David Almeida, Seascape #016, 2020, Found balloons, 16” X 20”
Our second Artist in Residence 2024 for June and July will be Tina Hejtmanek, who lives and works between Marfa, TX and New York City.
"Using photography, sculpture, painting and drawing I create abstracted images that address concepts of temporality, perception and varying states of consciousness. I am interested in the power of nature. Symbolically, culturally, intuitively and in worship. Investigations of sacred space/land led me to explore sacred geometry and concepts of alternate space/planes. The paintings are evidence of a personal process I think of as intuitive geometry. Made with a snap line method with ink-soaked string the compositions are unplanned, the geometry is not measured. The process is highly active, performative and automatic... they are compulsive, intuitive and meditative investigations of space and geometry, real and interpreted."
Open studio hours are a good time for you to visit the Artist in Residence and learn more about their practice. During this time, the artist will welcome park-goers into their creation space and be available for conversation. If you notice an artist in their studio outside of the open studio hours, please consider that he or she may be quite focused on their work.
Friday: 11am-3pm
Saturday: 11am-3pm
The figures in my paintings are translucent or isolated parts of bodies. The absence of the body is equally as important as the positive space of the figure and is a subconscious process that relies on where my emotions physically reveal themselves.
My process always begins with a landscape to anchor the subject matter. These settings are sometimes complete fabrications, several places stitched together, or are key familiar locations from growing up and currently living on Long Island.
In my work, human elements serve both structural and decorative purposes, such as using the human foot and lower leg as foundational supports. Additionally, I embellish my pieces with fabrics and jewelry to contrast the innate desire for individuality with the material interconnectedness conveyed through the ceramic medium. My work delivers a message of humility and interconnectedness, positioning humans not as dominators but as integral parts of a broader ecological and cultural network. This approach underlines the importance of recognizing our anthropocentric biases to address ecological challenges and promote a more inclusive, globally conscious view that honors our bond with the natural world and various cultural perspectives.
My unconventional approach to photography raises the question of medium specificity. As photography has been closely identified to the apparatus and to its reproducibility, the questions and limitations as defined in the past have given way to new explorations of alternative fields of study. The incorporation of other mediums has been a vital aspect of my art making, and this expansion opens up new avenues of expression.
My interest in the discourse of the medium’s potential can’t hide the fact that my work is anchored in a moral sensibility that relates to my upbringing. I spent the first 18 years of my life on a prison compound where my father was the warden and where daily interactions with convicts were common. These visual and real-life experiences nurtured a sense of empathy in me for the human condition that has been a guiding force in my life as well as my work.