exhibition by Portland-based artist Emily Wise. Through radiant, high-chroma paintings, Wise explores femininity, maternal presence, and the symbolic language of nature. Blending mythology, memory, and surreal landscapes, her work invites viewers into contemplative spaces where connection, care, and transformation unfold.

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Daniel Arsham: How to Break Into the Art World and Build a Career Nobody Can Ignore

Artist Daniel Arsham shares how he built his own gallery at 21, landed representation with Galerie Perrotin, and created a global art career on his own terms. In this episode of The Create! Podcast, he talks about his new book Future Relic, why failure is a superpower, how brand collaborations funded his practice, and what it really takes to break into the art world - no connections required.

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Stillness and the Shore: A Conversation with Ali Hall

For Bay Area painter Ali Hall, the California coastline is both subject and sanctuary. Working in atmospheric abstract realism, she transforms ocean horizons and shifting skies into softened, immersive memories shaped by light and emotion. What began as a personal return to painting during a period of recovery has evolved into a deeply intentional practice centered on restoration, reflection, and connection. In this conversation, Hall shares how acrylic layering, intuitive mark-making, and creative wellness workshops all stem from a desire to create moments of stillness in a fast-moving world.

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Visual Love Letters to the Earth: A Conversation with Nicki Ault

Under vast prairie skies and shimmering northern lights, Nicki Ault finds her deepest sense of belonging. Based in Saskatoon, the contemporary Canadian painter creates luminous landscapes that act as visual love letters to the Earth. Guided by intuition, memory, and a profound emotional connection to the natural world, Ault translates late afternoon light, boreal forests, and endless grasslands into paintings filled with warmth and humanity. In this heartfelt conversation, she reflects on discovering her identity as a Highly Sensitive Person, embracing spontaneity in the studio, and reaching major milestones that affirmed her path as a full-time artist.

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Breaking Through: An Interview with Kuan-Hsuan Lu

In her bold digital compositions, Kuan-Hsuan Lu transforms flowers, hands, and glass containers into a visual language about growth, protection, and the courage to break through. Now based in New York after moving from Taiwan, Lu reflects on identity, distance, and the emotional terrain of building a life between cultures. Through saturated color, strong composition, and symbolic storytelling, she creates space for viewers to see their own resilience mirrored back to them. In this thoughtful conversation, Lu shares how fragility and strength coexist in her work and why the digital medium remains essential to her evolving practice.

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Light and Landscape: An Interview with Anelia Torres

From her Los Angeles studio, Anelia Torres creates work that bridges sculpture, digital design, jewelry, and surface pattern. Inspired by Southern California’s beaches, semi-desert terrain, art deco landmarks, and mid-century architecture, she blends real places with memory and imagination to craft pieces that feel both modern and emotionally resonant. In this conversation, Torres reflects on growing up in a family of artists, embracing Adobe Illustrator as a sculptural tool, and her commitment to creating art that honors light, beauty, and possibility.

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Touch, Wonder, and Creative Courage: A Conversation with Leisa Rich

For multidisciplinary artist Leisa Rich, creativity begins with touch. From early childhood hospital stays to immersive, interactive installations, her practice bridges fiber art, recycled materials, 3D printing, laser engraving, and AI. Guided by curiosity and a fearless embrace of experimentation, Rich creates vibrant, pseudo-Utopian environments that honor animals, celebrate tactility, and invite viewers into moments of wonder. In this candid conversation, she reflects on creative freedom, aging boldly, and the courage to resist being placed in a box.

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Where the Visible and Invisible Meet: A Conversation with Kendra Larson

In her luminous paintings of smoke, shifting light, and dense Pacific Northwest forests, Kendra Larson invites viewers into a space where landscape becomes both emotional mirror and living system. Based in Portland, Oregon, Larson reflects on awe, folklore, environmental consciousness, and the thin boundary between the visible and invisible. In this thoughtful conversation, she shares how residencies, teaching, and gallery leadership inform a practice grounded in presence, wonder, and the quiet intelligence of place.

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Art as Sanctuary: Aunia Kahn on Survival, Transformation, and Finding Joy

For Aunia Kahn, art began as a lifeline. What started as a deeply personal act of survival has grown into a vibrant, multidisciplinary practice grounded in symbolism, sanctuary, and transformation. In this intimate conversation, Kahn reflects on navigating chronic illness, rediscovering traditional media after years of digital work, and finding joy alongside resilience in a career spanning more than two decades.

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Is Art the Missing Fifth Pillar of Health?

Discover the groundbreaking science proving that art is essential medicine, not a luxury. In this episode, Kat sits down with Professor Daisy Fancourt to discuss her new book, Art Cure, and research showing how creative engagement acts as the "Fifth Pillar of Health". Learn how making art activates the brain’s reward centers, reduces cortisol, and can even influence gene expression in your DNA. Whether you are a professional artist or a collector, this conversation provides the "validation ammunition" you need to embrace your creative life force for better mental and physical longevity.

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Color, Mythology, and Motherhood: Building a Dreamlike World with Emi Avora

Join host Kat (Ekaterina Popova) on The Create! Podcast as she chats with painter Emi Avora about the evolution of her color-driven practice across Greece, London, and Singapore. Discover how Emi balances motherhood with a dedicated studio life, her recent recognition as the winner of the Women in Art Prize, and how relocation can radically reshape an artist’s visual language. This episode offers a thoughtful look at building a sustainable practice and trusting the slow unfolding of your creative work.

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