What can eight small paintings tell us about the possibilities of an artist-run space? Duncan MacKenzie, joined midway by Jesse Malmed, speaks with Jean Alexander Frater, Matthew Girson, and Dana DeGiulio about a two-person exhibition at Material, Jean's artist-run project space in Chicago's Roscoe Village. Four paintings by Matthew and four by Dana are installed in an alternating sequence, setting up a conversation across the walls rather than dividing the gallery by artist.
Their discussion begins with the particular staying power of artist-run Chicago: Dana's work establishing Julius Caesar in 2008, Matthew's earlier project presenting artworks from the cab of a pickup truck, and Jean's decade of making room for other artists at Material. From there, the conversation turns to the peculiar ambitions of intimate paintings, each made within a day. Is choosing a familiar genre conservative? What happens when a painting leaves the studio and enters the social space of an exhibition? And what can an actual encounter with an object offer that a circulating image cannot?
The group follows those questions through care, constraint, repetition, touch, and hospitality—with Maggie Nelson, Agnes Martin, Nina Simone, and the art market making appearances along the way. If a painting cannot tell its viewer what to feel, perhaps it can begin a sentence someone else is free to finish.
Names Dropped:
Duncan MacKenzie - kurasmackenzie.com/
Jesse Malmed - jessemalmed.net/
Jean Alexander Frater - alexanderfrater.com/home.html
Matthew Girson - matthewgirson.com/
Dana DeGiulio - danadegiulio.com/
Agnes Martin - diaart.org/collection/artist-a-to-z/martin-agnes
Jackson Pollock - pkhouse.org/
Maggie Nelson - poetryfoundation.org/poets/maggie-nelson
Martin Luther King Jr. - thekingcenter.org/about-tkc/martin-luther-king-jr/
Nina Simone - ninasimone.com/biography/
Nick Cave (musician) - nickcave.com/
Bad at Sports - badatsports.com/
Material - thevisualist.org/?p=194120
Julius Caesar - juliuscaesarchicago.net/about-jc
Lumpen Radio - lumpenradio.com/
Christie's - christies.com/
Rothko Chapel - rothkochapel.org/
Palace of Versailles - en.chateauversailles.fr/
Google - blog.google/
Steinway & Sons - steinway.com/
Paintings that have the look of paintings that are looked at - thevisualist.org/?p=194120
On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint - graywolfpress.org/books/freedom-0
Art Song (section of On Freedom) - graywolfpress.org/books/freedom-0
Number 7A, 1948 (Jackson Pollock) - christies.com/en/stories/jackson-pollock-number7a-1948-john-elderfield-44b8c76206ad4793a8dccc3c899ea86f
Christie's May 18, 2026 evening auctions - press.christies.com/christies-commences-spring-marquee-week-with-11-billion-in-sales-in-a-single-night/
Project Suncatcher - blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/research/google-project-suncatcher/
