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Q & A with   ARTIST DARRELL BOLIN What inspires you to produce work? Money and fame. Where do you see yourself in 10 years as a artist? With much money and much fame. What time of day do you make art? Mostly during the day when the light is good in my studio. But if the mood strikes me or I have something I want to finish, I'll work on stuff at just about any time. When did you first start making art? As far back as I can remember. I always enjoyed drawing things from observation. I tried to reproduce what I saw as accurately as I could. Some of my favorite things to draw were images taken from science books - especially biology books. I'd draw cells, animals, bacteria . . . whatever looked "cool" to me. I'm not really sure what compelled me to want to do it. It was just fun. If you could have a conversation with any artist, who would it be and what would you ask them? Henri de Toulouse-Laurtrec. Of all the artists I've studied (none of which I can claim to be an expert on), his life seems the most fascinating to me. I'd just like to chat over a drink or two about what his daily life was like. I'd like to see if it really was as bohemian and free-spirited as it's portrayed. Art would come up, I'm sure. But I think it would be less about his art specifically, but rather, how art in general fit into the daily landscape of late 1800's bohemian lifestyle. I'd also like to see how he and his contemporaries perceived the world around them. More interestingly, I'd like to know how he foresaw the future of the world & society, being right at the cusp of the 20th century when so many things changed so quickly. What's your favorite color? at the moment, red. Do you become emotionally attached to your work? Sure. If I like it. Has anyone ever confronted you with a negative response over a piece of your work? Yes. My wife is not shy about letting me know when she doesn't like my art. I don't mind it though. In fact, I encourage honest feedback - it helps me develop as an artist. Practice is as important in art as it is in any skill or trade. An important part of that process involves critique from an objective person. Many people (including gallery-people) are very passive towards the artist if they don't like something. Fortunately, my wife is more willing than most to be open about my art, whether it's good or bad. Beyond that, I apparently haven't made anything that is so offensive or appalling to incite a negative confrontational response from anyone. Sweet or Savory? Savory. What's your favorite thing to cook? I like cooking dinner-type dishes that include separate elements. For example, I would enjoy cooking an (X) steak with (Y) potatoes and (Z) vegetables. It gives me a chance to make each part of the dish distinct and good, while making sure each element complements what's going on with the rest of the dish. It's a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" thing. Growing up in a Hungarian household, what is your fondest food memory? Pierogi and Hunky-hand grenades. Oh, and Buckwheat Pancakes - not necessarily Hungarian fare, but it was a staple and one of my favorites. Do you have a favorite gallery in Pittsburgh? We're fortunate that Pittsburgh has venues like the Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art. I always enjoy visiting those. But as far as a non-museum gallery goes, I like Wood Street Galleries. First of all, it's cool that it's housed in a building on top of a subway station. It's multi-leveled and you've got different things happening on each level, usually with a connecting theme. Sometimes it feels like you're in a labyrinth navigating the stairs and hallways going from one exhibition to another. And the art is often fun 3-D installation-type stuff, sometimes interactive. It's just neat. What's your favorite place to eat in Pittsburgh? Right now I'm going through a phase where I'm trying restaurants I've never had before. So, it seems like every time I try a new one, I gain a new favorite. At least a new favorite for certain things. Here's a list of my favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh for particular things (in no particular order): Thai - Angkor; Asian- Lulu's Noodles; Mexican - Mendoza Express; Italian - Piccolo Forno; Big, greasy sandwiches - Fat Head's (NOT Primanti's); Burgers - Eleven; Steaks - Tessaro's; Pizza - Vincent's; Hot Dogs - D's Six Pax and Dogz; Dessert - Sarris Chocolate Factory; Breakfast - Jojo's; Bar Food - Alexion's; Beer - Sharp Edge (gotta' go during happy hour); Crepes - J'eet ______________________________________________________________________________________ Darrell Bolin was born in the tiny coal mining community of Vesta #6, located on the Monongahela River about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA. He has spent most of his life in and around Pittsburgh, which he considers “home”. Bolin began his academic career at Washington & Jefferson College, majoring in biology and philosophy. He eventually transferred to the University of Pittsburgh where he studied philosophy and studio arts, earning his B.A. Bolin's artistic style reflects a culmination of his varied passions and artistic influences. His vision encompasses interests in subjects beyond art, such as science, philosophy, linguistics, sociology, and history. As a result, his work examines connections and interactions in the world around him – connections between people, between objects, between ideas. This also includes connections between artistic styles; his influences range from Bosh and Caravaggio to De Kooning and Duchamp to Pollock and Basquiat. The ultimate goal is to create new and dynamic art that examines those connections that are all around us, all of the time. Bolin's most recent endeavor has been an exploration of graffiti & street art, and it's place in the world of “high” art. The approach involves the dissection of particular elements of graffiti, including bold “non-traditional” colors, use of stencils and spray-paint, inclusion of words & phrases, etc. Those elements are manipulated and translated to canvas in an effort to create a balanced, aesthetically compelling work. Current exhibition projects include: Strassen Kunst: an international exhibition of work inspired by graffiti, where Bolin has been selected as a participant-finalist. This will take place at Artspace Gallery in Richmond, VA on August 27th, 2010. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All artwork on this page by Darrell Bolin. Title's starting from the top of the page - Clay Pidgeons in an Empty Room, Alphabet, Troy Check out more of his work on facebook - dbolinArt,inc - contact Darrell at bolind555@gmail.com © 2010 karinevarga.com contact - karine@karinevarga.com