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Hi guys! To start, could you describe your creative approach?

Cats. Dinosaurs. Outer Space. Technology. It’s about having fun and breathing life into impossible fairy tale worlds. We aren’t interested in capturing some unique natural beautiful moment in nature. We want to manufacture our own. Maybe someday you won’t be able to tell which one is real and which one is not.

You’ve got your first solo show coming up in London this autumn. How are you feeling about that?

We are pumped up. It’s great to be able to curate an entire space to your ideas in a way that’s a lot more difficult on a blog or even in a magazine where you are competing with content in a separate context from yours. Also, some projects just work better in a physical space and we are designing work with that in mind which can be a bit of a challenge considering that Reed + Rader’s world exists entirely in the internet’s digital ether.

What’s it going to be like?

Prehistoric adventures in the Cretaceous starring dinosaurs with huge appetites and killer dance moves. GIFS, Films, and Interactive Virtual Environments.

How do you want people to feel when they enter the space?

We’ll have the smile meter standing by looking for smiles and playful imaginations.

Your work is a lot of fun. Do you think there’s enough fun in the fashion industry?

There’s never enough fun. Seriously though, fashion is surprisingly conservative. Or maybe we are just too wild. All the coolest clothes are totally un-wearable. Hopefully in the near future augmented reality will make wearing giant dinosaur heads and tentacles as comfy as pyjamas.

How did you begin working together?

We met via the internet soon after we both left home for school. It turned out we both went to the same school and that was that. After a few years of helping each other out it seemed to make sense to formally join forces – so that’s what we did.

How does working in a pair compare to working alone?

It’s not lonely. Sometimes it can be annoying because sometimes you just want to chill when the other person is bursting wanting to talk ideas. Mostly it’s awesome though. It’s a second pair of hands, another brain, a real life conscience, and a constant kick in the butt.

What else are you working on at the moment?

We’ve been finishing up a bunch of projects at the moment. We just finished a GIF project with Victoria’s Secret at the end of July. We released a short film called “I Hate Kitties”. It’s a cathartic adventure that reminds of those times when those little kitties you love piss you off. On the interactive end of things, we recently finished a project called “Squiddies” where the user can influence the images via mouse or touch. On the horizon we’re working on Animal Crossing, Dinosaur, and Christmas related things.

Are there any other artists out there at the moment who you really admire?

Artists making a living doing crazy shit on the internet and loving it. Friends With You, Memo Akten, Rachel Maclean, Brody Condon, Marc Owens, 0100101110101101, James George, Kyle Mcdonald, Tabor Robak, Robert Overweg, TYMOTE, Anyone with a Tumblr and a laptop.

And finally, if you could do anything in the world together, what would it be?

Sign us up on a one way trip to be two of the first 100 colonists on Mars.

www.reedandrader.com

Words: Mark Izatt

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How would you describe the art of Sinisa Kukec?

A few years back I would have describe my work as a journey into the human phenomenon of desire. Recently I have described it as a cosmic psychedelic melodrama; perhaps it could be best described as an attempt to unpack consciousness…

At first glance your art looks very happy and positive. Is there a darker side to it?

There is light/positive and darkness/negative at play in the universe, as in my work , as in my life. I often don’t separate the them – my work and my being, that is – others do that for me. But yes, I would say that I have misanthropic tendencies, and I am a reflection of the world that surrounds me. I would say that at first glance you might perceive happy or positive but for those that are afflicted with curiosity and intelligence you might see a darker side to it.

How does your heritage and your experiences of various cultures influence your art?

I am eastern European and so you might say that being a pessimist is in my blood. I can love and hate all in the same breath. Some people tire of my glass-half-empty perception, others come to love my honest, emotional, passionate expression. But really I am the one that has to put up with me… It can be a daunting task.

Please share some of your career highlights with us?

I never really think about my work as a career. I like to think about it as a lifetime and after 42 years, I feel it’s just begun.

Your art is aesthetically beautiful but also powerful in content. Is there one aspect that takes precedence over the other?

“Beauty” can be perceived in so many ways! Define beauty for yourself and if you are willing to think about what it truly means to you, and not just believing in a definition provided to you. One does not take precedence over the other. Aesthetic beauty and content go hand in hand, and that’s why I make most of my own work rather than having some one else make it. I am not an intellectual, rather I am a perpetual student that is willing to make mistakes and learn from them.

You just had an exhibition in Charleston, South Caroline. Please tell us more about the show?

Imagine a contemporary art show in that city titled “From Void to Void”, which was a sequel to a solo show I had last fall at Scope Miami “FAREWELLFOUTAIN”. Charleston is also known as the Sexy City. I ate some great food, drank whiskey and was thrown out of a bar for smashing two glasses while describing colliding atoms and the universe. It was great!

What is the weirdest experience you ever had as an artist?

