Mike Rothfeld - a Sculptor and Arts Administrator living and working in Oakland & San Francisco
06/05/19 • 62 min
In the final episode of season one, I speak with Mike Rothfeld, an artist living and working in Oakland and San Francisco. He received his MFA in Fine Art and MA in Visual and Critical Studies from California College of the Arts (CCA) and his BFA in Photography and Imaging from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU).
Rothfeld’s lo-fi, seemingly clumsy sculptures serve as set-pieces and props for the partial science-fiction and fantasy narratives he imagines while working in the studio. His sculptures display a dedication to play, campiness and the absurd along with an underlying sentiment of melancholy and doom. Concerned by an inability to imagine new and viable alternative futures, while still wanting to locate hope for a better tomorrow, Rothfeld makes work that references an era of visual media effects that required viewers to heavily suspend their disbelief to immerse themselves in an imagined reality.
Rothfeld’s work has been displayed at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, Alter Space Gallery, and San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA; the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Jan Larsen’s Xpo, Brooklyn, NY; the Beacon Artist Union, Beacon, NY; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, England; among other venues. His writing has appeared in Art Practical and show take-aways for Stairwell’s exhibitions.
Additional Links:
In the interview, Mike mentions working with artist, author, and curator Deb Willis while studying at NYU. She she later introduced him to the graduate programs at CCA. Between undergrad and grad school, Mike attended the Haystack Mountain School of Craft Residency. Finally, Mike and I discuss his participation in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ ‘Bay Area Now 7’ exhibition, a project that was curated by Stairwell’s.
You can learn more about Mike’s work on his website and follow him on Instagram. As always, podcast music is provided by Mr. Neat Beats.
In the final episode of season one, I speak with Mike Rothfeld, an artist living and working in Oakland and San Francisco. He received his MFA in Fine Art and MA in Visual and Critical Studies from California College of the Arts (CCA) and his BFA in Photography and Imaging from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU).
Rothfeld’s lo-fi, seemingly clumsy sculptures serve as set-pieces and props for the partial science-fiction and fantasy narratives he imagines while working in the studio. His sculptures display a dedication to play, campiness and the absurd along with an underlying sentiment of melancholy and doom. Concerned by an inability to imagine new and viable alternative futures, while still wanting to locate hope for a better tomorrow, Rothfeld makes work that references an era of visual media effects that required viewers to heavily suspend their disbelief to immerse themselves in an imagined reality.
Rothfeld’s work has been displayed at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, Alter Space Gallery, and San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA; the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Jan Larsen’s Xpo, Brooklyn, NY; the Beacon Artist Union, Beacon, NY; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, England; among other venues. His writing has appeared in Art Practical and show take-aways for Stairwell’s exhibitions.
Additional Links:
In the interview, Mike mentions working with artist, author, and curator Deb Willis while studying at NYU. She she later introduced him to the graduate programs at CCA. Between undergrad and grad school, Mike attended the Haystack Mountain School of Craft Residency. Finally, Mike and I discuss his participation in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ ‘Bay Area Now 7’ exhibition, a project that was curated by Stairwell’s.
You can learn more about Mike’s work on his website and follow him on Instagram. As always, podcast music is provided by Mr. Neat Beats.
Previous Episode
Nicole Kita - a NorCal Artist who works as an Educator and Advocate for Artists with Developmental Disabilities
In episode 9, I speak with Nicole Kita, a visual artist living and working in Northern California, who works as an educator and advocate for artists with developmental disabilities. As an educator, Kita has taught artists of diverse ages, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as individual behavioral and learning needs. She currently works as a full-time teacher at The Studio, a non-profit arts organization in Eureka, California, that provides an inclusive studio environment for artists of all abilities to foster an authentic art practice and professional growth.
As an artist, Kita explores the visual language of signs and symbols. Her practice is informed by anthropology and the history of print media: artifacts of the history, folklore, and cultural heritage of North America.
Links:
In the interview, Nicole mentions traveling to Chicago to screenprint with Dan McAdams at Crosshair. Learn more about Nicole on her website, visit her Etsy shop, and follow her on Instagram.
As always, podcast music is provided by Mr. Neat Beats.
Next Episode
Elizabeth Amento - follow-up episode after moving from SF to NYC.
In this bonus episode, I check in with Elizabeth Amento, the first artist I interviewed for season one of the podcast, who has since left her day job in San Francisco and moved to New York City. This bonus episode was recorded in late June 2019, a week before she started her new job, and about three months after she made the move.
Elizabeth was born in Boston, MA, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She returned to the East Coast to attend Boston College for Studio Art and Psychology, Brandeis University for a Post-Baccalaureate in Studio Art, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University for her Masters Degree in Fine Arts. Elizabeth’s work has been exhibited in Mighty Tieton Gallery, Washington, Baton Rouge Gallery, Louisiana, Arena 1 Gallery, California, Modified Arts, Arizona, Melvin Gallery, Florida, Boston Young Contemporaries, Massachusetts, among others. Her work is featured in Index Book’s Cut out for Collage. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Links:
In the interview, Elizabeth mentions taking a woodshop course at Makeville Studio in Brooklyn. For more information about Elizabeth and her work, please visit her website and Instagram.
As always, podcast music is provided by Mr. Neat Beats.
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