More on: In the Studio

When I am deeper into this process, the patterns begin to develop, and I can sense a power of realization or truth, like looking up at the stars and knowing you are nothing and everything all at once.

Marcus Clarke’s practice surveys the affective and symbolic language of American Christian subcultures through aversion and desire. His sculptures, prints, films, and installations engage with kitsch and camp, using tactics of the attention economy and of post-cynical sincerity to investigate how Christendom haunts culture. He was interviewed by Ellie Driscoll.   Image: Much of your…

The story of my family was spread out there every day. It is the gathering of family that drives the paintings, and my life.

Our ideals may seem broken and fractured, but they can be remade into a more beautiful reality. As the series progressed, the flowers gained back their glorious colors, celebrating the richness of life while showing the growing pains that come with finding a new form.

I strongly believe that for a Jew to make art, one has to be steeped in Jewish culture, as well as the contemporaneous culture of the West. I found my way into Judaism through the biblical story of the Exodus, especially the idea that each Jew identifies with this story as if they were present at Mount Sinai, because, as the Talmud explains, all Jewish souls, present and future, were at Mount Sinai to witness the divine.

While I was uninterested in the Bible stories of Sunday school, the quiet ritual of the service and the music appealed to me.

From conversations with viewers, I’ve learned that their experience depends a lot on the physical presence of my work, not just the size but also how it connects with its surroundings.

Viewing all things inseparable—creativity and God as one and the same—certainly influenced my abstract expression.

Drawing from the source directly is the practice that I call art.

Devon DeJardin is a self-taught multimedia artist from Portland, Oregon, now based in Los Angeles. His paintings, drawings, and sculptures reference the body, forces of nature, and the application of philosophy to lived experience. His current work focuses on guardians-entities and forces that protect, guide, and challenge us to grow.   Image: Could you talk…