It could have been when I insulted a very well-known ceramics dealer at his own home at the center of the universe (aka New York). Or perhaps a moonlit night in Colorado running towards a herd of caribou with nothing on but my boots… OK, it was when I was assisting the greatest ceramic abstract expressionist ever, Peter Voulkos. I accidentally saw his naked ass. But honestly I can’t recall. Truth can be stranger than fiction.

sinisakukec.blogspot.co.uk

Words: Heike Dempster

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Who is Andrew Nigon?

Andrew is a white kid from the Midwest who is still afraid to talk to strangers.

You say: “the aim of my work is to draw attention to the parallax nature of our contemporary existence in which we have an insatiable drive to improve while living in a state of constant decay.” Could you elaborate?

I guess what I’m saying is that for the work to be really meaningful to me it has to embody some heroic qualities without forgetting that the struggle never ends. There is no “happily ever after”. Not really. Things are good for a while and then they suck again. Even my process is made up of a combination of building up and tearing down with the final product existing somewhere in between.

Your work often resembles toys – so how do you still tell a story that starts a mature conversation?

I don’t intentionally make the work to look like toys. Pink is a favorite color of mine since it can be connected to so many things across the spectrum. Pink is Disney princess and pink is vagina. I always try to balance any painful characteristics that my work may possess with bright playful colours. I imagine all of my work as living things that have stories told through their scares and imperfections. In the end I think the work is pathetic but also light hearted, and in that way, opens up for mature conversation. Everyone can relate to pathetic.

One of your latest sculptures is a tower of dolls atop each other. Could you tell us more please?

I try to combine a circus aesthetic with religious iconography to all my work. I grew up Roman Catholic but was always disappointed with how dry the ceremonies were. Perhaps the Catholic Church today tries to appear normal and safe, or maybe it’s just me. Either way that blah approach removes all of the mystery that makes religion so powerful. “Disciples of a New Faith” was in response to some of these ideas. I created a group of clowns stacked on top of one another to resemble a 13 foot tall totem pole. It’s as if this small congregation is in the middle of some strange ritual to bring them closer to God… or they’re just entertainment to outsiders, who’s to say? Mystery and God are sometimes the same thing.

Has anything interesting/ funny/ dangerous ever happened when you tried a new material?

With art? No. But a few years ago when I was home visiting my parents I accidentally got wicked drunk on gin and tried to start a bonfire with gasoline.

What are you currently working on?

I’ve been reading about “two-spirits” in Native American Culture. Two-Spirits are individuals who possess qualities of both genders and perform both roles in dress and work. I am interested in how these people were treated as divine characters and often acted as priests or medicine men. This is influencing a new body of work that examines the mysterious power of “otherness”.

What exhibitions do you have coming up?

A group show this fall at Primary Projects with some new work. This will be a teaser for a much bigger show at PP this winter that I am very excited about. Stay tuned.

What is the first thing that comes to you mind when you think of Wonderland?

Are you talking about that gentleman’s club on Biscayne?

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Tell us about your work.

I like to feel good; making art is feeling really good, even when you can’t figure out what you are doing. It’s still a good thing, you are in the moment and nobody is looking over your shoulder telling you what to do. Think about it, you are creating something. Who doesn’t want to create something? I like creating paintings all the time. It feels good for culture and for the kids. It makes my mum happy, too. Everyone wins. I am creating work the way I felt when I first saw Matisse. When I paint I think about kids in the future looking at it. What will kids in the future like? Oh yes, okay… let’s paint that!

Describe a day in the life of Kiki Valdes.

I live on the edge, because I live on a hill and I drive a pickup truck. I go to Dunkin Donuts on a Friday night and I go to Korean bars. I paint in the garage of a house owned by Albanian immigrants. I sleep ’til noon sometimes because I have a hard time sleeping, not because I’m hungover. I sleep with a hammer beside my bed and a painting as a headboard.

You have recently relocated from Miami to New York. What impact has the move had on your career so far?

In Miami, I was always “sort of” living my dream; in New York I am very much living my dream. You can’t really get a good turkey sandwich in Miami like you could up here.

How does the art scene in Miami differ from the art scene in New York?

Th art scene in Miami is very small; the art scene in New York is like going to the airport. You have no idea who actually lives near by.

What made you choose to join the Margulies Agency?

Michael Margulies isn’t an art dealer, he works with galleries and collectors. I think it’s cool. I think that makes sense for the way I like to work. Everyone I ever met that is young and into art dealing in Miami in particular, I never got a sense they could get anything done when it comes to auction houses. With Mike, I feel he can get anything done. Him and his family are true art patrons. He has a good heart and his intensity only add points.

How and when did you first link up with Mike Margulies?

At my last show “The Outsiders”, he told me we should collaborate somehow. Knowing I wasn’t living in Miami, I knew I had to find someone who could take my work to the next level. It became increasingly clear that I can’t do this by myself anymore. We discussed it over a few beers at an Irish Pub on St. Patricks day. We finalised it when I flew down to South Beach a few weeks ago. When my family cut me a Cuban cake, I knew it was for real.

Words: Heike Wollenweber

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