039: How To Accept Yourself

Christopher Robin Duncan makes sculpture, ambient sound-based work, and exposure paintings that rely on factory dyed fabrics faded by the power of the sun. Chris talks about how punk and hardcore music shaped his worldview, his belief system and visual language as equivalent, celestial cycles as a tool in his process, making rules only to break them and learning how to get out of his own way, time as a tool and gesture in his artwork, his sonic work as soundtracks to his paintings, Prince versus Bruce Springsteen, a recent collaborative project with NIAD Art Center, an allergy to exceptionalism and the rewards of being generous, and finding joy through the mystery of art.View Chris’s work HEREListen to Chris’s sound-based work HEREPlease consider donating to The Middle East Children’s AllianceSupport Deep Color HERE

Deep Color (the exhibition) opened at Halsey McKay Gallery on May 24 and will be on view through June 30th, 2025. The exhibit features drawing, painting, sculpture, writing, editioned prints, and photography by over 60 Deep Color alumni artists. In this special episode, artist and HMG founder/owner, Ryan Wallace, talks with artist and Deep Color host Joseph Hart about how the show blossomed from idea to reality, the DIY nature of producing art exhibitions, the range and cohesiveness of the works on view, being surprised by a handful of artworks during installation, the unscientific curatorial process behind Deep Color, wearing shorts on airplanes, and stamina and horizon lines for Deep Color as a project.Listeners are encouraged to check out the exhibit in-person or online, then revisit the episode archive for that extra magic and context, and as a method for learning about and connecting with the artworks on view.“I’m incredibly appreciative of these artists for recording conversations with me for Deep Color and for being part of this exhibition. They’ve let us behind the curtain and into their studios. They’ve told us stories about the formative experiences that helped shape their artwork and outlook. They’ve offered us guidance, and different models, for how to approach and think about being an artist. Through these acts of generosity, and through their artwork, these artists are contributing to culture in a way that can fuel imagination, provide light, and soften the complicated aspects of our daily lives. This is a profound gesture that we should all salute and support.” -Joseph HartView the Deep Color exhibition HERE.Support Deep Color HERE

Tony Lewis makes drawings using a range of materials and methods that are centered around mark-making and language. Tony talks about athletics, psychology, and art history as frameworks for his world view, drawing as a type of behavior, Calvin & Hobbes comics as a muse, how drawing exists outside of the “art world”, expanding his practice into site-specific installations, not being able to hide or cheat in drawing, cocktail bars as portraits of a place, drawing as problem solving. and kindness and self-awareness as 50% of a career.View Tony’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERE

Sean Sullivan makes paintings and drawings that hum and weave through abstraction, representation, and systems of visual organization. He is also the co-owner of R&F Paints—an artist owned company that manufactures handmade oil and encaustic paints for artists. Sean talks about how music and poetry served as gateways into visual art, the farmer and the fisherman as a type of ethos, using printmaking techniques in his painting and drawing process, embracing error as a form of magic in his work, wanting to be in close proximity to his family while he’s making art, and art as a potential way to make sense of a complicated world.View Sean’s work HERESupport Deep Color HERE